Digging into the recent LinkedIn Veteran Insight Report
As we approach July 4th, I took some time digging into the recent LinkedIn Veteran Insight Report. Whether it be patriotic or performance motives, it’s great to see the changing tide regarding veteran hiring in Corporate America.
In 2001, when I started with Bradley-Morris, we looked for one of two things to get corporate buy-in:
- We needed a company that was so desperately in need of talent that they would open their hiring requirements to include military-experience, or
- We needed a champion who understood the value of military talent. Most of the latter where veterans themselves and while there were a few early adopters of focused military programs, most companies were alien to this talent pool.
When LinkedIn released their “2016 Annual Veteran Insight Report”, I was curious to see how their data aligned with our tribal knowledge as well as our value proposition to our clients.
From their “6 key highlights that demonstrate the veteran community is flourishing in their professional careers” slide I was drawn to #5, “that two-thirds of professional veterans work in positions that are not similar to what they did in the military”. This data lines up with our focusing on “transferable skills” in military to industry placement. By leveraging military success traits across broad Key Performance Areas, we find success in positions such as Manufacturing Production Supervisor where veterans who have no manufacturing experience start their careers and thrive.
The “Dallas-Ft Worth and New York Metropolitan Area are two Major locations where veterans move post service” data point speaks to the relocatable nature of the military-experienced talent pool. BMI’s clients know they tap into an international talent pool for their local positions. Veterans can be found where the jobs are.
Their “Veterans are leaders in the workforce” slide confirms one of our core value propositions. Almost half of the veterans on LinkedIn are in middle-manager or senior contributor roles. Their 36% at entry level stat confirms that many companies still do not know how to leverage military-experience into their business. It will be interesting to see these data points move over time. About 75% of the military-experienced candidates I’ve placed were promoted ahead of schedule.
The “Operations is the #1 job function for veterans” slide points to the successful integration of transferable skills. Sales being #3 is the most telling as there are no sales people in the military. Sales is a vocation where character can be tested. Most sales people I place are highly successful and become top performing in their careers.
Lastly, I see that “Tech Companies have the highest job views among veterans” and this one I point out for companies not on the list. The listed businesses are known because they are in the government contract space or have become famous employer brands for veterans. By working with Bradley-Morris, your company can leverage our brand awareness, best practices and largest military-to-civilian candidate footprint to win the race for military-experienced talent.
Bobby Whitehouse
http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbywhitehouse
Image courtesy Scott L.