Recruiters: Hiring Veterans Made Easy
(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is brought to you by our friends at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). With over 300,000 HR and business executive members, SHRM creates better workplaces where employers and employees thrive together. Don’t miss the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo on June 28 – July 1, 2020 in San Diego. Enjoy the article!)
Readers of this blog know that I’m a facilitator for SHRM’s seminars. One of the seminars that I facilitate is Talent Acquisition: Creating Your Organizational Strategy. During the program, we talk about hiring veterans.
In a great video that we show during the seminar, Justin Constantine, retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, and Florent Groberg, retired U.S. Army Captain and Medal of Honor recipient, have a discussion about one of the biggest challenges with hiring veterans – deciphering the military occupational specialty (MOS). Every time I see this video, I’m reminded of a breakout session I attended years ago at SHRM’s Talent Conference where the speaker spent an entire hour breaking down how to read the MOS. Think about it as trying to learn a new language in an hour. It’s tough!
The reason I’m bringing this up is because I know organizations want to hire veterans. Organizations want to hire the best talent and veterans can bring their value to our organizations. But let’s face it. When a recruiter has 20, 30, or more requisitions on their desk, it’s hard to find time to learn all those MOSs. Wouldn’t it be great if there was some way to find terrific candidates and get a shortcut in translating military codes?
SHRM HireVets Brings Connections and Education
Recently, I had the opportunity to do a test drive of the SHRM HireVets platform. This product was created in partnership with JobPath, a veteran and military spouse careers platform that attracts over 24,000 new users every month and has more than 200,000 users currently accessing its wide variety of resources. Job-seeking veterans and spouses of active-duty military personnel can leverage JobPath’s powerful technology to easily create customized resumes, take over 200 online courses, and connect with mentors for career guidance.
The site provides that shortcut we’re looking for in two big areas when it comes to veteran recruiting: 1) Connection and 2) Education.
1. CONNECTIONS VIA CANDIDATE MATCHING AND SEARCH
SHRM HireVets has a candidate matching function that will take your existing job postings and conduct an internal match from within the SHRM HireVets database. Please note: SHRM HireVets isn’t a job board and your job posting isn’t going public. If you’re wondering about the composition of the SHRM HireVets database (because I would be), SHRM shared with me that the expertise areas of their data base include: Transportation – 19%, Information Technology – 18%, Manufacturing/Operations – 17%, Defense Industry – 15%, Construction/Skilled Trade – 15%, Accounting/Finance – 13%, Security/Law Enforcement – 12%, and Health Care – 10%.
In addition, the geographic regions represented include Texas – 10%, California – 7%, New Jersey – 7%, New York – 7%, Florida – 6%, North Carolina – 5%, Georgia – 4%, Pennsylvania – 4%, Illinois – 3%, and Tennessee – 3%.
In addition to the candidate match feature, you can do a single job search as well as provide your applicant tracking system (ATS) feed, so it happens automatically. So SHRM HireVets functions very similarly to other career sites and responds to traditional Boolean search commands. All you need to conduct a basic search is a job description keyword or job title and a zip code. You’ll receive a list of matches that allow you to view resumes online so you can reach out to candidates directly.
2. EDUCATION ABOUT THE MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY
Let’s say you’re at a job fair and a veteran introduces themselves as an “88Mike”. I don’t know about you, but my first response would be “What’s that?” The SHRM HireVets platform allows us to look up the code 88Mike and learn that the person was a motor transport operator. Not that you’re going to stop the conversation and look it up…but with the SHRM HireVets military job translator, we have the ability to do our research and know those codes that will immediately register with us. If my company is looking for drivers, I want to talk with “88Mikes”.
The reverse is also true. Organizations can enter the category of jobs they’re looking for in the SHRM HireVets platform and learn the MOS they should be on the lookout for. For example, your company needs nurses. You can look on SHRM HireVets using the keywords RN or Paramedic. Then, you can filter by military branch. Because not only is military occupational specialties different from what we post in the public and private sector but they’re different between the branches of the service.
You don’t have to use the MOS translator to take advantage of the candidate matching and single job search features. But I can see it being very helpful in sourcing qualified candidates.
Hire the Right Veterans for Your Jobs
Organizations are always looking for qualified candidates. Even more so in today’s competitive talent landscape. Veterans have proven experience doing a great job. We just need to create the win-win. Because we all know hiring the wrong person is expensive and doesn’t contribute to organizational productivity.
The SHRM HireVets platform offers you a tool that will not only hire a veteran but to hire the right veteran. The candidate who has the knowledge, skills, and abilities that align with your job requirements. If you want to learn more about how the SHRM HireVets platform to bring more qualified veterans into your organization, check it out on the SHRM Store site. There’s an online FAQ and short demo you can preview as well.
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