Why I Hire Vets

Have you ever wished that you could put potential employees through a truly rigorous vetting process instead of reading off the list of "approved" questions provided by your HR staff? Sometimes after an interview I feel like I’m just throwing the dice no matter how well written a resume is or how articulate, bright and engaging a potential hire may be. What if I told you there are thousands of potential hires that all share the following values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.

These are the U.S. Army's values. Each soldier is trained to embrace and aspire to these core values and although these are the Army values, each service instills similar values in their members.

I hire as many vets as I can because I know what I am getting. I spent over 20 years in the Army and we have over a 100 veterans from all branches working at our company. With the Iraq war ending, there will be thousands of vets looking for work. Here's what you get when you hire vets:

1. Veterans of our Armed Forces have been through a process that teaches them to be self-reliant yet team oriented. 

2. They are trained to pay attention to every detail and have an unrelenting sense of mission. 

3. Today's vets have likely seen combat and lead teams in extraordinarily complex environments so they are already experienced leaders, mature beyond their years. They’re familiar with other countries, cultures and religions, adapting well to new situations. 

4. If general leadership isn’t your strong suit they can be a valuable asset in helping you understand group dynamics and how to motivate the workforce in a positive way. All military leadership training starts with learning to be a good follower and productive member of a team. 

5. Veterans are well rounded, they’re comfortable wearing multiple hats and taught to problem solve and multi-task from the first day of basic training. 

6. Lastly, military personnel are likely the most well-versed people in our country when it comes to equal opportunity, sexual harassment, family support, ethics, conflict of interest and many, many more commonplace corporate HR policies.

Help your bottom line by entrusting it to folks who put their lives on the line for all of us.

Do you have veterans on your staff? What has your experience been with hiring veterans?