Members of the military are hard-working, driven individuals. However, they can face challenges when returning to civilian life. One problem military members face while applying for civilian jobs is the gap between military language and the verbiage of job descriptions. It’s important to remember that while the language used to describe experience may be different, the job had the same key elements. In addition, they are likely to share the same characteristics needed to succeed in a role as their civilian counterparts. For example, a military nurse could transition to the same position in a hospital, doctor’s office, or become a home health nurse. Don’t shy away from hiring military personnel! Expand your reach to qualified applicants with these tips and job boards to attract veterans.
Make it Known You Want to Hire Veterans
Does your business have social media channels or an email list? Use these avenues to express your gratitude for service members and your aptitude to hire them. Social channels are a great form of free advertising for open positions. Even if you have a small following, a post that gets reshared or promoted could reach the right person!
Go Where the Veterans Are
When you recruit any specific group, it’s important to know where they are. If you’re hiring recent graduates, you’d want to attend college career fairs. For veterans, consider partnering with local veterans’ organizations to distribute materials or attend career fairs.
Job Boards
Run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, vets.gov offers a free platform to share job openings with veterans.
Offering job posting packages and career fairs, hireveterans.com begins their pricing at $99.
Primarily a news source, military.com offers a job board and career fairs for veterans. Participation begins at $95.
Boasting over one million job seeker accounts, recruitmilitary.com connects veterans with companies seeking to employ them. However, this job board is the priciest, with fees starting at $299.
A paid site for attracting veterans, Hire Heroes USA aims to connect veterans with companies who are willing to support their transition into the civilian workforce.
These job boards vary from allowing free job posts up to $200+ for job posts. Select job boards mentioned above also offer virtual career fairs, training for human resources professionals on hiring veterans, and sponsorship opportunities. Additionally, these job boards are often advertised to military spouses as well.
Overall, making the effort to advertise open positions to veterans and their spouses is worth it. Using select job boards to attract veterans to your company is a great way to increase your talent pool with hard-working individuals.