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Jason Redman: A Veteran's Perspective

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By Kathleen Smith
Jason Redman is a keynote speaker on the second day of the CyberMaryland 2014 conference. Jason is a U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant (retired), Founder of SOF Spoken Speaking company, author of “The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy Seal Leader” and CEO and Founder of Wounded Wear.

I feel really thankful. When you come close to the other side it makes you very reflective. At least it did for me. That really caused me to dig deep at who I was and what it was to lead, strengths, and weaknesses. For me to have such positive feedback from other people out there about the book is great. Because when I released it out there, I was wondering “how is this going to go over?” It has been resoundingly positive.

What advantages and disadvantages did you have in the job market as a veteran?

All veterans have been taught leadership, teamwork, communication and how to overcome adversity. We have been trained how to work in teams. Even teams where you might not like all the people you are working with, but you have to work toward that common goal and you have to make those benchmarks.

This is no different in business. Everything we learned in the military you can transfer those same terms into the business world. Frequently I talk about military mission process. I take the military mission process and show businesses it’s not a different process than what they are trying to accomplish. We may use different terms, but really the process to execute a mission to completion is the same.

This is where veterans have a tremendous advantage. They come into the workforce and they understand how to build a team, they understand how to step up and lead, they clearly understand how to follow. Many of the simple things that people need to learn in business when they come into the workforce, our veterans already have.

As to disadvantages, I think veterans coming into the workforce from the military community are frustrated because the civilian workforce doesn’t work as quickly as the military can in executing missions. I see this frustration a lot among our veterans.

Another disadvantage is we have a tendency to be very blunt. It’s just the nature of our community. We can’t always get away with being so blunt, but we can say to a colleague, you messed up, you need to fix it and this is why. In the civilian community, people are not used to this. Good or bad, over the last couple of years I have realized that while I am running both companies – Wounded Wear and my speaking company – that I need to temper my bluntness. I have learned I need to be more appreciative of the contributions of others and how they are contributing. I have learned that I need to build and foster my working relationships without the need to be so direct. It is useful and totally applicable in the military to be direct and totally accepted in the military, but doesn’t go over to well in the civilian community.

It is a bit of shock. I will be completely honest. I actually burned a potentially good business relationship to the ground because I was way too direct. There was some friction and I expressed my mindset and thoughts. Lesson learned afterwards when I realized you can’t just do that. I had to learn how to nurture relationships in a better, less direct way. You can still think these thoughts as part of your process, but vocalizing them may need some temperance.

Why did you choose to become an entrepreneur over joining a company and specifically a charitable endeavor?

I didn’t necessarily choose the entrepreneurial venture, it chose me. This came about through needs of the community.

As I went through my transition process as a wounded veteran, I saw that we could do things better. I saw gaps in services that I thought that we could fill. As with anything it started out as an idea, and this is a great strength of mine to take an idea and turn it into reality. I am also very fortunate that my wife is an entrepreneur. While I was serving, she ran several businesses just like many military spouses have done to support their families. So when I brought up the idea to do Wounded Wear, she said okay let’s do it. She was very instrumental in shaping the venture and driving it forward. My wife reminded me that many other wounded veterans felt the same way I did, that there were gaps in the support provided.

Now here we are four years later after creating Wounded Wear, and I have started my second company, SOF Spoken, the speaking company. I think everyone who served in the military understands the process of how to step into any role in a company and complete the mission. If you are a career military person, you now have all the skills and abilities to assume a leadership role. I think it would be hard for some individuals to step out and take a couple of steps back. So many of these career veterans are well suited for running their own businesses and shaping the direction of where their company is going. This really appealed to me and I have really enjoyed it.

To be able to run your own venture and make a difference in people’s lives through Wounded Wear is just an added bonus.

What advice do you have for transitioning military?

It is a totally different culture. As I said earlier, learning how to foster relationships and not being so direct is one piece of advice. The two main points that I illustrate in the book are leadership and the overcome mindset.

