MilitaryStars Blog

The Top Ten Reasons to Hire Veterans: Diversity and Your Inclusion in Action

Definitely time for a return to the Top Ten series!  Huge thanks to Vina and E for contributing this past week - we have a great team and nothing gets done without all of us working together.  Whether in personal life or in the running of the world at large, that's got to be the case. I hope that all of you have your past, present, and future efforts as part of a team properly acknowledged in some fashion... consider this my ongoing way of doing so.

Diversity and Inclusion in Action

An essential component of teamwork, and one learned with special purpose in the military.  Like so many other differences, differences in belief, accent, and skin shade fade away extremely quickly under high-pressure situations requiring everyone to work together.  I've heard nice remarks about how impressive the diversity of our office is... these are, simply put, the men and women I work with and rely on, and I know everyone here feels the exact same way.  I'm always floored listening to all the different places around the world everyone here has been, the fragments of coversation in Japanese and Spanish in the air, and the recommendations of the coolest places to go on vacation (someday).  You've learned things that huge corporations have special training sessions for on a regular basis, under conditions that guarantee the lesson will never be lost.  Some people never learn because they aren't asked to commit to their fellow men and women in the ways you have been - at a level where you understand what's truly important. 

(The ongoing Top Ten series is archived to the left in Categories under "Why Hire Veterans: Top Ten Reasons", whenever you need motivation on everything that sets you apart from the average job seeker!)

         

The Top Ten Reasons to Hire Veterans: Your Teamwork

We've developed a fantastic theme this last week here.  ArmyDog and SgtMikeC stopped by with quality advice and insight into our HQ, then E dropped the news that's had us all insanely psyched up: the New York Yankees are posting our information on their scoreboard and billboard for their military appreciation day on July 29th.  What does this all have in common? 

Teamwork

Co-workers kicking in on the blog when their buddy's away.  Other co-workers bringing in the biggest franchise in professional sports to help us help veterans, and everybody celebrating as one.  Teamwork in the professional setting isn't always going to be selfless, pure, or smooth.  It might mean working together with others in spite of differences of opinion, agenda, or attitude.  The advantage you have that overrides all of that - the advantage I see every day working with veterans and achieving together what we've been able to achieve - is that in the situations you've already been placed in, differences certainly seem a lot less important.  No time to argue when there's a mission to be completed.  The thing is, this is just as critical in the professional world, but people who've never been in the positions you have can quite easily lose sight of what's really important and slip into gossipy, backbiting junk.  Think any employer appreciates that?  Or would they rather have someone on their team who truly understands the meaning of the word?  Think of the employer as the team owner.  You're the athlete with something to prove.  Us?  We like team players - show us you are one, and we're your biggest fan for life.          

(The Top Ten series has been assigned its own category too, "Why Hire Veterans: Top Ten Reasons", whenever you need motivation on everything that sets you apart from the average job seeker!) 

The Top Ten Reasons to Hire Veterans: Your Leadership

Keeping in mind what you accomplished in your military service and integrating it into your career search impacts everything, from your resume to the way you handle an interview.  Remember that these outstanding qualities which all employers crave are already within you.

Leadership

I see this every day in the office - every guy and lady I work with can solve a stunning variety of problems with quick thinking honed by the ability to handle pressure and a deep sense of responsibility.  Leadership means a lot of things, and there are a lot of ways to show it: knowing how to motivate and delegate, devising a plan that works and seeing it through.  A veteran will never have trouble understanding corporate hierarchy/chain of command, leading by example, or earning one's place.  Your leadership sets you apart from other job seekers because, to an employer, it represents both results (the successes of your projects) and your character (integrity and true leadership).  Take this to heart and use it!

The Top Ten Reasons to Hire Veterans: Your Accelerated Learning Curve

The press release written and posted recently by E is a stellar example of the worldwide message we deliver to employers and the media on behalf of the veteran job seeker.  Another way we proudly transmit our belief in you is the Top Ten Reasons to Hire Veterans.  My teammates and I are going to be regularly featuring each of these reasons here.  The next time you might be struggling to relate your military experience to the civilian career market, reflect on some of these qualities and think about how they specifically apply to you - they'll give you plenty to talk about and to display on your resume that any employer absolutely craves.  Such as...

Accelerated Learning Curve 

The ability to, as I've said and heard before, "overcome and adapt" in a civilian career increases every day, and you doubtless not only heard some variation on this concept in the service, but applied it constantly.  Making yourself indispensable to civilian employers means taking on new skills and concepts as fast as they come, so focus on the times when you did exactly that.  Maybe you implemented a new filing system that increased peformance percentages.  Putting that into a resume or interview, you're speaking the universal language of results - you're not only using action words and numbers that a civilian employer will understand, you're demonstrating your ability to learn quickly and apply that knowledge for positive results.  This is key - you absolutely can't just say "I'm a fast learner" on your resume (don't say "I'm a..." anything, for that matter), nor can you in an interview without backing it up.  Think about it now as part of your career search activities to keep your resume from getting tossed later - I'm sure you'll find some quality evidence!