Veterans are valuable human capital assets that every business should consider adding to their teams. A solid reputation and a strong brand can be the difference between a Veteran signing with your company or going with a competitor. To ensure that your Small and Medium Business (SMB) stands out as the best option for Veteran employment, it is important to determine what aspects of your brand would resonate well with Veterans and make that connection through focused marketing. To successfully implement a program for recruiting Military Veterans, SMBs need to organize their strategies in line with this mission. Recruiting Military Veterans requires a bit different focus than the usual process of attracting civilian talent. Doing this well can prove to be helpful for the organization and do wonders for the country.
Benefits to SMBs
Veterans can make a significant contribution to the Civilian workforce already employed with SMBs. Military Veterans are educated, disciplined, and detail-oriented professionals with strong work ethics. They are trained in both technical and leadership skills, which makes them suitable for a variety of jobs. SMBs need to portray themselves as Military-friendly to attract these highly qualified people. As per a survey of SMBs about Military Veterans:
- On average, 71 percent say that Veteran employees have a stronger work ethic than their Civilian counterparts
- On average, 70 percent say that Veteran employees have a stronger team orientation than their Civilian counterparts
- On seven of the ten general skills, Veteran employees were rated higher than Civilian employees by a majority of HR directors
7 Strategies for Recruiting Military Veterans
- Attracting the Right Talent: Posting positions on a company’s website should be the first step to recruiting Military Veterans. Attending job fairs is also the best way to find your target group. Various Military job boards can be used to post positions and find your right fit.
- Networking: The best way to fill open positions in your company is to network. You can start by asking your team members, especially Veterans who may already be on your staff, to check if they have any references to fit into the roles.
- Be a Brand Everyone Picks: Your company’s name should be known within the Military community. Veterans who work in your organization must be in the spotlight, and their work must be highlighted on social media. Also, companies’ websites should have a separate and dedicated section for Military Veterans.
- Job Advertisements with Veteran-Friendly Language: Rewriting your job postings using Military-friendly language may attract Military candidates. Make it simple for Veterans to identify how their skills and experiences apply to the position by writing job descriptions that narrate those skills. Ensure the job description clearly explains job responsibilities in detail, using language that helps Veterans understand job functions. Consider using Military classification codes in job postings.
- Sourcing through Military Resumes: A Veteran’s resume is different from a Civilian’s resume. Usually, the resume is complex, with a long list of ranks, job titles, and skills that are not known to hiring managers. It’s often difficult for a transitioning Veteran to parse their resume down to the ‘typical’ one or two pages, and recruiters often struggle to translate Military skills to Civilian job skills.
- Involve Currently Employed Veterans in the Recruitment Process: Veterans already working with your organization can be of great help in attracting and recruiting others. They can help HR write job descriptions for Veterans and translate skills on Veterans’ resumes. They can also assist Veterans through the application, recruitment, and onboarding process since they have already been through it.
- Position your Organization as Veteran-Friendly: SMBs need to position themselves as Veteran-friendly organizations by personalizing their hiring experience. Start by creating a career page dedicated to Veterans on the website. Showcase your commitment to Veteran hiring programs.
The Veteran hiring procedure has completely transformed over the past few years, and companies need to constantly adapt and change their hiring practices to match the changing needs of the Veteran talent pool. Veterans are highly skilled resources playing an essential role in SMBs. They are under-tapped resources in our society, and SMBs need to stand out in the crowd in chasing this talent.
Recruiting the right type of talent from the 2.6 million former Military services in the labor force can be challenging. iQuasar streamlines the hiring process and provides insight and access to talent otherwise hard to reach for most employers. iQuasar utilizes tools specifically meant for sourcing and finding talented Military experienced candidates. iQuasar has access to one of the most comprehensive and robust databases with a variety of Veteran resumes.
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