Getting out into the civilian community is no different. This is where veterans have a tremendous advantage, especially veterans who have been in for 20 or 30 years who have held higher lever leadership positions. The civilian organization that they may go work for may not recognize their leadership ability immediately. I strongly believe in leadership by example. So even if you feel that the company doesn’t have that mission focused culture or that tight knit camaraderie yet, I firmly believe the veteran can foster a similar type of community feel in their civilian position.

The veterans will see quickly that people want to be around leaders and around those individuals who are making a difference. A veteran should come into a civilian organization not with the mindset of changing, but applying the lessons they learned in the military. Motivating and inspiring those around you by example, I think the veteran will quickly find that they will be welcomed and quickly have opportunities to move up.

Another point I make in the book is the concept of living greatly. Too many times people do not want to step outside of their comfort zone out of fear. Fear is the number one thing that drives us not to do things. In the situation of a veteran looking at transitioning to civilian life there is some of this. How is this next phase in my life going to be? How is it going to be working in an environment that is so different from what I was doing before? Some of these thoughts are preconceived notions in our mind. Usually these thoughts we create in our mind are the biggest things that stops us from accomplishing things. 90% of the time those things that we perceive don’t even come to reality.

If you do take that step, that leap of faith, to move past these preconceived notions most of the time we find out that it is not nearly as bad as we thought it would be. I tell people all the time you have to take that step.

One thing I do with wounded warriors and families of the fallen is take them skydiving. I tell them, it is not about jumping. It’s not about skydiving. It’s much more about overcoming fear. It’s about standing up on that ramp and stepping off into the great unknown. It is recognizing you are alive and you have the ability to overcome. This is what people need to get into their minds.

This is what veterans need to get in their minds, I am afraid of this new endeavor, this new stage in my life because it is unknown but there is so much opportunity there and this life is too short to let it pass by so you can’t sit around and wait. You need to step off that ramp and go.

How can veterans benefit from inner reflection as they embark on a new career?

For those who think that tapping into your inner reflection is weak, you have a very short sighted view of life. You can never truly achieve your greatest potential unless you truly know who you are. That is the reality and something that I figured out after I made some mistakes. I realized that there were parts of me, things that I was doing whether consciously or unconsciously, that were holding me back.

All of us have different personalities and talents. These are things that define who we are and drive us to be successful. These are also sometimes the things that drive us to fail. It is only when you are able to look at all of your strengths and weaknesses, looking at what are all the things that have helped you but also what are all the things that have hindered you and might hinder you in the future. It is only when you can truly understand all of these components of yourself can you move forward to success. You begin to recognize that you have certain tendencies.

This is what I experienced and wrote about in the book such as my tendency to be a bit impatient with my decision making. I am very aware of this now and try to slow down my decision process to make sure that I am thinking through all the things that might happen. This is totally applicable to anyone out there. If you see this as a weakness I think some day you will figure out that you are missing out.

In closing I would like to share what I say to all veterans: Our country is at a time right now where it is starving for leadership in business, politics and community. We are starving for leaders who have conviction, who have accountability, who are willing to step up and lead and set the example. And these are all the things that we have learned in the military and we need veterans to get out there and do it.

I tell veterans, step up and lead because we need it. Maybe you don’t want to run a large company, or get into politics. At least get out and be active in your community. The military has taught us veterans so much about how to lead, overcome, make a difference and accomplish the mission. We need to share these lessons with the American people as it is critical to the future of our nation.

Kathleen Smith is the Chief Marketing officer for ClearedJobs.net. You can connect with her on Twitter at @YesItsKathleen. Follow ClearedJobs.net at @ClearedJobsNet

Tapping The Veteran IT Pool

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By Bob Wheeler
The hiring process can be painful for both organizations seeking talent, and individual job seekers. Gaps in common skills and language are typically cited as reasons for veteran hiring initiatives. It’s also agreed by most experts that, of the military skill set, Information Technology and cyber skills are some of the most translatable. Why then, do we have difficulty when it comes to attracting and hiring veteran IT Talent?  

The problem, I think, lies on both sides of the equation.

I recently showed a job description to a transitioning Marine Corps communications officer. I asked him for his thoughts and it didn’t take him long to identify that the position of Sr. Network Threat and Media Forensics and Support Specialist had a USMC counterpart.  “Looks like an 0689 Gunny to me”, he said.

