These advocates work tirelessly to help veterans succeed in the civilian workplace. Get to know who they are, what they do, and how they advocate for the veteran community.
Zelda Davis is the Management Analyst of US Department of Veterans Affairs. She was a First Sergeant (E-8) in the Army, 1983-2004.
Champion’s Reaction:
“It’s truly an honor to be recognized by G.I. Jobs for the work I am passionate about and love doing, which is to SERVE veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses in honor of their commitment and sacrifice in SERVING this country. They protect not only our rights and freedoms, but they also provide services and aid to those in need. Working for the VA is my way of honoring them for their service and support by assisting and advocating on their behalf in finding employment opportunities in VA and through partnerships with other agencies and companies.”
Champion’s Job Responsibilities:
Provides employment readiness assistance and outreach through career-coaching activities (e.g. provides webinars and workshops on Writing Federal Resumes, Understanding the Federal Hiring Process and Navigating USAJOBS) to veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses while advocating the use of special hiring authorities, employment programs and veteran retention strategies to help VA become the employer of choice in seeking employment opportunities in the federal government. Uses social media and participates in in-person and virtual career fairs to promote and increase federal employment opportunities utilizing virtual tools.
Why Davis was nominated for the Veteran Champions of the Year in Corporate America Award:
Zelda provides federal employment support services to veterans and the military community seeking employment primarily in VA. Zelda provides guidance to VA hiring managers and HR specialists seeking to fill critical vacancies with qualified veterans and eligible military spouses on the use of Special Hiring Authorities to reduce the speed of hire from over 80 days to under 30 days. In support of the veteran and the military community, Zelda provides training via webinars and workshops on “Understanding the Federal Hiring Process, Navigating USAJOBS, Writing a Federal Resume” to demystify the federal hiring process and career counseling on how to match their job skills and education that best aligns with federal occupations.
Through her consultative services she helped veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses with rebranding themselves through resume coaching, interview techniques and employment benefits to assist them in successfully gaining employment in the federal and private sector. Zelda aggressively promoted the hiring of veterans and military spouses to add to VA’s workforce through a comprehensive outreach strategy that included collaboration with VA recruiters and outreach coordinators nationwide, hosting over 20,000 veterans, transitioning service members, and spouses at over 120 nationwide veteran and military spouse in-person and virtual career and job fairs annually, with a proven track record of attracting and providing employment-readiness/career coaching assistance to veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses seeking assistance.
Zelda consistently establishes partnerships with veteran-centric recruitment companies (e.g., G.I. Jobs), federal and state governments, veteran service organizations, and academic institutions to partner and discuss issues, best practices, and to increase awareness of employment and training resources while attending career fairs, internship fairs, and resource exhibits. This included career-coaching support by providing information on special hiring authorities and veteran preference to help veterans apply for non-competitive appointment positions successfully. She also provided employment and training information via telephone, electronic mail, and social media sites to reach and keep veterans, service members and military spouses abreast of current employment and training information.
In support of the wounded, ill, and injured service members, Zelda partners with the Department of Defense Warrior Care Program Regional Coordinators to promote DoD’s Operation Warfighter and Education internship program that matches candidates with federal internships to gain valuable work experience during their recovery and rehabilitation process. The new skills learned helps the service member successfully transition into the civilian workforce. Zelda initiated marketing campaigns in collaboration with the VA Media Services office to design posters and flyers for advertisement and distribution (print & electronic mail) to promote the use of special hiring authorities targeting hiring managers to hire veterans under non-competitive appointments to help increase veteran employment at the VA. Zelda advertises and brings awareness of federal employment opportunities with federal partners by leveraging technology (consistently advertises employment and training opportunities) while using virtual communication resources to engage with its customers nationwide. These virtual resources consist of the VA for Vets website that provides 24-hour real time information on VA programs, services, and benefits; Facebook (host Virtual Employment Town Halls) and Twitter pages.