Transitioning from military service to civilian life is a significant mission. Just like preparing for any operation, you need the right tools, information, and team to succeed in your career transition. Is your post-military career strategy as well-prepared as you were for your service?
The Distinctiveness of FourBlock
FourBlock is at the forefront of veteran transition and career readiness, forging a powerful nationwide network connecting veterans and employers. Our mission is to empower returning service members to achieve fulfilling careers after their military service. We create direct engagement opportunities between veterans and employers, fostering conversations about career paths, mutual learning, and the development of valuable professional relationships.
Regardless of location, transitioning service members and veterans can tap into the FourBlock community. This access provides invaluable resources for mastering career transition best practices, exploring diverse career opportunities, and cultivating personalized professional networks.
Discover upcoming program dates for both our location-based and virtual regional programs.
Our Comprehensive Program
FourBlock’s Career Readiness Program is meticulously crafted to provide transitioning service members and veterans with essential resources. We equip them with the professional knowledge and connections necessary for a successful transition into meaningful civilian careers. Through strategic partnerships with leading companies nationwide and in collaboration with Columbia University, we deliver a world-class career transition program.
Each week, program participants engage with employer representatives from various prominent companies and industries. These interactions provide insights into corporate culture, cultivate crucial technical competencies for effective job searching, and, most importantly, facilitate access to a network of both veteran and civilian professionals for relationship building.
Offered biannually in major metropolitan areas across the nation during the fall and spring semesters, our Career Readiness Program is provided at no cost to veterans. The program is led by experienced Career Readiness Instructors and guest speakers—industry professionals and executives from leading organizations. This structure ensures participants actively build their professional networks and gain current insights into hiring practices. Furthermore, our curriculum is continuously updated annually to reflect the latest advancements in career development and learning methodologies.
Throughout the program, participants receive personalized support from volunteer Veteran Career Readiness Coaches. These dedicated coaches—FourBlock alumni, company representatives, and veteran advocates—offer constructive feedback, address individual transition and career queries, and assist in developing tailored career search strategies and plans.
Upon program completion, FourBlock alumni emerge with a concrete, actionable plan to advance their career search. They possess enhanced skills in articulating their military experience, a deeper understanding of corporate environments, and a robust and expanding professional network. All FourBlock alumni are offered ongoing support, including continued career counseling and access to our nationwide networking and professional development events, both virtual and in-person.
FourBlock has created a comprehensive transition program that is engaging, insightful, and effective. They are essential for veterans seeking new career opportunities.
Michael Burten, FourBlock Alumni, Columbia University
The FourBlock Experience: Building Relationships
Relationship building is the cornerstone of the FourBlock program. We strategically connect veterans with employers to foster mutual learning, initiate professional relationships, and explore career opportunities. Each session is designed to facilitate meaningful conversations between participants and corporate representatives. Our curriculum is specifically structured to prepare each participant for these critical relationship-building interactions and subsequent networking opportunities.
Beyond the program duration, our team remains committed to supporting alumni as they pursue purposeful civilian careers. FourBlock alumni are encouraged to actively participate in our community in various capacities, such as becoming Career Readiness Instructors, volunteer Career Readiness Coaches, employer panel members, or by hiring from future veteran cohorts.
Other programs just seem to repeat the same information but FourBlock contains a vast array of information designed to better market yourself to employers.
Evan Barker, FourBlock Alumni, NYC Emergency Mgmt Dept
Our Curriculum: Evidence-Based and Effective
Developed in partnership with Columbia University, our curriculum is a robust and evidence-based professional development program. We utilize a blended learning model, incorporating pre-session reflections, online engagement, and practical, face-to-face application (both in-person and virtually). Throughout the semester, participants engage in lessons designed to deepen their personal and professional understanding as they transition from military service or higher education into the civilian workforce.
Integrating Experiential Learning and Community of Inquiry theories, our methods are designed for maximum impact. Lessons and assignments are delivered asynchronously through our innovative online platform, FourBlock Connect. Synchronous course sessions, led by instructors and featuring employer panels and practical exercises, are conducted in person or virtually.
Participants are expected to complete weekly assignments and engage in online discussions with instructors and peers prior to each session. Each session features presentations from executives of leading companies and industries within the program location. This allows participants to learn directly from current industry leaders about the real-world application of the week’s lesson.
Furthermore, exposure to diverse companies, industries, and guest lecturers enables program participants to discover potential career paths they may not have previously considered. Each session includes dedicated time for relationship building and practical application – including guided discussions, resume reviews, mock interviews, and general networking – all facilitated by professionals from the host company.
Learning Objectives: Skills for Civilian Success
Veterans who complete our program will gain the ability to:
- Embody FourBlock’s Core Values: Demonstrate humility, build trust, and engage strategically.
- Translate Military Skills: Effectively communicate their skills and experiences in targeted resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and during interviews and networking events.
- Professional Interaction: Interact confidently and professionally in any business setting.
- Self-Awareness and Career Direction: Develop a clearer understanding of their strengths, priorities, career aspirations, and continued service in civilian roles.
- Network Development: Build, expand, and leverage a robust professional network.
