Free Veteran Hiring
With the focus of the First Lady squarely on helping veterans, the “military recruiting” niche that my company has served for two decades has become increasingly popular. One question sometimes posed is, “With all of the free veteran hiring services, why should we engage a contingency-based service?” This is a great question. I wouldn’t pay for something I could get for free! Neither would the “Money for nothing” guy in the picture that any 80s music fan will recognize.
The short answer is that when “free” is as valuable as the service BMI delivers, our long run of employing veterans and helping others employ veterans will come to an end. But free is not easy.
Most often, the question employers ask themselves is, “Do I have time for ‘free'”? Often, the best sales tool for me is a “free” trial. I have heard feedback from multiple hiring managers of the wasted day at a free veteran job fair. I have also heard feedback from candidates expressing similar frustrations. A quality service is more than getting some military-experienced candidates and companies in the same room. The value is in knowing who belongs with whom, and why, and having the track record of success to back up the assessments.
Free is many times transient. Volunteers at a free service may or may not be there next week, next month or next year. On the other hand, this is my life’s work. My reputation has been built client by client, job seeker by job seeker. I have “skin in the game” to make sure my employer clients have success.
Free has no guarantees. You can’t get your money back – you didn’t pay anything – what do you expect for free? A guarantee works both ways – it motivates great service, and it gives the employer piece of mind.
Volunteering to help veterans is a noble cause. I do it in my spare time as do many of my peers. And our service is free to military job seekers.
But when it comes to the business world, my clients bet on screened and matched candidates delivered via time-efficient services, backed by a guarantee.