Look Beyond Resumes to Find Talent

With a non-traditional background, my resume never truly captured "what I could do" for a company.

After 24 years of military service, I went to my first job fair in my best suit, practiced my elevator pitch, and had a two-page resume with business cards in hand. I did research on all the companies there, and over a period of six hours, I watched almost everyone around me get asked to interview – everyone except for me.

You’ve got to understand that in my last Army job I led the operations for 17,000 people in 45 countries. I was educated, had a Top Secret clearance, previously worked for the White House, and had always been promoted first – reaching the highest enlisted rank possible, Sergeant Major.

Yet recruiters glanced at my resume, asked me a perfunctory question, then circled my clearance and tossed it on a pile of other resumes. Every one of them told me to “check out their careers page and apply online,” except for the one recruiter that said, “Connect with me on LinkedIn.”?

That recruiter changed my life.

I was able to build a community on LinkedIn, get smart on industry topics, and become known for something beyond the military by connecting and engaging with people professionally in the private sector. LinkedIn allowed me to prove that I was more than a Sergeant Major. It changed my life, enabled me to become a Senior Manager at EY, and eventually led me to start my own company, HireMilitary, where we create private-sector job opportunities for transitioning service members, military spouses, and Veterans.

But I never forgot that feeling of being “lost” at that job fair.

How I never quite knew how I “fit in.”

I have found that Veterans are among the most highly skilled, well-trained individuals in the world with leadership capabilities and a work ethic like no other. They can add tremendous value to your corporate culture, support your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hiring initiatives, and provide a competitive advantage to your organization; you just need to recruit them.??

But the recruiters I spoke with never understood:

1. what I did in the military
2. how I brought an incredible set of knowledge, skills, experience, and values
3. where I fit in their company (or how I could be a best candidate for specific roles)

I applied online to dozens of jobs, each with tailored resumes and cover letters, never hearing anything back unless it was accompanied by a referral.

And that is the key to it all.

I never looked like a best candidate on paper (resume), but when I spoke with hiring managers or decision-makers – they recognized TALENT and were able to find opportunities for me within their company. I, and most of the veterans around me, repaid that investment in spades through performance, growth and brand loyalty.

But that is where this goes sideways…because most hiring processes rely almost completely on resumes submitted online to job requisitions. High-performers, albeit with non-traditional backgrounds, get lost in the process because they may not have the exact experience, at big-name companies, that recruiters typically screen for.

They may have gaps due to pursuing additional education, raising a family, or taking care of sick family members.

They may have decided to pursue a career-pivot and, while short on some experience, bring a wealth of additional knowledge, skills, and experience that could be of tremendous value to your organization.

They may be high-performers still looking for the right fit.

Or they could be disadvantaged persons, like Military Spouses that face 35% unemployment, just looking for an opportunity to demonstrate how much of a "Rock Star" they truly are.

But the simple fact is when they don't look like a traditional candidate on-paper, they rarely get the chance to even demonstrate their potential that to a hiring manager or other decision-maker.

And not everyone is as blessed as I am to be able to initiate these conversations with strangers. Companies need to lean forward, engage and have conversations with diverse candidates/communities to truly build an exceptional workforce.

We’ve got to get beyond just looking at resumes, comparing apples to oranges, and look for opportunities to recognize talent, even when their skillsets or experience may be different than ours. Reaching out to others and helping expand their networks can make a world of difference for those who may be looking for that right opportunity.?

So to help companies get beyond just looking at resumes for the veteran community:

Here are 5 Ways to Recruit and Hire Veterans

1. Take Advantage of the DoD SkillBridge/Career Skills Program

Companies can bring in transitioning service members to work full-time for 3-4 months without paying salary or benefits. That’s right! By offering DoD SkillBridge internships, companies get a free look at talented candidates before making a hiring offer, and service members continue receiving full pay and benefits from their military service for the duration of the program. Learn how to start your own program through the Department of Defense website:?https://skillbridge.osd.mil/

If you would like someone else to facilitate your company’s DoD SkillBridge program, from finding candidates to processing the paperwork, check out the following organizations:

• HireMilitary
• Hiring our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program
• Heroes Make America

