3 strategies for hiring veterans in the next phase of their career

Veterans possess unique skills and experiences that can add significant value to your organization. Their disciplined work ethic, adaptability, problem-solving skills and technical proficiency, honed through military service, make them ideal candidates for roles requiring strategic thinking and technical versatility.

Many organizations are intentional about trying to source, hire, and include veteran talent to fill critical skills gaps, meet labor demands, and compete. But are your hiring strategies surfacing qualified veteran talent?

In this article, get data on the veteran population on Handshake, plus 3 suggestions for how to hire veterans in the next phase of their career:

1. Ensure your sourcing strategy will reach qualified veteran talent

2. Expand your school strategy to be more inclusive of veteran talent

3. Expose veterans to employees who have similar experience

What are some stats about the veteran talent pool on Handshake?

3 strategies for hiring veterans in the next phase of their career

1. Ensure your sourcing strategy will reach qualified veteran talent

Veterans leave the armed forces and graduate from post-secondary education with more work experience and professional development than the typical college student. Keep in mind that for some students from underrepresented groups and veterans in particular, their graduation year does not necessarily correlate with their age or years of experience. Think critically about transferable skills to screen veteran early talent in, not out.

For example, Anthony Hankerson, Employer Relation Advisor, Military Outreach at Western Governors University, suggests making your job descriptions more military-friendly by highlighting transferable skills and experiences relevant to the military personnel you are looking to recruit.

“At Western Governor’s University, we recognize that our veteran students bring a unique blend of skills and experiences to the workforce. Their time in service has honed their leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, and adaptability skills.”

—Anthony Hankerson, Employer Relation Advisor – Military Outreach at Western Governors University

One way to target qualified veteran talent on Handshake is through Segments in Talent Engagement Suite, which enable you to input your criteria and dynamically adjust your inputs to show you the depth and breadth of the pool. Segments offers you a skills-based hiring tool that can identify qualified talent based on your criteria, especially for private or public sector employers with dedicated programs for veteran recruitment initiatives for civilian roles.

2. Expand your school strategy to be more inclusive of veteran talent

Handshake can help you discover schools you may be overlooking when sourcing veteran talent. Not only that, but you may find that expanding your geographic reach may open up your pipeline.

Once you’ve connected with more schools on Handshake, you can also partner with campus-based veteran serving organizations and conferences to not only source candidates but also learn how to better attract and engage veterans—such as through fairs, sponsored projects, office tours, virtual events on how to navigate the federal application process, and so on.

“How Handshake helps us is, we're able to target a lot of different types of students and student groups across the us with a single platform. We're able to get connected to schools based on degree, we're able to get connected to schools based on location….Handshake has really allowed us to expand those horizons and get us connected to student organizations and schools that we would have never traditionally targeted, so it's really been a game changer.”

—Celia Croff, Talent Acquisition Manager: Military and Early Careers Programs, Builders First Source—a Handshake Early Talent Award winner

3. Expose veterans to employees who have similar experience

To even consider applying to a job with your organization, veterans want to see themselves represented at and welcomed by your workplace. In your branding materials and on your Company Brand Page, consider how welcomed veteran talent would feel if you share a testimonial from a veteran employee.

During the recruiting process, Anthony Hankerson, Employer Relation Advisor, Military Outreach at Western Governors University, recommends:

• Leveraging social media, like the Handshake feed, to share success stories;
• Partnering with university military resource centers to host information sessions, attend hiring events for veterans and transitioning service members, and promote job opportunities;
• Connecting with veteran organizations such as Hiring Our Heroes and 50 Strong.

Take those in-person event opportunities to pair candidates with employees who share similar experience. For example, an advocate within your organization—who can relate to what veterans go through to transition to civilian life—can be a bridge to support veterans entering their first job outside of the service. An advocate might be a member of a veteran's Employee Resource Group, for example, who can help students navigate norms that are new to them during the hiring process and beyond.

"Finding an internship was important for me because I had no experience. I was an avionics technician in the military, but now I'm transitioning into working with a leading tech company. [It’s] really important to get that hands-on feel."

—Christian, veteran who was hired on Handshake

Where to find and hire qualified veterans on Handshake

By implementing these strategies, your team can make a meaningful impact by connecting with and supporting veteran talent in their transition to the civilian workforce—at your organization.

Try filters available in Handshake Talent Engagement Suite to source qualified veteran talent based on degree type, skills, majors, graduation year, and more.