Our biggest cohort to date! Hiring Our Heroes continues to bring great military talent to our team.

At Verizon, we’re committed to serving those who serve us. Putting our military first is a team effort, which is why we’ve joined forces with amazing organizations, including Hiring Our Heroes, a nationwide initiative with 100+ employers to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful employment opportunities. 

The Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program provides transitioning service members with management training and hands-on experience in the civilian workforce, preparing those individuals for smooth transitions into meaningful civilian careers. It was created by the Department of Defense and is administered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Since 2018, Verizon has participated in seven Hiring Our Heroes Cohorts, which have resulted in a total of 26 new hires with a 100% retention rate. 

We’re especially excited to announce our largest Hiring Our Heroes cohort of 16 Fellows who started their 11-week fellowship with Verizon on August 31. They will work across the business in Corporate, Global Network and Technology (GN&T), Verizon Business Group (VBG), and Verizon Consumer Group (VCG) roles.  

Here’s a closer look at some of our past Fellows who have successfully transitioned into the V Team post-military, as well as a look ahead at our incoming cohort.

Barbara (Barbie) R., Field Operations Manager and 2019 Hiring Our Heroes fellow 

Before joining Verizon, Barbie R. served in the Air Force for 20 years. During her years of service, she worked as a patrolman, desk sergeant, and flight chief, among other roles.

In her experience, the partnership between Hiring Our Heroes and Verizon helped create a seamless transition from the military to the civilian workforce. From working with helpful managers to finding parallels between the Air Force and the V Team, Barbie knew Verizon was a good match for her. 

Her Hiring Our Heroes “Day in the Life” experience played a significant role in her decision to join Verizon. The Day in the Life initiative was developed to provide transitioning service members with a sense of our company’s culture, provide a realistic job preview, and to help make educated decisions when selecting a company and a role. 

“The day in the life was a wonderful experience. At the time of my Fellowship, I was offered a dream job with another company. But, after the day in the life ride along, it definitely put Verizon in the lead position as the only company that was invested in me and offered me a first-hand preview of the job,” she said.

Today, Barbie continues to excel on the V Team as a Field Operations Manager.        

Rico C., Solutions Architect and first Hiring Our Heroes fellow to join us 

For Rico C. Verizon provided him with the opportunity to interact in a corporate environment and determine if it was the right fit for where he wanted to take his career post-military. 

Prior to joining Verizon, Rico served in the Air Force for 25 years in many roles, including cyber operations officer and squadron commander. Rico considers himself a technologist who was excited to learn all about Verizon technology in his new role.

“I interacted with different teams on various projects and was also assigned mentors who had similar stories to mine,” he said. “The biggest takeaway about Verizon was the passion the teams showed. They don’t want to just develop something and push it out the door. They look at these big complex problems and develop the absolute best solution.”

Today, Rico continues to apply his technical skills from the military into his Verizon role as a Solutions Architect. Furthermore, he continues to give back to the military community by mentoring the upcoming fellows, telling them about his transitioning experience and his role at Verizon and service as an advocate for the Fellows when they join the V Team!

Supporting the Military community. 

Throughout the fellowship program, Verizon’s Military Recruitment Team serves as the liaison between Verizon and our fellows to ensure that all participants feel supported and engaged throughout their time here. 

From guiding participants through the onboarding process to arranging bi-weekly check-ins with each team, our Military recruiters act as the main resource for the fellows to address any questions or concerns.

Members of our new class of fellows are joining us from the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and the Navy. Our new Fellows have already shared their excitement to join the next cohort on their social media channels:

To all of our new fellows, thank you for your service and we look forward to having you on the V Team. Join us in welcoming our third cohort of Hiring Our Heroes fellows! Learn more about Verizon’s military careers and partnerships on our Military page.