Sourcing veterans

Consider these tips to help you find and attract former service members:

Make sure your recruiters understand the benefits of hiring veterans. Although veterans have different experiences and professional backgrounds, they tend to have valuable transferable skills. Due to their service, they typically excel at teamwork and take accountability for their actions.

Partner with organizations that serve veterans. When you have these partnerships in place, it’s easy to share job advertisements and spread the word about your company’s hiring needs. Consider contacting the Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion and other military organizations in your area.

Post your advertisements on military job boards. Specialized job boards can help you expand your reach to veterans and candidates with military experience.

Send a representative to veteran job fairs. Many military organizations host career fairs for veterans looking for work. These events can be a great place to share your company’s story and open jobs. 

Promote your company as a great place for veterans to work. Your Indeed Company Page can be a great place to share your military-ready company culture. For example, you can highlight your company’s veteran Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), how you’re supporting veterans in your community and any mental health resources you provide to employees. You can also set up a careers page for veterans and those with military experience on your company website.

4 tips for creating military-ready job descriptions

Make hiring veterans a little easier by creating military-ready job descriptions. One of the main challenges military veterans face is finding jobs to match their skills and experiences. Veterans should be able to picture themselves working for your company, so taking these steps may help with sourcing.

1. Use competencies vs. years of experience

If your job description lists three years of experience as a must-have requirement, a veteran with two-and-a-half years of experience may be discouraged from applying for the job, even if they have advanced skills. To avoid excluding veteran candidates who have the skills you’re looking for, list must-have and nice-to-have skills, rather than requiring a certain number of years of experience. 

For example, if you need someone to fill a manufacturing role, you may want to look for someone who is capable of taking apart a mechanical object and reassembling it within a certain timeframe, rather than requiring a minimum of five years in the manufacturing industry.

Related: How Skills-Based Hiring Can Benefit Your Workforce

2. Establish your company as a veteran-friendly workplace

If you want to hire veterans, it’s important to show them why they should work for your company. Use the job description to highlight your veteran-friendly workplace. For example, if you work with local advocacy organizations, mention it in your job description. It’s also helpful to list any support services available to employees, such as employee assistance programs (EAP) and wellness services.

3. Use military-ready language and provide as much detail as possible

Someone who was in the military for several years may not be familiar with some of the terms in your company’s standard job descriptions. In fact, according to a 2023 study by Indeed and Hiring Our Heroes, one of the challenges veterans report facing is difficulty finding jobs to match their skills. If you want to hire military veterans, you need to create job descriptions that align with what veterans can bring to a company. 

It can help to use military-friendly keywords. These words and phrases typically resonate with people who are transitioning from military service to civilian careers:

• Veteran-friendly
• Military experience
• Transitioning military
• Veteran support
• GI Bill benefits
• Military-friendly

Additionally, avoid jargon or acronyms that may not be familiar to those outside the military. Use clear and straightforward language that everyone can understand.

Another way to improve your job descriptions is to provide as much detail as possible. Veterans should understand what the job entails without having to research your company or contact one of your HR staff members.

4. Highlight service and mentorship opportunities

Some veterans feel strongly about supporting or mentoring other people, so they may be more likely to accept a job with a company that offers plenty of service opportunities. In fact, according to the Indeed and Hiring Our Heroes study, veteran respondents said that one of the most important aspects of an organization’s workplace culture is volunteer or service opportunities that allow employees to give back to communities.

If your company offers paid time off for volunteering or spends one day per quarter helping a local nonprofit, consider mentioning it in your job description. It can also be helpful to mention any mentorship programs or career development opportunities available to employees, including those specifically designed for veterans or individuals transitioning from military service.

Interview questions for military veterans

Beyond the job description, it’s also important to tailor your interview questions to job seekers with military experience. Standard questions, for example, may not be relevant to their experiences in the military.

When possible, ask open-ended questions that give veteran candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. For example, instead of asking specifically about work experiences, you can ask a veteran candidate to tell you about a time they stepped in to help someone. Allowing them to draw on their experiences in the military is a great way to evaluate veteran candidates.

If possible, including team members with military experience in your interview process can also offer invaluable insights when assessing candidates’ skills, adaptability and leadership potential. Their firsthand understanding of the military-to-civilian transition process and ability to translate military skills into civilian contexts can offer invaluable guidance to both hiring managers and transitioning veterans.

Read more: 20 Interview Questions to Ask a Veteran

How to effectively onboard veterans

The Indeed and Hiring Our Heroes survey found that many veterans reported having trouble adjusting to civilian workplace culture. This makes proper onboarding extremely important. 

In the military, enlisted soldiers must often follow the commands of ranking officers and follow strict routines, making it challenging to work in a setting that values autonomy, collaborative decision-making and flexible work schedules. Soldiers who worked in active combat zones may also have issues slowing down when they come back to civilian life.

That’s why spending a little extra time answering questions and orienting new hires to your company’s culture can help when you’re onboarding veterans. Here are some things to consider when building an onboarding process:

• Provide mentorship and support: Assign mentors or buddies to guide new hires through their initial days and offer ongoing support and assistance as they acclimate to the company culture and workflow.
• Personalize the onboarding experience: Tailor each onboarding task to the veteran’s knowledge, skills and abilities. Customizing onboarding tasks to match what they already know can help build their confidence and competence in their new role. 
• Include engagement activities: Incorporate interactive activities, team-building exercises and opportunities for new hires to connect with colleagues to foster a sense of belonging and integration into the company culture .
• Offer military transition support: Recognize the unique transition veterans undergo from military to civilian life. Offer resources and guidance to help them navigate this change, including assistance with translating military experience into civilian skills.

Hiring veterans not only brings diverse skill sets and valuable experience to your organization but also demonstrates a commitment to supporting those who have served their country. By implementing effective sourcing strategies, tailored interview processes and robust onboarding programs, you can help ensure a seamless transition for veterans into civilian roles, fostering a culture of inclusivity and success.

¹Indeed data (US)