Systems Engineer at Microsoft Corporation

Josh Wilson understands the power of information. As a systems engineer at the Redmond, Wash., headquarters of Microsoft Corp., he provides “back-end” support for MSN.com, Messenger.com, and Live.com — three of the company’s key information Web sites.

What is back-end support? Essentially, Wilson and other engineers in Microsoft’s Global Foundations Services division oversee thousands of Windows 2003 servers, information servers, and massive databases. The Army reservist’s duties range from updating online shopping portals to repairing broken servers. In addition, much of his time is spent figuring how to automate and streamline project requests and predict when company servers will need to be expanded to accommodate more information

“I like to compare it to building a soldier from scratch,” says Wilson, 28. “You have to factor in health, endurance, strength, etc. The same applies to a server. Is it working well? Has it maxed out the amount of content it can hold? Does it need to be upgraded?

Manager for the Customer Experience Measurement Group at Microsoft

Shannon Huffman Polson is used to facing daunting challenges. After working as a successful program manager during her initial assignment at Microsoft, she was placed in command of a struggling customer service team facing outdated processes and lack of process consistency across businesses. This made costs much higher than they should have been, as well as introducing a number of risks to the team mission.

But the former Army captain wasn’t intimidated. She had blazed new trails during her military career – the first female Apache helicopter pilot for one battalion, the first women to command an Apache line company for another battalion, a platoon leader in dangerous reconnaissance missions over Bosnia, and the first woman to command an Apache line company for the 2nd Infantry Division.

ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Volt Workforce Solutions, the staffing business unit of Volt Information Sciences, Inc. (NYSE: VOL), announced that it has been named a “Finalist” in The 2010 American Business Awards. Volt’s veteran hiring initiative, the Volt Military Heroes Program, earned recognition in the category of Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year for firms with more than 2,500 employees.

“Today, more than ever, our veterans need career readiness assistance to make the critical transition to civilian careers after serving our country”

The Volt Military Heroes Program provides career support and employment opportunities to transitioning military personnel, while simultaneously providing a valued service to clients, who need well-trained, qualified candidates.

Volt Workforce Solutions President Tom Daley commented, “Many of our veterans face obstacles in connecting with hiring managers due to an inability to translate their hands-on leadership and training while in the service to skills sought by Fortune 500 employers. Our goal in the Volt Military Heroes Program is overcoming the ‘Last Mile’ gap between military and corporate careers and assisting these heroes with meaningful job opportunities.”

A recruitment leader, Volt Workforce Solutions works with veterans, the military and corporate partners to bridge this “Last Mile” gap by providing resume assistance, interview coaching and other career readiness assistance to maximize veteran hiring success. During the past year, Volt has placed more than 1,400 veterans with its clients.

Commenting on the life-changing importance of assisting veterans, Steven Shaw, President and CEO of Volt Information Sciences said, “With 13 dollars and an engineering degree made possible through the GI Bill after serving in World War II, Jerry Shaw and his older brother founded Volt as a technical writing company in 1950. Volt would not exist today if it weren’t for this assistance.”

“Today, more than ever, our veterans need career readiness assistance to make the critical transition to civilian careers after serving our country,” Shaw said. “As a business leader and employer, Volt has a unique responsibility to make a positive impact during this transition. We are honored that Volt’s initiative to strengthen America’s workforce has earned a place among the distinguished finalists of the 2010 American Business Awards.”

Business, State Agency and Federal Legislative Programs Cited 

SEATTLE – The introduction of a comprehensive Veterans Employment Bill by US Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash) on April 20, 2010 is one of the latest in a number of efforts to combat soaring jobless rates among former military members. The proposed bill reinforces the advocacy efforts of Hire America’s Heroes, a Puget Sound Area organization that works with major corporations to open employment opportunities to veterans. Hire America’s Heroes sponsored a Symposium held at McChord Field on Thursday that brought together over 200 attendees to seek solutions to veteran, National Guard and reservist unemployment.

Besides leaders from all military services, the offices of Senator Murray, Congressmen Norm Dicks and Dave Reichert and “First Mike” Gregoire, Director of Washington Department of Veterans Affairs John Lee attended and reviewed the technical skill, work ethic and determination found in this growing pool of talent.

Human Resources vice presidents and senior managers representing Hire America’s Heroes sponsors provided program overviews and best practices to peers from nearly 50 companies in attendance including:

- CEO Tay Yoshitani described the Port of Seattle Veterans Fellowship Program bringing interns with full pay and benefits to selected Port positions for six months of on-the-job-experience leading to full time employment with the Port or Port contractors.

- Doug Kight, Boeing Commercial Aircraft’s Vice President for Human Resources cited outreach programs to former military, an internal mentoring program to help in the “on-boarding” process and the heritage of commitment to former service personnel as demonstrated in the large percentage of Boeing workers with military experience.

- Microsoft, represented by HR Director Sean Kelley, announced the launch of Elevate American Veterans Initiative – a competitive program that provides software, technical training and grants to those helping make service members and families even more competitive in the technology-based job market of today.

- The Volt Military Heroes Program was referenced by Steven Shaw, President & CEO of Volt, a staffing company started by his father in 1950 using the Engineering degree he gained from the original GI Bill. Marjorie James, Program Manager, Volt Military Programs, was one of the founders of Hire America’s Heroes and has been President of the organization since its inception in 2007.

In addition to corporate programs to facilitate the hiring of former military, Tom Riggs from the Washington Army & Air National Guard described their new Employment Enhancement Program which will be evaluated as a national model over the next four years under Murray’s proposed legislation.

The 2010 Hire America’s Heroes Symposium was hosted by the 446th Airlift Wing, a US Air Force Reserve organization intimately familiar with transition issues faced by their citizen airmen. The 2011 Symposium will be held at Fort Lewis, Joint Base Lewis McChord in partnership with the US Army.