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Why Aren’t More Military Veterans Getting Hired?
SAN DIEGO, June 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A poll from the Society for Human Resource Management shows the greatest challenge military veterans face in the civilian job market is how they translate and describe their military experience. On the hiring side, HR professionals are largely unaware of Department of Labor programs that help them to identify military veterans seeking civilian jobs.
Well over half — 60 percent — of HR professionals polled said translating military skills to the civilian job experience is a challenge when it comes to writing resumes, interviewing, and other related job-hunt communications.
Another 48 percent said difficulty transitioning from the structure and hierarchy in the military culture to the civilian workplace presented a hiring challenge. Similarly, 36 percent of respondents said a challenge to hiring is the amount of time it takes military veterans to adapt to civilian workplace culture overall.
Released today during the SHRM annual conference in San Diego, the poll, “Employing Military Personnel and Recruiting Veterans – Attitudes and Practices”, is part of a SHRM initiative to find solutions to address the high unemployment rate among military veterans.
While the poll shows that 50 percent of organizations that hired veterans made a specific effort to recruit these candidates, greater awareness of military veterans as job candidates overall is needed.
“The high unemployment rate of military veterans is startling and SHRM is committed to working with federal agencies such as the Department of Labor and civilian HR professionals to create initiatives that get veterans hired,” said Laurence G. O’Neil, president and CEO of SHRM.
The poll also shows that while 46 percent of HR professionals think post-traumatic stress issues or other mental health issues may present a challenge to hiring, and 22 percent think the same of combat-related physical disabilities, the assumptions are unfounded. Only 13 percent of HR professionals experienced in working with employees returning to civilian work from active duty reported issues in transitioning them back into the workforce.
Stellar performance
Among those companies and organizations that have hired military veterans, the performance feedback for such employees is stellar. Roughly 97 percent of HR professionals said military veterans bring a strong sense of responsibility to their work.
Their performance is exemplary across other criteria, too, according to HR professionals: 96 percent said military veterans work well under pressure; 92 percent noted that military veterans see a task through to completion; 91 percent highlighted strong leadership skills; 91 percent noted also a high degree of professionalism in military veterans; and 90 percent observed strong problem-solving skills among military veterans.
How can HR find military veterans to hire?
When asked what tools and resources “would help a lot” the civilian HR effort to recruit and hire military veterans, three key solutions emerged:
- 39 percent of HR professionals said programs to train veterans with additional skills for the civilian workplace;
- Nearly one in four, or 36 percent, said programs to help veterans transition their existing skills to the civilian workplace; and
- 32 percent said assistance in identifying and reaching out to qualified veterans would help them to recruit and hire military veterans.
The poll found that HR professionals were mostly unaware of Department of Labor (DOL) resources. Nearly seven out of ten — 68 percent — said they were not at all aware of the Local Veterans’ Employment Representative (LVER) program while 16 percent were somewhat familiar but do not use. Another 70 percent reported they were not at all familiar with the DOL’s Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) while 19 percent noted they were somewhat familiar but do not use.
The military veterans poll surveyed 429 randomly selected HR professionals across industries and the country. It was fielded June 8–18, 2010.
To read the poll, please visit: http://www.shrm.org/Research.
About the Society for Human Resource Management
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China and India. Visit SHRM Online at www.shrm.org.
http://www.shrm.org/about/pressroom
Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=38026
Posted by Yanira Farray on Jun 29 2010, With 0 Reads, Filed under Vet News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Mike Leon,
I will give my experience and I hope that it adds value to this wonderful article.
First off when you find that Veterans preference is added to the likes of minorities, women, handicap it should automatically send up a RED FLAG. Why, Why, must the Feds offer an incentive to the private sector to do the RIGHT THING?
Well with 11 years of Military experience, both Enlisted and Officer, I found out the hard way that the private sector is as Tony Montana said in Scarface “A bunch of cockroaches!!!.”
When I was getting out of the Corps a retired Sgt. Major pleaded with me to rethink my position. In my ignorance I was indeed blinded by the 100K salary.
I was hired by a Company that made steering linkage and rear axles for GM. The recruiters stated that there was a culture within the Company that warranted change. It was a YOU against ME attitude between Management and the Union. With me they got a Minority and a Veteran.
I took the job and indeed there was a serious mistrust and the atmosphere was hideous though everyone made EXCELLENT MONEY.
When I started my Supervisor stated in order to get good results I had to kick the workers in the ass daily. Initially I took that attitude and it back fired. At the end of the day my management supervisor was screaming at me about the bottom line.
I had no production experience. However, I am a former Marine and I know how to lead. I gathered my crew of 20 or so workers and apologized for my ignorance. As I did in the Corps I went to the lead man, my NCO of the group and built a relationship with my workers. Soon they began to trust me and I was making 120% efficiency and proficiency while making QUALITY PARTS.
The respect of upper level management went from respect to envy in a heartbeat. I took the attitude of “Well I am here to make money and go home.” However, soon my crew/troopers warned me of the scuttlebutt that was in the air.
On one occasion I had an “A” class worker who accidentally smashed a machine while busting his ass to make badly needed parts toward the END of a shift!! This man could make a machine squeal like a PIG!!
Upper Management said “write him up and send him home for 2 weeks.” I said NO!! Why? It was a mistake and I was watching when the incident happened.
The BUZZARDS fired me. However, I felt that NO amount of money was worth me selling my SOUL TO THE DEVIL!! I left that place with my integrity intact after 2 years and to this day I have NO REGRETS!!
So in closing I will say that the private sector is a pack of wolves with very little integrity. They say they want the discipline of the American Veteran. However, if you don’t conform to the lies and deceit of their culture they will cut your throat.