?2. Partner with a Non-profit

There are several large non-profits that focus heavily on preparing service members, military spouses, and Veterans for employment outside the military. Partnering with these organizations not only gets you access to their experience, but it also connects you to their pipeline of talent:

• USO Transitions extends the USO experience to active duty, Reserve, National Guard, and military spouses by offering professional development services throughout the duration of military service as well as in preparation for life post-military.
• American Corporate Partners helps Veterans and military spouses find their next careers by pairing them with industry professionals for year-long mentorships, changing lives in the process.
• VetJobs helps the service member, military spouse, and Veteran community with resume preparation, career coaching, and job placement.
• Onward to Opportunity?is a free career training program that provides professional certification and employee support services to transitioning service members, Veterans, and military spouses.
• ?Hire Heroes USA provides free job search assistance to U.S. military members, Veterans, and their spouses, and they help companies connect with opportunities to hire them.

?3. Leverage your Connection to the Military Community

Veteran Employee Resource Groups (ERG) can be a game-changer when leveraged by companies to connect with, translate experiences, and identify talent in the Veteran and military spouse communities. The key?

• Identify the best Executive Sponsor to ensure the program has stakeholder buy-in to bring this diverse group into your workforce.
• Connect the Veteran ERG to talent acquisition teams so that resumes they don’t understand can be sent over for translation or mentorship by the Veterans and allies in your ERG.
• Host or participate in events that maintain your organization’s connection with the military community.
• Assign new Veterans in your company to a member of your Veteran ERG as a mentor to help with the transition and improve retention.
• Track the number of Veterans that make the shortlist for actual interviews.
• Create a Veteran Hiring page on your website to help the community understand your commitment to hiring, places where they can be successful in your company, highlights current Veteran employees, shows how they can connect with your Diversity, Equity and Inclusion teams, and demonstrates how the culture of your company truly embraces Veterans.

?4. Participate in Military, Defense, or Federal Government Programs

• Employer Support of the Guard or Reserve helps companies understand and navigate the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
• The Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) connects military spouses with hundreds of partner employers who have committed to recruit, hire, promote, and retain military spouses. (Note: military spouses are the most economically disadvantaged group in the country, facing up to 35% unemployment during the pandemic.)
• The Department of Labor Veteran Employment and Training Service (DOL VETS) provides resources, hiring guides, access to the National Labor Exchange, and even has the HIRE Vets Medallion Program recognizing a company or organization’s commitment to Veteran hiring, retention, and professional development.
• The Department of Labor Employment Navigator (EN)?and Partnership Pilot (ENPP) provides one-on-one career assistance to transitioning service members and their spouses at 18 select military installations worldwide.
• State Workforce Agencies leverage Jobs for Veterans State Grants to connect employers to Veterans at the local level.

?5. Leverage the Work Opportunity Tax Credit

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a Federal tax credit available to private-sector businesses and certain non-profit organizations for hiring individuals from nine target groups, including Veterans, who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment.

Through the WOTC, employers can receive between $2,400 and $9,600 in tax credits by hiring:

• A Veteran who is a member of a family that received SNAP benefits (food stamps) for at least a 3-month period during the 15-month period ending on the hiring.
• A Veteran who has been unemployed for at least 4 weeks in the year ending on the hiring date
• A disabled Veteran entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability, who has been hired within 1 year of discharge or release from active duty, or unemployed for at least 6 months in the year ending on the hiring date.
• Veterans who are qualified long-term unemployment recipients for a period of 27 consecutive weeks or more and were receiving unemployment compensation under state or Federal Law.

It is a great way to articulate the additional ($$$) value in bringing a veteran to your team.

Here’s the Bottom Line

Veterans can improve and add diversity to your workforce, and there are tons of programs out there to help you find and hire them. Engaging with any of the programs or organizations listed above is a great place to start!

My specific experience is with veterans, but this advice applies to every diversity group.

Have the conversations.

Ask questions when you don't understand what people say.

Introduce (or even require) non-traditional candidates into your Talent Pipeline.

Make an effort to reach out to people where they are, not just review resumes, and you will bring an incredible group of professionals & diversity into your workforce.