OK- great. So what’s a 0689 Gunny?

The first part of this is the MOS 0689 which identifies a specific job.  In this case, Cyber Security Technician.  The “Gunny” part is short for Gunnery Sergeant which is an E7 (“E” meaning enlisted).  Here’s where the process can sometimes go wrong. Often recruiters will seek out commissioned officers due to the fact that they all have college degrees, but this isn’t always the wisest move.

First of all, if you are searching for technicians, then you will want to target the enlisted ranks, particularly the junior to mid-level.  It’s worth noting that this case, you can’t actually become an 0689 until you’re already either an E5, or in rare cases, a very highly recommended E4, already serving in a related cyber field.  So these folks are not only highly trained, they’re also high performers.

In this case, the description also did not list any education requirements, and even if it did, we must remember that a great deal of the enlisted population also have degree.

So now that you know these 0689’s exist, the question becomes, “Why aren’t they replying to my job posting?”  Well, one big issue you have to face is the competition from their current employer.

Yes, there is a drawdown, but it isn’t affecting everyone equally.  Did you know these USMC Cyber Warriors are being offered nearly $51,000 to reenlist?  Yep, there is real completion for this talent, and it’s not just in the private sector.

So, while your position might be offering the potential for greater income, this individual would have to actually turn down a guaranteed bonus and essentially tender their resignation before even seriously considering a job posting that he or she may or may not even get selected for.  That’s quite a gamble, especially for someone who has experienced a great deal of security and stability throughout their career.

It’s not just the Marine Corps, either. Even though actual bonus money may differ slightly by service and by current fiscal year, the push for Cyber talent is there across the DOD. So, whether it be an Air Force 3D072, a Navy 2779, or a new Army 25D, retention is a service priority and it is certainly a factor to take into account. These aren’t your typical passive candidates.

Another consideration is that even as individuals research civilian positions, many do not completely understand the civilian lingo.  Service members, for example, are often unsure of what differentiates a Senior Network Support Specialist from Junior Specialist.  The enlisted technicians often are not used to thinking of themselves as “Senior” anything, despite the fact that they meet the actual qualifications listed.  Being unsure of exactly what the job is only reinforces the idea that it’s safer to just stay put.

How then to tap into this talent pool?  It comes down to taking an agrarian approach, as opposed to the typical recruiter hunter/gatherer behavior.  You’ll need to grow your own candidates.

This can be done a number ways, including leveraging your current veteran employees.  New hires will likely still have strong connections within the military community for the first two to three years they are out of the service. Have your current veteran employees reach out to their peers and participate in efforts to market your organization and the specific jobs.

More and more active duty service members are also getting onto social media sites such as LinkedIn.  One of their biggest complaints, however, is a feeling that it is only useful for those actively seeking employment.  Your organization can offer a solution to this fallacy.

Establishing a company LinkedIn group that encompasses your current veteran employees and is also open to current service members can become an excellent opportunity to assist military cyber professionals in understanding the similarities and differences between their current positions with what they may do in the private sector.

The best part is, by establishing this group, you are also providing your organization with a steady stream of highly trained future candidates, each with positive feelings about your company. This should now be the first pond your recruiters fish in each time you have an opening.

Another possibility to develop relationships is through mentorship opportunities. If your organization plans on attending or hosting any professional events such as conferences, you can reach out to the local military installations (through their transition readiness office) and offer anything from a “get to know us” networking event to even sponsoring a service member or two at a local conference. Offering to provide payment of entrance fees and assignment of a current veteran employee to accompany the service member is great for both public relations, as well as future recruitment.

Idea’s like the ones above are relatively simple and are either free or have limited costs associated with them. The best part is that they work well in helping to bridge the culture gap between the military talent and the private sector.

Organizations that develop the reputation of being a resource for cyber talent while they are still in the service will position themselves to attract the best and the brightest service members once they decide to move on to the private sector.  In the end, it’s really a win-win situation.

Bob Wheeler is is a Certified Veteran Transition Coach and founder of BW-Personal Career Services in Jacksonville, NC. Follow Bob on Twitter @bwpcs.

