Veterans Employment Rep at PA Department of Labor and Industry
Former Soldier helps Pennsylvania veterans find jobs.
By Warren Duffie

Greg Shirk, a veterans employment representative for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, was manning a booth at a job fair. A Vietnam veteran approached him about help finding work. A former Kmart inventory manager, the veteran had been laid off a few months before, searched fruitlessly for work and desperately needed a pay check.

Eager to help a fellow Soldier, Shirk sprang into action. He helped the veteran type up a résumé, posted it online and booked him for Thursday job-search sessions.

“After a month and a half, we hit pay dirt,” said Shirk, a 20-year Army veteran. “We helped him find a great job with Big Lots for more money than he was making before. It was a great feeling.”

On the Job
Shirk has felt that exhilarating high many times – finding employment for more than 150 brothers and sisters in uniform since early 2008. He’s based at a CareerLink office in Adams County, a rural area spanning Gettysburg and parts of neighboring York County.

CareerLink is an initiative combining the services of Pennsylvania’s labor, public welfare and vocational rehabilitation departments. It’s a one-stop resource for job seekers, employers needing workers and agencies compiling employment data. CareerLink offices are scattered throughout the state, and each has at least one veterans employment outreach specialist or Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialist.

Shirk, 45, helps veterans create effective résumés and look for jobs, and answers questions about disability benefits, unemployment assistance and workers compensation. He also performs community outreach, visiting local businesses to tout the virtues of the national Hire Vets First program.

“I normally meet with eight to 10 veterans a day,” said the former sergeant first class. “About 40 percent of them are service-disabled. Most of them are veterans of the Vietnam and first Gulf wars, and have been laid off or want to pursue different careers.

“When they see me, I sit down with them, discuss their skills and what they did during and after their military service, and what their future goals are,” he continued. “I then help them register with our website and place their résumés for employers to see. Many come several times each week to look for jobs.”

In the Army, Shirk worked in human resources and recruiting. While this experience plays a major role in his daily civilian work, the skills he developed as an Airborne infantryman are also crucial – specifically, tenacity and a commitment to a broad mission.

“True leadership is about never giving up, even when you’re frustrated,” said Shirk. “A lot of the veterans I see are frustrated and depressed, so I do my best to uplift them and get them excited about their future. I remind them that they had to be tough in the military and that toughness will help them now.”

In Uniform
The military provided Shirk with an exciting alternative to a tough spot in his own life. In 1986 the Hershey, Pa., native was an underachieving, dissatisfied college student. After watching an Army television commercial encouraging him to “be all that he could be” Shirk visited a recruiter and enlisted. After boot camp at Fort Knox, he attended human resources school at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind. During his career, Shirk served in Washington, Korea, North Carolina, Hawaii, Virginia, Maine, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

Shirk finished his 20 years in uniform with a successful stint as a recruiter. But working 12-hour days, six days a week strained his marriage. He decided to retire. He attended transition classes and circulated his résumé to friends and colleagues already in the civilian work force.

Transition Out
Shirk landed a job with Serco Inc., a contracting firm serving the Army Reserve Family Program in New Cumberland, Pa. He worked as a laision with the families of deployed Reservists, checking on them and answering questions about their military benefits.

“It was a very rewarding job,” said Shirk. “I remember I spoke to a lady in South Dakota who was snowed in. I contacted a local VFW post and they sent out guys with shovels to help her.”

While he enjoyed his work, Shirk wanted to work in the civil service. One day, while scouring a job site, he saw a listing with the state Department of Labor & Industry. He applied and was hired for his current job.

“I was a little scared to work with civilians,” he admitted. It was a smooth transition, though. I make less money than I did in the Army, but I have my military pension, so that balances things out. My quality of life is also less stressful than when I was recruiting. I don’t have to work weekends and I can have dinner with my wife every night. It’s really nice.”