- Career Exploration: Discover and explore new career paths, industries, and companies.
- Values Alignment: Understand the alignment between their personal values and corporate cultures.
Moreover, our alumni will have had the opportunity to:
- Explore Hidden Opportunities: Uncover new industries, companies, and careers that align with their skills, attributes, and interests.
- Targeted Company List: Create a working list of at least fifteen target companies for internships and full-time positions.
- Professional Network Expansion: Establish and expand their professional network within their current or desired location and through the national FourBlock community.
FourBlock puts veterans in front of the right people and is designed to give veterans willing to put forth the extra effort an opportunity.
Chase Magann, FourBlock Alumni, Auburn University
Our Corporate Partners: Integrating Industry Leaders
Our corporate partners are integral throughout the entire FourBlock program. This deep integration empowers our students to make informed career decisions and strengthens the veteran hiring pipelines for our partner organizations. Each week, cohorts visit different host companies across their city, gaining firsthand exposure to real-world corporate learning environments. Senior executives and veteran employees from our partner companies lead both large and small group discussions, offering participants invaluable insights from today’s leaders and demonstrating the practical relevance of each week’s lesson.
Exposure to these leading companies and guest presenters enables participants to build and expand their professional networks, gain deeper insights into corporate culture and executive leadership, and discover career paths within industries they may have previously overlooked. Dedicated time within each session is allocated to practical application, such as networking, resume reviews, and mock interviews, all facilitated by professionals from the host company.
We partner with over 60 top companies across the nation, creating significant career opportunities for our veterans and establishing a robust pipeline connecting veterans with leading employers.
FourBlock is our competitive advantage.
Dan Baulig, Senior Vice President, Marsh Global
Career Readiness Instructors: Expert Guidance
Our Career Readiness Instructors and guest speakers are highly accomplished professionals and senior executives from some of the world’s most respected companies.
The FourBlock Career Readiness Instructor is a key frontline team member and direct service instructor for the FourBlock Veteran Career Readiness Program. Instructors collaborate closely with the FourBlock Regional Director, Career Readiness Coaches, local employer partners, and veteran service organizations to effectively deliver our comprehensive Career Readiness Program curriculum to cohorts of transitioning service members and veterans.
Thank you FourBlock for giving me these opportunities. The engagements we had were like no other classes I have taken before.
Lyon Henry, FourBlock Alumni, Amazon
Our Veterans: Diverse and Driven
Our cohorts comprise Post-9/11 veterans from all branches of the U.S. military. Participants include both enlisted service members and officers, primarily with four to six years of service in combat arms, intelligence, logistics, and IT specialties.
FourBlock veterans typically demonstrate above-average academic achievement, often in their junior year of undergraduate studies or the first year of graduate programs. They choose FourBlock as a crucial partner in their professional career development.
Our typical cohort is approximately 75% former enlisted and 25% former officers. The majority are pursuing bachelor’s or MBA degrees. Roughly 60% of our veterans are interested in careers in finance, international affairs, and consulting, with others focused on accounting, cybersecurity, engineering, intelligence, IT, journalism, and marketing.
Our veterans come from top universities across the country, including Columbia University, Fordham University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Northeastern University, NYU, UC Berkeley, US Military Academy, US Naval Academy, and many more prestigious institutions.
The impact of FourBlock is evident. Their program helps better prepare veterans to be leaders at every level in the respective industries they chose to join.
Michael Donoghue, Partner, PwC
Our Proven Results: Impacting Careers and Companies
As we celebrate over 13 years of dedicated service, we are continually seeking innovative ways to expand our impact and assist more service members and veterans in successfully transitioning to meaningful civilian careers. The outcomes of our programs are clear: Veterans make more informed career choices, and employers make more effective hiring decisions. Together, we are enhancing the military transition process.
FourBlock Alumni Report*
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FourBlock is Impacting the Workforce: An impressive 87% of our veteran alumni, eligible for civilian employment, secured meaningful careers within six months of program completion.* Furthermore, 84% maintain their initial post-military employment for at least 12 months,* significantly exceeding the national average retention rate of just 57% for veterans in their first civilian job after military service. **
Additionally, 74% of our alumni report feeling “extremely confident” in finding meaning and purpose in their post-military careers, a remarkable 95% increase from pre-program assessments.*
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FourBlock Enhances Corporate Understanding of Veterans: An overwhelming 99% of our host companies affirm that FourBlock provides a meaningful avenue for community contribution. 95% of employee participants agree or strongly agree that their FourBlock experience deepened their understanding of the military community and the valuable assets military skills bring to their organizations.
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FourBlock Delivers Proven Results: More than 4,000 veterans have successfully completed our Career Readiness Program and transitioned into fulfilling civilian careers. FourBlock alumni have been hired for internships and full-time positions at over 500 companies worldwide upon program completion.
Notably, three of our partner companies have hired more than 30 FourBlock veterans each. Our alumni have received full-time and internship offers from leading organizations such as PwC, T-Mobile, Wells Fargo, LinkedIn, Boeing, ADP, and USAA, among many others.
* Based on Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 pre- and post-assessment survey data ** IVMF and Syracuse University study
