Companies who have “cracked the code” on finding and hiring quality military candidates know that it requires a customized recruiting plan, a trained support team, and a relevant set of metrics to measure success.
Below you will find some quick tips directly from our latest publication, Building an Inclusive Talent Strategy: A Guide, on how to level up your military recruitment strategy, whether you’re looking to increase military candidates or retain employees who are veterans.
Bring in a Veteran to advise you on your military recruiting plan. Their intimate knowledge of the workings of the commercial- and government-run veteran’s placement programs can save you significant time and effort in determining the most appropriate methods for finding and attracting candidates.
Hire recruiters who have experience in placing veterans. Recruiters who have experience with placing military candidates are better able to translate resumes written in “military-ese” and can influence hiring managers to consider the resumes.
Flag veteran-submitted resumes for focused consideration by your trained team. Consider asking the service member to submit the resume using a designated code word (like “military experience”) so that it is easier to locate in your recruiting application.
Provide an overview of military careers to your recruiting staff and hiring managers. The better they understand and realize the unique capabilities of the military applicant, the easier it will be for them to see how the service member’s knowledge, skills, and aptitudes map to your requirements and business needs.
Dedicate a portion of your annual recruiting budget specifically to military recruiting. There are career fairs, job boards, placement firms, and publications that specifically serve the transitioning veteran. These mediums are the ones that service members tend to utilize first, if not exclusively, when conducting a job hunt.
Search your state employment website to find your local Veteran’s office’s employment representative (LVER). LVER’s are charged with assisting veterans in finding employment, and can help you with posting job positions.
Utilize an online military-to-civilian translator. This tool can help you decipher job occupations listed on a military resume and determine if the candidate has relevant experience for the job under consideration.
Establish partnerships with service-run recruiting programs. These programs match employers with initial-entry recruits who agree to study and work in high-demand skills while serving their enlistment. At the end of the enlistment (which can be as few as 2 years in length), the company gets “first dibs” to interview the service member and offer them a job.
Add veteran outreach programs to your community service initiative. Your company participates in community relations not just to build goodwill, but to market the company. Partnering/sponsoring veteran outreach programs will gain your company general exposure in the military community and opportunities to “soft-sell” military volun- teers and attendees who may be unfamiliar with your organization.
Establish an apprenticeship or management trainee program. These types of programs allow you to “test drive” candidates who show high potential, but who may not have all of the technical/functional skills needed to perform the job.
Offer “training with industry” internships as part of a military program. These are typically two-year programs offered to active military members who are required to develop special skills that are scarce in the military workforce. The military provides the service member’s normal pay and benefits during the internship. Once the internship ends, the service member returns to the military to apply their new knowledge. The “win” for you is that they retain a favorable impression of your company and the role they may play in it in the future.
Apply for formal recognition as an employer that is supportive of the military. Some organizations require you to sign a pledge to offer certain benefits and take certain actions; others have metrics (such as number of vets hired) that must be met and evaluated.
ABOUT THE VALUE OF A VETERAN
The Value Of a Veteran is a woman-, veteran- and minority-owned small business that provides human resources consulting and training for organizations that are seeking to improve support, recruitment and retention of military veterans.
For more information visit the website at https://thevalueofaveteran.com/.