This post originally appeared on ClearedJobs.Net. You can view it here

 

8 Honest Tips For Transitioning Veterans

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By Tim McHugh

As a veteran many of us have been put in circumstances and positions that our civilian counterparts will never fathom much less truly understand.  Unfortunately, far too many veterans believe these experiences somehow entitle them to a career in the civilian world.  As veterans transition to the for profit world many don’t have a good idea how to transfer their military skills and experience to civilian life.  Many veterans have unrealistic expectations of what civilian companies are looking for and why they might not be a perfect fit – today for what they want.  As a veteran and now a small business owner with 20 employees, here are some very honest and blunt tips for veterans making the transition to civilian life: [Read more…]

Spring Is Here: Grow Your Veteran Candidates

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By Kathleen Smith
We continue to see a large veteran work force transition and even with all the transition support programs out available, veteran unemployment still stand at 5.6%.

Veteran hiring was the topic of conversation at a recent recruitDC Military Hiring Networking Session, where attendees looked at veteran recruiting through two lenses: from veteran and recruiter. The discussion was led by Chrissa Dockendorf, a self taught recruiter of veterans now working with Randstand Sourceright, and Bob Wheeler, a Navy “soon to be veteran” recruiter who has been blogging about his transition at the Veteran’s Transition Diary. [Read more…]

Paying It Forward – It's The Little Things

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By Pete Radloff

Ask a recruiter why they do what they do, and you’re likely to get a wide variety of answers. Among them may be:

  • “I sort of just fell into recruitment”
  • “I’m an extrovert, this was a good fit”
  • “I didn’t want to do sales”
  • “I like helping people”

The fact is, most of us got into this business because deep down we love helping people, just as much if not more than making money. Yes this is true. Fortunately, we’ve picked a profession that allows for both. Career choice FTW!

[Read more…]

Veterans: Sell Your Talent, Not Your Title

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ed. note: This post was originally published here on December 8, 2013.  It was republished here with permission from the author.
By Bob Wheeler

There’s a lot of PR going on right now around the topic of veteran hiring.  Private organizations are picking up on the terrific talent pool coming out of the armed forces and many even have specific outreach programs designed to attract recently separated military personnel.  Let’s be clear though, no one will hire us because we are veterans, they will hire us because we have something to offer their company.

If you’re still on active duty, look around your unit (if you’ve recently separated think back to your last one).  Do you believe everyone in that group was equally talented?  We as veteran job seekers can be quick to point out things like “NCO’s make great managers”, which is true.  But can you really say that every NCO you worked for was great? Can you even say that all of them were even adequate?  The same goes with every job and billet in the military. Not every Commanding Officer is an awesome leader. Not every Supply Officer can handle logistics in an exceptional manner. Not every technician is trusted to work on the most critical of equipment.

By definition, everyone in your unit is a veteran.  But not all of them are talented.

Veteran (adj) Talent (n)

In the military we focus on mission accomplishment for the unit, not necessarily the individual. This is why you may see a unit or staff function succeed even despite the obvious inadequacies of certain individuals.  I’ve seen officers that would never survive without their subordinates going above and beyond their job description. I’ve also seen officers put in ungodly amounts of extra supervision (and sometimes even hands on work) to make the mission succeed because they were dealt a lousy hand in terms of NCO’s.

In order to succeed on the job market then, we need to ensure we sell our talents, not our titles. When recruiters are tasked with finding veteran talent, the word veteran is the adjective, not the noun.

The following are some tips on how to do just that.

1 – Make sure your resume (and LinkedIn Profile) lists actual accomplishments, and understand that being responsible for something isn’t an accomplishment.

2 – Learn about industries that you would like to work in after the military to understand what types of metrics they use to define success. Seek to put yourself in positions to do the same type of measurable work while still on active duty.

3 – Keep steady and accurate documentation of your success.  If the success metrics for the civilian world don’t exactly line up with the success metrics of your current billet in the military, so be it. Just keep parallel documentation.  In the end, your performance evaluations can help you build a civilian resume, but they can’t replace it.

