Veterans Day is a way for the United States to honor the women and men who have served in the Armed Forces and thank them for their service and sacrifice. To celebrate this national holiday, many employers recognize the veterans who work at their companies, and use this as an opportunity to promote their veteran hiring programs. But attracting and recruiting veteran talent isn’t something to think about on one day of the year! Smart employers are making a concerted effort year round to attract, engage and hire these former service members, who can bring so much to the workforce.
Here are just a few of the qualities that veterans possess thanks to their military training, which can benefit organizations in all industries:
- They are well-trained in a variety of fields that are applicable to civilian jobs today.
- They are focused on achieving the goal set in front of them.
- They can work effectively both in groups and independently.
- They know the true meaning of hard work to get the job done.
- They are disciplined and trained to follow the process, and can work extremely well under pressure.
When veterans make the decision to leave the military, many often aren’t sure how they can transition into civilian roles. This is why employers need to make it clear that former service members are an important part of the workforce and show veterans how they can apply their skills and experience to a fulfilling career going forward.
But competition is fierce! Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that for veterans who were active duty since September 11, 2001, the unemployment rate fell to 3.8% in 2018. That rate goes down even further to 3.5% when accounting for all veterans who were active duty during all service periods.
What does this mean for employers, and particularly for Recruitment Marketing and employer brand practitioners? It means you’ve got to do more to catch the attention of veterans who are looking for new opportunities! If they know how dedicated your company is to bringing on talented and skilled veterans, see how other veterans are thriving in your work environment and are given tools to find the right position, they will be some of your most eager candidates and eventually top employees.
Here are 4 examples from companies that put a year-round focus on hiring veterans.
1. Dell Technologies
Dell knows how valuable a military background can be for driving growth for the company. That’s why they created a dedicated landing page to demonstrate their veteran hiring initiative and help former service members see how they can make a contribution to the organization. This page offers content to help veterans learn more and to conduct an easy search to see which positions are currently available.
A veterans careers page helps showcase Dell’s valuable hiring initiative.
On this landing page are a variety of features and content that showcase the company’s veteran hiring efforts. One of the most interesting aspects is Dell’s display of their “Best for Vets Employers” award given to them by Military Times. This accolade placed prominently on this landing page communicates to veterans right away that the company works hard to provide rewarding career opportunities for them.
Displaying veteran hiring awards shows candidates Dell’s commitment.
To learn more about Dell’s strategy for veteran hiring, download our case study 4 Proven Tactics to Attract Veterans that the company uses to boost their efforts.
2. Booz Allen Hamilton
The management and IT consulting firm is aware that one of their best tools for attracting veterans is tapping into their current employees who have also served in the military. Employee testimonials are a key feature for the company, and they make use of them on several channels.
Veteran candidates get to hear directly from those who know Booz Allen Hamilton the best – their current veteran employees.
On their veterans and military careers page, Booz Allen Hamilton includes several employee testimonial videos featuring insight from their veteran team members and military spouses speaking about the ways that the company helps to support them. For example, one employee was deployed during his time at Booz Allen Hamilton, and while he was away, the company continued to provide benefits for his family. They even brought him back on after his service abroad was over!
But employee testimonials aren’t just limited to the careers pages. Booz Allen Hamilton makes sure to share veteran employee content to spread awareness for those service member candidates looking for their next career fit.
Highlighting the military and career experience of Booz Allen Hamilton employees shows candidates the opportunities they can have at the company.
Sharing employee stories on social media creates a wider reach and puts the company right in front of veteran candidates who may be researching potential employers online. The post above used the hashtag #HireAVeteranDay to further expand their profile. From this post, job seekers are then brought to the company’s blog to find more in-depth information about the careers opportunities they afford.
To learn about additional strategies you can use to hire veterans, check out our blog 7 Ways to Get Your Employer Brand in Front of Veteran and Military Hires.
3. Walgreens
Many companies have established veteran and military hiring programs much like Walgreens’ Helping Veterans with Educational and Retail Opportunities (HERO) initiative. To generate awareness around their program and get it in front of veteran candidates, the company makes strides to spread the word about HERO.
Getting the word out about their veteran hiring program helps Walgreens attract qualified candidates.
Walgreens made a commitment to hire 5,000 veteran employees in the coming years and developed a press release to announce their initiative. But they didn’t stop there. They knew their careers site wasn’t the main channel job seekers were looking at, so they took to social media to amplify their message even more.
4. Boeing
Boeing has something in common with veteran and military members: They all work to help keep the country safe. So it’s no surprise that one of the country’s top defense contractors knows the value that veteran employees can provide, as well as how daunting it can sometimes be to re-enter the workforce after serving in the military.
That’s why Boeing makes it easy for veteran candidates to find which jobs are best suited to their skill sets. On their veterans careers page, they provide a Military Skills Translator feature for interested job seekers.
Boeing provides the ease for veterans to apply right on their careers page.
This is of significant help to former service members who aren’t quite sure which of their skills can be applied to roles within the company. By typing in their military job or code, veterans are presented with a list of relevant opportunities that are aligned with their experience and backgrounds. They don’t need to sift through positions they aren’t qualified for and can instead focus on finding that right-fit role.
Veteran candidates can easily find the right-fit roles at Boeing for their skill sets.
Our veterans did and still do the brave job of protecting our country, and now they can apply their skills and experience to drive growth, innovation and results for your company. Giving former service members the content and tools they need to understand how their military training, skills and experience can translate to civilian jobs is a surefire way to attract talented veterans and help them find a fulfilling career with you.