How to develop a military hiring plan
More companies than ever are putting a focus on hiring military. This is great news for both industry and for veterans.
American industry needs good people, however, if a company doesn’t plan for it, qualified veterans are often missed in the hiring process. With more companies investing time and resources into sourcing and hiring military, many managers are asking how to develop a military hiring plan. Here are seven tips:
- Include your current military-experienced people in the conversation.They have great insight into the military community and have “been there”.
- Build a team or council. Too often I hear about companies that hire a “military person” to run their team and then they think they are “done”. It takes a village.
- Achieve total buy-in. All stakeholders must support the plan. A couple of managers who are not bought in can wreck a program fast. Buy-in and flexibility are key, and are important for managers in assessing transferable skills.
- Conduct face-to-face interviews. The military has as many acronyms as your industry. Military resumes are not typically keyword focused. Don’t totally rely on the resume – assessments are best face-to-face.
- Be timely. Military candidates are in transition with an “out date” looming. If they sense a deal is going cold, they will change focus. Make careful decisions but make them. “Maybe” means “no” in this scenario.
- Establish a career path. Most companies focus on leadership potential when hiring military. Most military-experienced job seekers are career-focused. Have a plan laid out for where they fit in your team long term.
- Get on board with on-boarding. Military-experienced candidates are accustomed to getting all of the details. Make sure when they show up they are provided with explanations of benefits and organizational charts and are assigned a mentor to help them navigate the organization and focus on getting to work.
Let me know if you have any questions in the comments, or shoot me an email.