The ability to demonstrate our talents is critical to success on the job market.  The best advice is to start early in your career to find ways to put yourself into positions to learn, grow, and ultimately perform, at the tasks valued by private organizations. It’s only when we demonstrate the talent that the adjective “Veteran” gets a chance to work it’s magic.

Bob Wheeler is currently on active duty where he recruits physicians for the US Navy.  He will be retiring from the service in June of 2014 and has been blogging about his transition process at http://veterantransitiondiary.wordpress.com/. You can find Bob on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @sailordoc.

Reinventing Michael Banks: A Lesson in Empathy – recruitDC Guest Post

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By Bob Wheeler

Many veterans on the job hunt get frustrated because they feel like potential employers don’t understand or appreciate their experiences.  While this is often true, we have to remember that empathy goes both ways. Service members also need to find ways to understand the unique constraints that recruiters, hiring mangers, and supervisors find themselves in when dealing with veterans in the workforce.  Bridging the culture gap takes more than just finding newer and (often times louder) ways to tell our side of the story, the empathy that we need comes from understanding where the other side is coming from.

Imagine if a civilian technical representative was assigned to your active duty military team. The person has obvious qualifications on how to run the machinery in your shop, in fact they may know more about it than anyone else. What they lack would be the ability to apply that concept within the norms of your military organization.  How would you feel about this situation?  Would you expect that individual to adapt to the norms of the group, or would you expect the group to adapt the norms of the individual? I think we can agree that if the individual refused to adapt to the group, the group would continue to exist, even without the member.

So it is with veteran hiring. If both sides work to understand each others situation then individual and organizational success is much more likely. In the end, veterans must be prepared to reach out first, and reach out the farthest.  If we do, the hands we find on the other side will be in the best position to offer a strong grip and be the most equipped to help us over the wall that divides our military life from a potential civilian career.

Recently an organization known as WILL Interactive  in collaboration with The Coming Home Project produced a really great interactive video program entitled “Reinventing Michael Banks”.  The best part of this interactive video is that it allows people to take on the various roles of veteran job seeker, recruiter, hiring manager, and supervisor.  Playing the scenarios from different personalities not only allows the participant to make choices about what to do next, but more importantly it  allows the player to hear some of the “thoughts” that go through the heads of each person.

Human interactions are much deeper than the verbal or non-verbal signals we send out.  The more empathy we can have about why a person says or does things, the better we can become at tailoring our messages and actions to best fit for the situation. One of my favorite quotes of all times is from Mark Hortsman, who says “Communication is what the listener does.” In this regard, empathy is a force multiplier.  The object is to deliver the message in all of its intended meaning. The more we know about the receiver, the better our chances of success.

I encourage everyone associated with veteran hiring to spend some time on this simulator. If you only have time to go through it once- please play it from a perspective other than your own.  If you have time to go through all four scenarios, I suggest you play from your current perspective last.  You already know what it’s like to be you……this is about finding out what it’s like to be somebody else.

Click here to go to the Reinventing Michael Banks website and participate in scenario. http://www.reinventingmichaelbanks.com/

Bob Wheeler is currently on active duty where he recruits physicians for the US Navy.  He will be retiring from the service in June of 2014 and has been blogging about his transition process at http://veterantransitiondiary.wordpress.com/. You can find Bob on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @sailordoc.

This was republished with permission from the author. You can find the original post here

Hire A Veteran To Be Your Next Recruiter

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Ed Note: This was reposted from The Cynical Girl with permission from the author
By Laurie Ruettimann

There are three major problems plaguing modern-day recruiting.

  • The myth of the passive candidate. Far too many people say, “If they want to work here, we don’t want them. Keep looking.”
  • The paradox of choice.When faced with 600 resumes in an applicant tracking system and 50 resumes from internal referrals, recruiters don’t triage those resumes and dig in. They continue to look because the perfect candidate is probably. out. there. somewhere.
  • The implementation of unscientific, culture-based hiring methodologies. Instead of hiring for competency, recruiters screen candidates for likability. They make hiring recommendations based on invalid and unsubstantiated criteria.

Recruiters can fix these three problems. Recruiters can move faster, hire people, and respond to candidates who don’t meet specific criteria.

But they don’t.