Some may say C.K. what more proof do you have? Well look at Wall Street and the decline of the American Industrial Machine. It has VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH UNIONS. In fact the problem weighs more in the fact that MANAGEMENT IS MISMANAGING AND KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THEIR CRAFT!!!
We as Vets live by words such as HONOR, INTEGRITY, COURAGE, and AND COMMITMENT while the CIVILIAN population finds CREATIVE WAYS TO DISMANTLE THIS GREAT NATION!!
C.K.
Allow me to add to your post, which I agree with each word that you have written. I retired in 1975 with 22 years of service, from the Corps, as a captain. Eleven years of enlisted and 11 years as a commissioned officer. There were few of my skills, (Infantry, Recon, Weapons instructor, Aerial Observer that could be transferred to civilian job. I was hired on a Special Veterans Grant for one year. I was assigned as the Assistant LVER and later the LVER and functional supervisor of all staff that served veterans. 100% of my time was devoted, by law, to serving Veterans.
At that time there were directives that mandated service to Veterans. It was not difficult to understand that the Vet, Disabled Vet came first. Sad to say the office manager on down through the ranks did it their way. The MJL’S, mandatory job listers,(employers with $10,000 contract with the Federal Government) were not following the public law.
Basically all they had to do was list all of their job openings with the me first so that Veterans could be referred first and then and only then the job would be listed for the non Veterans.
The problems that you write about were the same problems I had.
I went after the largest MJL employer in the county for non compliance. They balked, they talked to my manager. He wanted to fire me. I told him that I had copies of the paper work for the past 8 years of his non compliance. I stated it was his choice, to fire me was to fire himself and the asst. manager.
I stayed there eight years and it got much better for Veterans. Semper Fidelis. Blackcoat.
Blackcoat isn’t it amazing how they side step the law when it is convenient for them?
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THAT IS WHY WE ARE STILL STRUGGLE AND BATTLE AGAINST OBAMA AND HIS THUGS TO GIVE MORE JOBS TO BOTH VETERANS A ND CIVIL.
BOTH OBAMA AND HIS THUGS HAVE LOTS FULL HOLES IN THEIR EARS !. WHICH MEANS IGNORES AGAINST US .
ONE ONLY WAY OUR, SUGGESTION TO ALL OF YOU TO SET UP NEW AMERICAN VOLUNTEER ARMY II TO CRUSH OBAMA AND HIS THUGS IN WASH. DC AND WHITE HOUSE LEADING BY ANY GENERALS AND HIGHER OFFICERS . SO NEW GENERAL WILL CONTROL WHITE HOUSE FOR WHILE TO SEE EVERYBODY HAPPY AND JOBS !.
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The unemployed veterans are up against the VA & its POVERTY PIMP’S BILLION DOLLAR CAMPAIGN telling the nation’s employers that the veterans are one drink away from SNAPPING into a HOMICIDAL RAGE without their “How do you feel” group therapy nonsense, their MANDATORY 12-Step Religious Cult conversion , and handfuls of Psycho-Wacko meds not even approved for Lab Rats! 99% of the VA & its POVERTY PIMP’S “Job Training” programs are Sorting Clothes at Goodwill and mopping & cleaning the VA’s nursing home’ toilets & patient’s rooms. The veterans CAN’T WIN when they have the VA against them!
LMAO @ August..Brutha ain’t those group sessions a JOKE and God knows I hate the repetitive question of “How do you feel!!!!!” I told one doctor when I was in the psych Ward ” I would feel a whole lot better if you MF’s give me my check so I can have some degree of quality of life.” I am with you on that one!! The psycho meds I get and FLUSH. The side affects are WORST than the Illness!! Don’t SNAP my brutha know that I LOVE YOU as a fellow Veteran and prayers do change things!!!!
I went from having it ALL…Then I lost it ALL and now God has me focused on pulling myself out of this mess. God can do what the Meds can never do which is to give a man peace of mind in the midst of the STORM!!!
[...] Why Aren't More Military Veterans Getting Hired? : Veterans Today [...]
The policies for hiring veterans are nothing but a sham for supervisors and hiring
authorities (in the federal government). This stuff has been going on since the
vets preference began. You don’t see supervisors being fired or demoted for failing
to comply. Congress could give a damm less if anybody complies with their laws
because they expect them not to. I went thru this 30 years ago when I retired from
the navy. It was the same damm way then. The whole system is a damm joke, devised
only to make a vet think he or she has a chance to be hired. The vets need to
organize in this country and form a national “veterans union”. In fact, the unions
in government today are making the rules. You can bet they have no use for vets.
I spent 20 years after I left the navy in a government job; part-time at that and
federal law means nothing to those in the hiring process. Who is going to fire them?
Chuck it is a joke. I dropped 16 and I repeat 16 resumes on USAJOBS and I have Veterans Preference of 10 pts. The most I got was a note saying that I was qualified and sent to the hiring official. Then a few weeks later another letter stating that the position has been filled.
So I have tried and tried and I will continue to try. However, I don’t allow them to consume my thoughts anymore.
[...] Why Aren't More Military Veterans Getting Hired? : Veterans Today [...]
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I agree with the everyone on here, except the radical revolutionary anti-Obama guy. I am a vet and I worked at a VA hospital as a food service worker. Plenty of entry-level jobs, but the cream jobs are slated for civies and their friends and relatives. Very sad to see so many overqualified vets never being given a chance! May be most civilians probably see military as potential competitors? Don’t really care, just want to get a job and “earn” an honest wage.
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