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✅ Today's Checklist:
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Why veterans are the hiring pool employers keep missing
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Cameron’s oral hygiene routine
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Recipe of the week: Turkey-White Bean Chili
🤔 Trivia: Veterans Day lands on Nov 11 because WWI fighting stopped at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. What was the holiday originally called? Find out.
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The Veterans Your Hiring Process Keeps Filtering Out
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Last Veterans Day, I wrote about how veteran candidates get overlooked in hiring, a topic I cover through my work at SkillsScoop. A year later, the numbers have moved, so it's worth another look.
What's changed this year
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The job market cooled. Unemployment for post-9/11 veterans jumped from 3.5% to 4.1% in September.
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Federal cuts landed on veterans. Veterans hold about a quarter of federal civilian jobs, and in a 2025 Harris Poll for Indeed, 73% of veterans affected by the cuts said they feel underemployed.
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A hiring incentive went away. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, worth up to $9,600 for some veteran hires, expired Dec. 31, 2025, and Congress hasn't renewed it.
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Military spouses are feeling it too. Nearly 3 in 10 who are looking for work can't find it.
Roughly two thirds of veterans still believe they're underemployed after leaving the service, including many of the country's 2.1 million women veterans. A veteran might have run logistics for hundreds of people, made high-stakes calls on no sleep and led a team through things she legally can't talk about. On a resume for an operations coordinator role, most of that reads like a string of acronyms, so it gets filtered out.
Good news: a lot of this is fixable, whether you hire or not.
If you hire (or work in HR)
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Read the resume with a translator open. CareerOneStop's Military Translator and O*NET's crosswalk decode military job codes.
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Check your filters. If your applicant system screens for degrees or exact job titles, a qualified veteran may never reach a human. Try a skills-based screen on your next open role.
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Look into SkillBridge. DOD SkillBridge lets service members train with your team before they separate, while they're still on military pay.
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Recruit where they are. Hiring Our Heroes events connect employers with veterans and military spouses, and the DOL's employer guide covers the rest.
If you don't
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Offer a resume swap. Thirty minutes helping a veteran or military spouse put their experience in your industry's language goes a long way.
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Make the intro. A referral gets a resume past the filters. Try: "I know someone who ran logistics in the Army and would be great for your ops role. Mind if I connect you?"
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Share the free help. Hire Heroes USA offers free career coaching for veterans and military spouses, and VetPass turns military training into credentials employers recognize.
They served their country, and a resume review or a warm intro is an easy way to say thanks.
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For the Person Who Always Asks for More Photos
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Your mom wants the latest photos. Your dad still has the same three on the fridge. And the family group chat moves a little too fast to enjoy them all.
An Aura digital frame gives those photos and videos a place in their everyday life. Send them straight from your phone, and invite siblings, cousins, and friends to share theirs, too. The birthday candles, the weekend trip, the dog doing something ridiculous. New reasons to smile, even when you can’t be there in person.
It’s easy to make the gift feel personal before they open it: add photos and a message in advance, so there’s already something just for them when they connect their frame to WiFi.
A few more reasons to put it on your list:
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Free unlimited photo and video storage, with no subscription fees.
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Easy sharing by text, Google Photos, the Aura Frames app, and more.
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Thoughtful designs that feel at home in their space.
You give the frame once. And keep them smiling long after.
👉 Find their frame.
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Oral Hygiene 101, From Someone Slightly Obsessed
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I'll admit it: I take teeth seriously. My next cleaning is booked before I leave the chair, and I floss like it's part of my job description. So I went looking for the science behind my habits. Most of them held up, and a couple got a tune-up.
The daily basics
Brush twice a day for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste. That's the ADA's baseline, and fluoride does the heavy lifting. Check your label for ppm, since a Cochrane review found toothpaste clearly protected kids' teeth only at 1,000 ppm and above. Then spit and skip the water rinse so the fluoride sticks around. That tip comes from UK health guidance, and the ADA hasn't weighed in.
Clean between your teeth once a day, too. Floss, tiny brushes, a water flosser, whatever you'll actually use. The ADA says the best method is the one you do consistently, and the evidence for floss itself is modest, so switch tools without guilt.
The upgrades I love
A tongue scraper is my favorite small purchase. A Cochrane review found scrapers beat a toothbrush by a small margin, which makes it a cheap bonus. Mouthwash is a bonus too. Therapeutic rinses add to brushing and flossing, so look for the ADA Seal.
I swap my brush head monthly, though the ADA's window is every three to four months. And keep your dentist date. For adults, six-month and risk-based schedules gave similar results, so ask yours which interval fits you.
Three things most people miss
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Chewing sugar-free gum for 20 minutes after a meal boosts saliva, which helps wash away acids and food.
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Gums that bleed when you brush are an early sign of gum disease. Mention it at your next visit.
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Over 40% of adults ages 20 to 64 who smoke have untreated cavities, versus about 20% of those who never did, says the CDC.
Why it's worth the effort
A recent American Heart Association statement ties gum disease to higher risk of heart attack and stroke, though cause and effect isn't confirmed. The ADA estimates you spend about two hours a year in the dentist's chair and around 30 at your own sink. The sink does most of the work.
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The Holiday Gift List That Covers Clients, Team and VIPs
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If you're the one thanking employees, clients, investors and VIP customers this year, the holiday gift list probably landed on your desk weeks ago.
MOO's curated corporate holiday collection puts premium branded merch and print in one place, with brands people actually use: Stanley tumblers, Owala and CamelBak bottles, Fellow coffee gear, plus MOO's own notebooks, stickers and pens. Everything is picked to pair, so building a cohesive, on-brand bundle takes minutes and the budget stays put.
Add your holiday cards and party invitations to the same order and December gets one less checkout. Build team gifts people will use, elevated client thank-yous or tiered bundles by budget.
👉 Shop MOO's holiday collection.
P.S. New customers save 25% on print and 20% on MOO-branded merch on orders of $75+ with code SQ8C87.
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Stuff We’re Loving This Week
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🍽️ Planning the holiday team lunch? Uber for Business lets you set meal allowances and order from local restaurants on one account.
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