The reasons are complex. Boring. You’ve heard it all before. And without competition from working managers who do their own recruiting, modern talent acquisition teams have the luxury to be slow and dull. Technology is an obvious foil, too. It’s easy to blame broken processes and systems without accepting accountability. And instead of using big data to show results, today’s human resources leaders and recruiters often use small data to cover their tracks. They are more inclined to show how hard they are allegedly working — with all kinds of first world problems and obstacles like “too many candidates” — instead of showing how their actions link with revenue and profitability.

So I have an idea. If you lead a human resources group or a talent acquisition team — or you are an executive or entrepreneur in the market for a corporate recruiter — I strongly urge you to hire someone who can get stuff done. Hire someone with solid project management skills. Hire someone with a different perspective on how people can accomplish great things even under the most difficult circumstances. Hire someone who knows the difference between truth and bullshit.

Hire a veteran to be your next recruiter.

Read the rest of the post here

Laurie Ruettimann pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in human resources. Her expertise as an HR leader in Fortune 500 organizations allows her to frame the world as it used to be known. Now, as a woman in the thick of the social world, Laurie blogs about human resources, technology and employment at The Cynical Girl. 

Recruiters, Be All You Can Be

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By Kathleen Smith

At the Spring 2012 recruitDC event, I had the privilege to share with the recruiting community tips on how to incorporate veteran hiring into a recruiter’s mindset. The poignant beginning of this presentation was the opening by Colonel David Sutherland, former Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The local DC area recruiting community made me very proud when they gave Colonel Sutherland a standing ovation first when he came to the stage, and second when he finished. The second best moment was when all the recruiters in the room raised their hands and committed to hiring two veterans by the end of the summer.

Through my interviews with the panelists, we learned some key things that every recruiter and company can do to hire more veterans. One basic point of this is commitment. This is not a program you flip on with a switch or pay a subscription fee to. This is a commitment as a recruiter you need to make to go the extra step to train yourself, connect with the military in your community, and maintain these relationships throughout your career as a recruiter. What will you get in return for this investment of your time? A talent pipeline that is ready, trained, skilled and loyal. Did I also mention that military personnel get the job done, take initiative, have leadership skills and will do anything for you and your company – just like they have done in the military?

I have spoken with many military personnel and military spouses who actually feel that it is a detriment to their job search if they share that they are military. I am flabbergasted every time I hear this. There appears to be ignorance prevalent within the HR and recruiting community that military may mean something other than highly trained, skilled and dedicated professionals.

From working with many recruiters and companies, here is my drill down list on incorporating veteran hiring into your talent strategy:

  1. Be committed to the process: If it is just you or it is your entire company, be committed to the entire process from learning about military resumes to fully integrating your new employee into your company and community.
  2. Be willing to invest the “time”: This is not a software program that you upload or an app you download. This is a program you are going to have to work each day, from connecting with the veterans in your company and community to nurturing your military relationships, to coaching or mentoring your new employees. You need to be visible in the military community.
  3. Be resourceful: This is all about being a better recruiter. One of the panelists was adamant that he can’t stand people saying “I don’t have time” and I wholeheartedly agree with him. There are probably a few things you are doing right now that are not productive or ways that you are inefficient. Recognize that. Recruiting, like any business, is not about doing one or two tools well. It is about leveraging all the tools that work for you well plus a lot of good old common sense and connecting with people. If this doesn’t work for you, it might be time for a little refresher.

Some of the tactics to incorporate military hiring into your talent acquisition pipeline are:

Find the veterans in your company: After recruitDC, several recruiting managers went back to their companies and researched how many veterans worked for them. Many were shocked at how many veterans were already in their companies. What can these veterans who are already work for your company do for you?

  • Meet with them and ask them to educate you about military resumes, share what their military experience was like or maybe how their military experience has helped them in your company, and finally what kind of MOS you should be looking for to fill the key spots within your company. This is part of your commitment to being better educated about your new talent pool.
  • Ask them to participate in any of the military hiring events that you may attend. This will help build your brand and help educate you on the needs of the military community. Your internal veteran employees will become your ambassadors.
  • Ask them to be a buddy or mentor. This doesn’t have to be a formal program or it can be. The most important part is for your new employee to have someone they can talk to about the new culture you are bringing them in to.

