NY Nonprofit Helping Veterans Network With Potential Employers, Find Job Opportunities
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An organization that supports and helps veterans is being praised for its services.
After nearly a decade in the Army -- serving in Iraq, Bangladesh, Korea and Sri Lanka -- Casey Luskin felt it was time to transition to the Reserves in 2017.
"I had a great experience. I mean, there's good times, bad times, indifferent times. Overall, I think it's a great experience," Luskin told CBSN New York's Kiran Dhillon.
Eager to move to New York, he started grad school at Columbia University that same year. That's when he was introduced to FourBlock.
The group helps veterans transition into the next chapter of their lives by creating opportunities to network with potential employers and build professional relationships.
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"Coming from a small town in the Midwest, living in military towns, you just don't have that exposure to businesses and corporations," Luskin said. "Being in New York, there's no better place to get that exposure, but unless you know who to talk to, you can't really get it."
Luskin says he was shocked by the opportunities presented to him after joining FourBlock.
"They talk you through how to tell your story, how to negotiate your salary, how to write your resume, how to do a mock interview. It's a wide gamut of things they are teaching you to do," he said.
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Dr. Lisa Stern is the group's director of program impact and assessment.
"Giving them the opportunities to see where their skills can be used and where they could feel like they were finding purpose," she said.
Luskin ended up getting a job with one of FourBlock's partners, a company named Accenture in Midtown Manhattan.
The company says it's on track to employ 5,000 new veterans and/or military spouses by next year. Luskin says it was his association with the nonprofit that helped him get his job.
"At FourBlock, it's like over 70% stay longer than a year with wherever they're placed, so it's finding that job that's a good fit for you," Luskin said.
And he's not the only one. The group has helped more than 2,000 veterans like him nationwide.
FourBlock is holding its annual Year-End Reception at the New York Athletic Club in Central Park South next Tuesday. It will be an opportunity for veterans and FourBlock partners to connect.
Click here for more information: fourblock.org/reception