In today’s post, I want to share my top 10 reasons to hire a veteran. It’s a proven fact that veterans are a valuable asset to the workplace. Whether you are a small business owner or HR Director, you should actively seek out veterans to help fill your ranks. Here are some reasons why.
# 10 Team Oriented
Most veterans are team oriented. They know what it’s like to be on a team and they are normally willing to put the needs of the team above their own needs. They can be a team leader or team member.
# 9 Responsibility
Most veterans have had more responsibility than their civilian counterparts. From an early age, the military gives its NCOs and Officers are large amount of responsibility. Most veterans enjoy this responsibility and want jobs with a large amount of responsibility.
# 8 Work Ethic
Most veterans are taught to have a strong work ethic. They have the “mission first” attitude and aren’t scared to work long hours when needed.
# 7 Leadership
Let’s face it, it’s hard to find leaders in today’s workforce. Most veterans have leadership experience. They know how to supervise people and get things done, even in a fast-paced and stressful environment.
# 6 Combat Experience
Combat experience can be very helpful in the work force. Combat is fast paced, stressful and very demanding, much more so than most civilian jobs. When you have people working for you who have served in combat, they should easily be able to handle the day-to-day stress of the job.
# 5 Discipline
Most veterans are very disciplined. They believe in the chain-of-command. They understand the importance of showing up on time. They know how to be polite and show respect to others.
# 4 Respect for Procedures
Most Soldiers are accustomed to following a set of rules and procedures. You should have little difficulty teaching or enforcing your procedures with your veteran employees.
# 3 Loyalty
Most veterans are loyal to their team. They understand that loyalty is a two-way street. This means there’s a good chance they will want to work with your company for the long-term, assuming you treat them well.
# 2 Public Relations
Call this selfish if you want, but hiring veterans helps improve your company’s reputation in the economy. It is a great marketing strategy and a great way to position your company in the market place.
# 1 Help Out a Patriot
This might sound weird to some of you, but I think it’s good to hire a patriot who at one time was willing to sacrifice their life to defend YOUR freedoms. Only a small percentage of Americans today have ever served in the military. Why not help out someone who has helped protect your freedom?
Final Thoughts
As you can see, these are my top 10 reasons to hire a veteran. If you own a small business or work in human resources, I encourage you to keep your eyes and ears open to veterans who apply for your job openings. Typically speaking, most veterans make great long-term employees who can add value to your company’s bottom line.
What are your thoughts? What other reasons can you provide for hiring veterans? Please leave all comments and questions below. Thanks.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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I’ve hired several veterans in the past and most of them have been good workers. However, every individual is different. Just because someone has military service does not mean they will be a good employee. You have to do your due diligence, find out how/why they got out, look at their evaluation reports, etc.
Good points, Edwin!
Excellent list, and it could easily have been Top 20 or Top 30 reasons. Just based on personal experience, I know that accounting firms love to hire veterans. CPA firms know that military training teaches all the pertinent skills that are important in an accounting career. Non-military college grads are fine, but those with any military background come to the job with organization skills and self discipline that many 22-year-olds lack.
The discipline is huge. Having self discipline can help you succeed in any profession. It’s what gives veterans a slight edge over many of their civilian counterparts.
I agree, Larry, the list is actually much bigger. I am heartened that the value that our veterans bring to the civilian workplace is starting to be recognized. Programs such as Hero 2 Hired and Troops as Teachers were developed not only to help our veterans, but also to benefit employers by tapping them into a resource pool of uniquely-qualified, highly skilled professionals.
This post is a wonderful explanation as to why people should be hiring veterans. If you want something done on time, hire a veteran. During their time in the military they were forced to make strict deadlines and in the most professional way possible. That’s something that every company needs.
Sometimes it is sad to see the people who quite literally gave up parts of their lives for this country be treated so poorly upon their return home.
I agree that more employers should seek out veterans for job openings. Veterans have a lot to offer and want to work for a company that appreciates them.
Veteran status and employment are a mixed bag these days–very sad but true. Even the mainstream media has picked up on the fact that the unemployment rate for young veterans is higher than the population as a whole (although looking at the overall picture, veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the general workforce). In 2006 and 2007, after my first deployment, I played down my military association on my resume because I was concerned that prospective employers might see that and shy away from it, primarily out of fear of losing me to another deployment. (Yes, it’s illegal, but that doesn’t keep your resume from getting shunted to the bottom of the stack.) I finally decided that I really didn’t want to work for a company that wasn’t at least reasonably military-friendly in the first place.
Good points Daniel. Lots of employers are military friendly and lots aren’t. Since 9/11, hundreds of thousands of ARNG and USAR Soldiers have deployed overseas. Many of these Soldiers came back to their jobs and many didn’t. I understand what the law says, and I also realize that it places a huge burden on businesses. It’s a double edged sword.