Disciplined military veterans can be promising resources and valuable human capital assets for any enterprise. In large part, they have already acquired a significant portion of soft skills that most corporate recruiters are looking for, whether in administrative roles or management jobs over their term of service. As such, businesses should be actively recruiting military hires and encouraging them to develop meaningful careers within their organizations. It may be prudent to develop more veteran-friendly hiring strategies in order to properly market your business.
Creating Relevant Hiring Strategies for Military Skills
Combat and weapons training is a small portion of the skills vets attain over time. Depending on their role in the military (NCOs, officers, or enlisted personnel), veterans might also be skilled in the repair and installation of machinery, manpower management, recruitment, logistics, and supply chain management. However, it can be a monumental challenge for most veterans to transition their military experience to civilian jobs after retirement. One in four military veterans claims that it was ‘somewhat difficult for them to transition smoothly to a civilian way of life; a whopping 16% claim that it was extremely challenging.
The onus for bridging this gap usually falls on recruiters and business managers – those individuals who are responsible for onboarding veteran and ex-military personnel into their organizations.
How can recruiters and principal decision-makers develop a military-friendly outlook for their company and its hiring practices? Here are some important tips.
1: Clear Vision and Mission Statements
If an organization understands how important veterans and their skills can be for the business, their hiring strategies also should reflect this approach. A good way to visibly portray inclusivity is on the company website. The career page, for example, should include a clear mission statement that speaks of inclusivity and diversity in their prospective hires, with specific attention paid to military veterans. Veterans are more likely to respond to enterprises that seem welcoming and want to build teams from different backgrounds, opinions, skills, and experiences. They should feel like they belong to fully capitalize on their acquired acumen, unique experiences, and passion.
2: Veteran-Friendly Language and Policies
Business development executives and hiring managers should formulate comprehensive policies for equal opportunity employment. Moreover, partnering with a veteran staffing agency also ensures that all stakeholders are committed to a focus on diversified hiring.
Keep in mind that an ex-military candidate might have a more diverse (or specific) resume when compared to a civilian or experienced corporate candidate. This might involve the use of military classification codes. This should not be a deterrent to consideration, as relevant military skills transfer effectively into many niche civilian roles.
3: Supporting Veteran Families
Hiring competent military community members also presents the opportunity to incorporate military family members into the company culture. Military spouses in particular are a significantly underutilized resource market. Leveraging these assets encourages businesses to grow and form much more cohesive and cross-functional teams. Such outreach can also serve as a talent pool that sees less aggressive employment competition than comparable civilian ones. Most spouses of former military personnel have diverse and wide-ranging exposure to constantly altering and challenging circumstances, are independent and fast learners, and can adapt even in difficult situations to outperform other prospective hires.
In addition, wholesale support of veteran families may prove a valuable way to boost a candidate’s self-worth, confidence, and motivation. Businesses might also take a look at offering tax and income consultations, medical and wellness coaching, education and career guidance, and offer wide-ranging tools for career progression.
4: Post-Military Career Success Stories
Posting veteran employee stories and progressive growth roadmaps of vets currently employed as part of the workforce can help a business clearly communicate its veteran-centric outlook. This strategy might also prove a valuable competitive advantage when onboarding new candidates with military backgrounds.
Once a pool of veterans has been brought on board, an organization can further demonstrate its vision and mission for recruiting ex-military personnel by integrating its newest employees into the recruitment process. Real-life testimonials from fellow brothers and sisters-in-arms can have a lasting impact on the extended military community, far more than can a civilian recruiter without the shared experience. Moreover, their involvement in the recruitment process can ensure that the organization is attracting the right candidates, developing correct job descriptions, translating vet resumes accurately for relevant civilian jobs, and creating a vet-friendly organizational culture.