Papillion veteran helping other veterans find jobs in civilian careers after service

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – A walk around a veterans memorial brings back memories for Tim Den Hoed.

“I loved the camaraderie,” Den Hoed said.

Tim had a successful military career. He was a marine, an airman and retired as a major. But that didn’t stop him from thinking about his next move.

“My entire career, I knew there was always an end, and I planned for the end,” he said.

Many in the military don’t.

According to the Pew Research Center, only in one in four U.S. veterans have a job lined up after they leave service. Now, finding a job can be grueling.

“These folks who have done this for 20 years – they’re in tears. They’re like ‘I have a family to take care of, I have mouths to feed’,” Den Hoed shared.

Tim discovered one big challenge for veterans looking for work is their language.

“I can tell you when I came into the Air Force I was a T-2531 and it’s like ‘ok, cool, but you have no idea what is,” Den Hoed said. “All of our vocabulary is different, our ranks are different, our titles, our positions, our duties, our jobs.”

He says a company admitted to him that military jargon is confusing to businesses.

“I want to hire vets but, I have no idea what they’re saying. I’m like ‘Okay- I got you. We have a translation problem. Lets fix that’,” he explained.

So, he did.

Den Hoed created a technology platform called Major Talent.

“We take everything from our military careers, all these data points, and we transfer that into industries technology,” he explained.

The goal, translate a veteran’s military experience to highlight their skills, showing a potential employer what they’ve done and what they can do. Major Talent also provides a new resume and interview training.

Right now there are 700 veterans in the database.

“We’re a Nebraska based company, but we have a national footprint already. We’re exploding in Texas, North Carolina and Oklahoma,” Tim shared.

Jack Deane was in California when Tim reached out to him.

Deane had no luck in his two month job search after he leaving the Navy.

“It was a little frustrating at first,” he admitted.

After connecting with Major Talent, he had an interview in just two days and was hired in Omaha within a week.

“So I went from working on basically multi-million dollar aircraft to multi-million dollar air compressors,” Jack said.

And Jack wasn’t Force Equipment’s only Major Talent hire.

“We’ve probably hired three and soon to be four,” said Force Equipment Sales Manager Dave Nosal.

Why veterans? Dave says, ‘Why not hire veterans?’

“In terms of their level of commitment and loyalty that’s something that’s a little bit hard to find,” Nosal revealed. “And if you made it through the military, you’re willing to take responsibility and do whatever you need to do to get the job done.”

Major Talent has been a major win for veterans and businesses.

“We’re hearing from both sides that this is the missing link,” Den Hoed noted.

For Tim, this military mission is personal.

“It fills my cup to help people find jobs… knowing I’m on a mission to help others, I’m good,” Tim smiled.

Major Talent is free for veterans.

It not only helps those transitioning out of service, it also supports those who been out of the military for years and military spouses.

For more information, you can go to the Major Talent website.

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