The Evolution of Military Veteran Recruiting at BMI
A look back
At the inception of our organization 26 years ago, firms like Bradley-Morris used to ask candidates to fill out our paper applications submitted by fax with a cover sheet. When recruiters referred to their contacts in their Rolodex, they were speaking literally not figuratively. The only way to connect with employers was to attend a multi-day hiring conference in person at a hotel within a 4-6 hour drive from your duty station.
When firms like Bradley-Morris started hosting in-person hiring conferences, it benefitted veterans greatly as we could bring our connections and contacts to bear for service members who many not have experience with professional civilian networking. These events were a great resource before the internet and allowed an unheard of level of diversity in one’s career search.
Unfortunately, the hiring conference process was also slow, leaving a long time delay between when companies identified roles for veterans and when interviews would occur. These events also required travel planning and cost for both candidates and clients. Oftentimes, job seekers had to coordinate military leave in order to be assured that they could attend the event and not miss a critical military obligation.
Steps towards progress
After about 10 years in business, our organization was experiencing such a high demand for our services from both candidates and companies that we started advertising direct-hire opportunities to help fill in the gaps between conferences. This was the origin of TargetHire and a critical step in helping reach more veterans and companies alike.
Following the implementation of our TargetHire process, we had faster turnaround time from opening a job to contacting the best, most qualified candidates. As the HR world acclimatized to new advances in software and social networking, companies became more comfortable speaking with veterans remotely, and the advantages now available with video conferencing have largely replaced a lot of in-person interviewing.
By expanding our services to include non-conference interviews, we were able to fill more difficult technical roles that we wouldn’t ordinarily bring to a conference, as well as help more veterans with a wider array of backgrounds and skills. TargetHire also proved to be a better option for those candidates that had chosen to focus on one or two specific cities throughout their job search and weren’t able to offer flexibility to a larger portion of the country.
Here and now
In 2017, Bradley-Morris is the leading recruiting firm bridging the gap between employers and honorably discharged military service members through direct placement. After years of improving the TargetHire formula, our organization can proudly boast the following statistics:
- The average time between a company’s first interview with a military candidate to an accepted employment offer is now less than 20 days
- We input over 114 new job openings per week
- Over 166 interviews occur weekly
- Approximately five job offers get accepted through BMI every day
Take the first step
The first step to becoming the next Bradley-Morris success story is to fill out a profile at https://apply.bradley-morris.com/login.aspx. Once you’re enrolled, you’ll be able to apply to our openings on our job board at https://jobs.bradley-morris.com. All of these openings are live, the board refreshes on the half hour, making it almost impossible to apply to a dead job or a role that has been closed out. If you’re selected for an interview, one of our Recruiting Partners will contact you to give you more information about the company and tips to win the interview. If you’re not a fit for that role, please don’t get discouraged! Keep checking our job board, your emails, and text messages; your next great career option might be right around the corner, until you tell us you’re off the job market we will keep trying to help you find a rewarding, meaningful career.