Atlanta Living category interest

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Romaine Byrd knows the pain of making a career change.

Byrd spent two decades in the Army and is one of the nearly 200,000 U.S. servicemembers who are discharged from the military each year.

“I went into this thing thinking everyone is going to want me because I’m a veteran. That just wasn’t the case,” Byrd said. “I feel the military does a great job teaching you how to fight and win wars, but they do a terrible job teaching you how to transition out,” he said.

When he struggled to find a job after his service, he turned to Hire Heroes USA, a nonprofit in Alpharetta that works with veterans and their families to find careers after military service.

“We teach you how to use a resume effectively in your job search, teach you how to job search, and then work with you every step of the way,” said Elena Comperatore, the Director of Client Service Delivery at Hire Heroes USA.

Hire Heroes USA does not do job placement. It sets a path for veterans to get the job they want, an important lifeline for transitioning servicemembers. The organization works with veterans nationwide, mostly in a virtual setting, and is approaching a major milestone.

“We are set to hit our 100,000th [veteran] in the August-September timeframe,” Comperatore said.

Danielle Harris has a similar story. After her 20 year stint in the Army, she found it challenging to transition to civilian life.

“I’m used to this way of working,” she said. “I’m used to this type of battle rhythm, and now you have to you have to get used to almost a different world.”

Both Byrd and Harris are happily employed with Hire Heroes USA, helping the growing needs of veterans.

“We always have more people asking for our services than we have the capacity to help,” Comperatore said.