Congratulations! It is officially a candidate job market!

Your talent, as a veteran in the civilian workforce, is in high demand. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, veteran unemployment is low. This creates what we call a candidate job market. In this market, you have more control to call the shots. What you have to offer is in demand, and there isn’t enough of it to go around.

Employers want to hire you. They know that veterans bring skills like discipline, leadership, situational awareness, loyalty, and dedication to the workplace. Additionally, employers can receive federal tax credits for hiring veterans. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.

But as employers seek to hire veterans, they are finding that the pool of unemployed veterans is shrinking. This means they will have to work harder to get the top-rate veteran talent, like yourself, to fill the positions they need. This also means that, if you are already employed, you may be courted by recruiters from other companies. Whether you decide to leave or stay, this is a perfect scenario in which you can reevaluate your current position and salary. What does the competition offer? Use that knowledge to your benefit and weigh your options. Most of the time, your current employer will meet the competition’s offer if they really want you to stay.

If you are not employed in this candidate market, it’s time to do a serious self-evaluation. Are you unemployed because you haven’t found your perfect job? Or is there something else holding you back? Perhaps your chosen industry is not growing. Perhaps your field requires additional training that you have yet to complete. Perhaps you need to work on your presentation. It could be a number of things.

But if you are serious about starting your civilian career, you can (and should) find a way around that obstacle. Understanding the obstacle is the first step.

If 2017 was an indicator of 2018 employment trends, this will be another great year for veterans and the companies that employ them.

See the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics report [here](https://www.dol.gov/vets/newsletter/pdf/November-2017-VETS-Monthly-Employment-Overview.pdf).