If you want to experience the numerous benefits that military veterans provide to your organization, it starts with finding the right veterans to hire.
From tax advantages, to unrivaled diversity, leadership, excellent work ethic, mission focus, and much more, veterans can help evolve and improve your organization no matter which type of role you are hiring for.
These 5 quick tips, tricks, and resources can help your firm employ more veterans. However, if you are not experienced with veteran hiring, it often is sensible to work with an experienced talent sourcing partner like TangoAlpha3 that can facilitate the process and develop a customized veteran hiring program for your specific needs.
Below are 5 tips for finding quality veterans that fit with your organization and mission:
#1 – Do Your Homework
First, spend some time understanding the kind of skill sets the military develops and how they might translate to your business and the requirements for the open positions you have.
Even simply speaking briefly with a veteran talent firm like TangoAlpha3 can go a long way in helping you understand the types of jobs that veterans would be best suited for, and then you can start to develop a transition strategy from military skills to job skills.
You might delve into the various functions that different occupations at your firm fulfill, training they receive, and other requirements to help you hone your veteran recruitment strategy and decide which types of events to go to, where to post your jobs, how to structure them, who in the military to target etc.
And when you speak to your veteran employees about filling open roles with other veterans as we will recommend next, you will have more context for their feedback/input.
#2 – Rely on your existing veteran employees
Hopefully you have at least one employee or contractor with military experience – this is invaluable when it comes to helping other veterans transition to your company.
They have experienced what it’s like to go from the military to your organization and know better than anyone what type of additional support, training and transitional needs that your new veteran hires will require.
Find out what their biggest priorities, interests and obstacles were when they joined your company and consider those when you’re bringing new veterans in. It can even be beneficial if they can contribute to the hiring or training process in some way, especially for those who are transitioning into their first civilian job.
#3 – Structure your job descriptions to attract veterans
It helps to clearly communicate or summarize the mission, vision and values of your organization in your job statement – these matter to military veterans.
They often enjoy working for organizations with a clear mission, vision for future progress and outlined ethical standards that govern everything they do. They also like having upward mobility and the opportunity to work with a firm with long-term growth and potential and rewards and recognition for performance.
They appreciate when managers are committed to upholding the company’s overall mission along with the specific objectives of their job. Outline how you envision your new veteran hires contributing to your organization and which skill sets are transferable to the position. Consider the typical skills that veterans have and communicate how those skills fit well within your organization and the role.
#4 – Develop a Veteran Outreach Strategy
Begin working on developing a veteran outreach strategy if you haven’t already, or build your current strategy out more. Engaging with veterans and establishing relationships with the military will help you build a talent pipeline and expose your company’s brand to a greater number of veterans.
Part of your outreach program may include building relationships with the transition assistance programs (TAPs) located at nearby military installations. Learn more about Transition Assistance Programs and contact your local military installation to get more details about their specific programs.
Create new resources within your organization for interested veterans, such as articles about onboarding for veterans, key areas to consider during their transition to your firm, and tips and strategies for getting noticed by your hiring managers.
Another way to expand your outreach strategy is to attend more veteran hiring fairs and events.
Although physical events have been more limited recently, virtual hiring events continue and can provide you the opportunity to advertise some of the top roles you wish to hire veterans for, promote your brand and get a possible quick influx of applications.
At minimum you’ll get great experience about the types of questions veterans will have for your organization and initiate the process of ongoing engagement which leads to well-fitting hires.
Also make sure sure that you are advertising consistently on some of the most popular veteran hiring boards and websites to get a steady stream of veteran resumes.
These can be an excellent resource to getting your veteran hiring program started along with establishing your brand and name recognition among veterans:
A quick list of leading military job boards:
- Department of Labor
- Military.com
- Hiring Our Heroes
- CareerOneStop
- National Labor Exchange
- FedsHireVets
- RecruitMilitary
Of course the work does not end here, but the effort you put into job promotion and engagement on these job boards will go a long way in building your brand among veterans.
#5 – Work with a veteran talent acquisition firm
Hiring military veterans comes with numerous unique advantages as well as unique needs such as facilitating a smooth transition from the military to a civilian role, translating the military skill set to your particular job requirements, training and onboarding, compliance for tax credits and more.
It can significantly speed the process up when you choose to work with a specialized veteran talent acquisition firm like TangoAlpha3. We have decades of combined experience efficiently filling several different types of positions with highly skilled and talented military veterans from our constantly updated and tagged talent pool.
With a long-term commitment to building relationships with our veteran talent and our clients, we develop an in-depth understanding of the unique needs and culture of your organization and then pinpoint the potential hires that will excel in your organization.
You can significantly speed the process up, overcome the learning curve, and enjoy the tax benefits, diversity and skillset advantages that military veterans provide. Whether you are in IT, government, healthcare or other industries, TangoAlpha3 can get a highly productive veteran hiring program off the ground no matter what your experience with veteran hiring is.
Contact TangoAlpha3 today for a free consultation to learn more about how we can help you develop a productive and efficient veteran hiring program that can provide your organization with tax incentives, a committed, talented and diverse workforce, and new growth potential.
Newsletter Signup
Subscribe to our email newsletter and keep up with all things TA3!
