Hiring Veterans and Spouses
A critical part of retaining and attracting transitioning military, veterans and their spouses in San Diego is to ensure they are able to be placed in jobs that utilize their highest and best use given their training, education and experiences. So, when I engage private and public sector executives and ask if their organization is “veteran friendly”, they say of course, we love veterans! We want to hire more! But when you dig a little deeper, many of their HR systems really aren’t very veteran friendly. Yes, lots of business executives talk a good game, but an organization’s personnel intake systems matter.
Here are some questions to ponder:
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Does the organization know where/how to recruit veterans and military spouses?
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Does the organization know how to speak “Military” – do they know how to translate their MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) to their workforce requirements?
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Do they know how to value a military spouse’s career path?
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Does the organization have a military friendly website?
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Do they know how to interview a veteran? How to onboard them into their organization and how they can advance in the system?
These are but a few of the ways to actively engage the veteran/military spouse community for employment. I’ve been looking for a best practices workbook to push out to employers and the best I’ve found is from the Non profit agency Hiring our Heroes. Please click on the button below to their employer roadmap and consider adopting these practices.
