Military personnel and veterans who apply for jobs at TEP can find recruiters who can relate: Two are veterans themselves.
Jack Wolcott leads the team as Manager of Talent Acquisition and Jennifer North, a Talent Acquisition Specialist, heads up our military recruiting efforts. Both served in the U.S. Air Force.
“It creates an immediate connection,” said North, a recruiter for the past two years.
At TEP, more than 10 percent of our employees are veterans.
Wolcott gained broad experience over a 20-year career in the military, starting as an aircraft mechanic before moving on to cyber security. He ended his time with the Air Force as a recruiter, a role that also involved operations, training and compliance.
“When I began interviewing for a civilian job, people would ask, ‘You have experience in this, too?’ Anybody with a career like mine in the service, where you moved around and had a variety of different roles, you gain so much versatile experience,” Wolcott said. “I just didn’t realize how much until I became a civilian, and realized many of these things were second nature in the military, whether it was in your job description or not.”
As he was exiting through the military’s transition assistance program, Wolcott met a recruiter at TEP and was hired for Corporate Compliance. Earlier this year, Wolcott was promoted to the Manager of Talent Acquisition to lead the recruiting team.
North, a member of that team, joined the U.S. Air Force shortly after high school, following in her father’s footsteps. She served for about four years in active service, then signed up with the reserves for another four years.
After working as a Tucson Police Department officer, North joined TEP about 20 years ago, serving in the Government Relations department before moving on to Talent Acquisition.
In her role, North manages the SkillBridge program, which provides retiring and transitioning service members the opportunity to participate in internship training programs at the end of their military careers.
Since the SkillBridge program started in 2017, TEP has provided 77 SkillBridge internships. Forty participants have stayed on at TEP, either as permanent employees or contractors.
Beyond SkillBridge, TEP also looks for other opportunities to hire veterans. North said her background in the military is helpful when talking to prospective employees.
“When I’m at career fairs and I say I’m former Air Force, it forms a different bit of a relationship. It’s understanding the military lifestyle, both professionally and personally,” North said. “I can talk to vets about what to expect and the differences between civilian jobs and the military.”