The US added 235,000 jobs earlier this year and unemployment is down to 4.7%. Companies are hiring! Yet, as hiring managers and recruiters across the country seek to find talent, a highly untapped and ready workforce awaits employment. As of 2016, there were roughly 453,000 unemployed veterans in the U.S. These individuals are the beneficiaries of more than $130+ billion of investment in training, education, and skill building from the US government. Hiring former military personnel could be the best business decision a company (and a hiring manager) makes.
Veterans see their work as a career, not a job. To them, a job is the place you show up, perform work, and earn a wage for services. A career, on the other hand, is where you commit your whole self, build a foundation of skills, talents, and experience, and add value to the organization, the mission, and the team at every step. I’ve worked with hundreds of former and transitioning veterans to help them articulate their value proposition so hiring managers will be able to clearly see the benefit of engaging and hiring them. Similarly, I aid corporate recruiters and hiring teams in understanding the unique skills and attributes our former military bring to the workplace.
Here are some of the key reasons why hiring a veteran could be your best business decision yet:
*Problem solving – The military teaches its personnel to think beyond what they can see, touch, and smell. The training veterans received in service is the ultimate in problem solving – anticipate and prepare for anything or the consequences could be deadly. While most veterans will not face life and death problems in their next career, they are trained to think creatively and to not be deterred by obstacles. Where their civilian counterpart might stop in the face of a challenge, the veteran will persevere until a resolution is identified. For employers that seek independent thinkers, solution-oriented team leaders, and focused employees, veterans are the ideal candidate.
*Loyalty – When attrition accounts for a great deal of corporate revenue loss, and the costs to replace one employee are very high, having a workforce that is selective and then loyal is of high value. Veterans committed their lives to their former employee, risking it all and sacrificing much. They are taught that loyalty is admirable and that walking away from challenge is not an option. This makes them tremendous assets to organizations that seek leaders to help manage risk, high performing teams, and critical initiatives where loyalty and follow-through will produce valued results.
*Trainability – When an individual joins the military, typically at a young age, they do not enter with the training needed to perform at exceptional (and lifesaving) levels. Very quickly, are taught how to be an expert through the training, drills, real world situations, and those around them. When exiting the military, these same individuals are again trainable and capable of learning new skills, talents, and abilities. This is an advantage for a company seeking to fast track the onboarding and contribution of new employees.
*Credentials – After service, many veterans enter the job market with advanced credentials and clearances. For companies in industries where a background check or government security clearance – such as banking, information technology, and healthcare – are requirements, this is a direct cost savings.
*Adaptability – The military trains its personnel to survive in various rigorous and unpredictable environments. They are moved from location to location, often in foreign countries where rules and protocols do not exist. Military personnel are often in scenarios where they are outside the norms they understand, where everything from the language to the subtleties of cultural differences are foreign to them. The level of adaptability and survival skills necessary to stay focused on the mission and protect your assets and troops is extraordinary. This translates to adaptability on many levels in business – the veteran could be an ideal candidate for a position with vague goals and boundaries, where cross-functional objectives compete for resources, or where global pressures require quick responses, while keeping long term vision in mind.
*Family – When a service man or woman deploys, they say goodbye to the support system that gives them strength. While on tour, that service person learns to rely on a new family – those serving along side. The transition to a civilian career means reconnecting with family and integrating to a new world. To veterans, this is a natural time to bond with co-workers, other veteran employees, and their community, much like they learned to do when in service.
*Mentoring – The day a new recruit enters the military, they are met with a peer who walks them through the process – from where to get supplies, to what to expect in boot camp and where they should sit in the mess hall. Mentoring is a huge part of the military culture and veterans carry this belief with them after service. Companies seeking team leaders and employees who will enlist support for their goals and encourage other employees are smart to hire veterans.
You can teach skills, but you can’t teach character – our veterans learned exceptional character traits during their military service. These character traits make them desirable hires and businesses of all size can benefit enormously from investing in a platform to recruit, hire, and manage veteran talent.