Find the veterans in your community both online and offline

  • On your LinkedIn profile make sure that you are very open to hiring veterans but make this sincere, not just “will hire veterans”. I was particularly impressed with one of the panelist’s LinkedIn profile and how she laid it out that she was willing to help any and all military with their job search questions. She also shared that using Skype allowed her to chat with currently deployed military personnel which I thought was extremely resourceful.
  • There are close to 3,000 LinkedIn groups that have the keyword “military”. We are fortunate here in the Washington, DC, area to have several that are local groups as well. You can be a member AND participate: answer questions, provide advice or ask for referrals. Move beyond just blasting your job postings in the group. Really connect with folks.
  • There are several companies that provide military hiring events but you can also find these on the military bases, and they usually are free or relatively inexpensive. Just like any event you will need to focus on your brand and connecting with the community rather than only look for what you need right then and there.
  • One very largely overlooked community is military spouses. As one panelists said, the first person a veteran is going to ask for job search advice is their spouse. Many times the spouse will be doing the job research while the other spouse is deployed. There are several Military Spouse support programs and this is an extremely active social media community. You will find several groups on both Twitter and Facebook. In addition to the support, this is a great talent pool, as many military spouses are highly skilled and highly adaptable. Many speak other languages, and definitely know about multitasking, in addition to being detail oriented and able to get the job done.
  • There are transition programs in the military and career counselors that are to assist and support military personnel as they transition. Industry wide it is agreed these programs are inadequate. With very limited resources and staff, the transition programs do what they can and they are always looking for recruiters and companies to participate in their employer panels, hiring events and counseling. Call them up, connect with them and help. It will take time to build your relationships and you may have to go to them, but connecting in the military community is about face-to-face and showing that you are real.

Educate yourself on military lingo

  • As one of the panelists – a veteran – said: you need to meet the veteran half way and understand their resume. The first step is understanding lingo and you need a military skills translator for this. Here is one put together by the Department of Labor.
  • Take your most frequently recruited jobs and put them through a military skills resume translator so you can better understand what you need and how to find it on a military resume.
  • On the flip side, you might want to convert your job posting into a description that someone from the military may understand.
  • Realize that there are many skills and traits you want for your positions that you will not find on a military resume but they are there: accountability, leadership, initiative, management, detail orientation. Someone in the military would not think to put this on a resume. Why? It is expected in the military that everyone has these skills.

Create a military buddy system within your company

  • Make sure that your new employee has someone to call to ask questions. One statistic heard frequently is that 80% of transitioning military leave their first job out of the military within the first year. Part of this could be due to the candidate not asking enough questions to fully understand the culture and company that they are coming into, but it is also more than that. One panelist shared that it would have been helpful to better understand what “casual Friday” was all about when he started at his first company after being in the military for 20 plus years. In the military there is always someone watching your back. Our military need that in their new communities.

As was shared by one recruitDC colleague in his post “I Would Die For You,” Lars Schmidt rounded up some resources a recruiter can use to hire veterans. These are all good resources, but you first have to be a better recruiter.

After recruitDC, we had a chance to talk with Colonel Sutherland’s replacement as the Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colonel Henderson. One point was clear for him based on feedback from his troops. In the military if someone doesn’t reach their goal, they are given feedback and retrained. Job seekers aren’t given any feedback as to why they didn’t get the job. Even if you don’t launch a military hiring program, I would ask that if you are not going to hire someone in the military, please take the time to give them feedback on their application, resume, or interview. Yes there will be a series of “policies” that may possibly prevent you from doing this, but as a service to our military please provide suggestions and feedback on what they could do better in their job search. You may not be able to hire them, but you will have provided a great connection with your company, enhanced your employer/recruiter brand, and helped the community. You might even get a referral.

Kathleen Smith is the Chief Marketing officer for ClearedJobs.net. You can connect with her on Twitter at @YesItsKathleen. Follow ClearedJobs.net at @ClearedJobsNet

Follow Colonel David Sutherland on Twitter at @DSutherland_TSP or on LinkedIn

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