Military service can teach the value of responsibility, the importance of cultural diversity, and it can prepare enlistees to step into leadership roles.
When looking for loyal team players who will work hard without complaint and have leadership experience, what do you look for on a candidate's resume? An MBA? Someone who volunteers at a soup kitchen on weekends? Someone who whose career started at McDonald's?
A stint in the armed forces might be the key suggests Lisa Rosser, founder and CEO of The Value of a Veteran, an organization which provides human resources consulting and training for organizations that seek to improve support, recruitment and retention of military veterans. "Hiring a veteran isn't just patriotic—it's good business," she asserts.
Rosser has worked for years to promote the benefits of hiring veterans, and awareness is growing. President Obama vigorously endorsed the idea during last Tuesday's State of the Union Address, "…to every CEO in America, let me repeat: If you want somebody who's going to get the job done, hire a veteran."
Rosser cites three benefits of hiring military vets.
1. Work Ethic
A few years of service in the military can teach the value of responsibility, discipline, and persistence—like sticking with a job when it isn't all that fun.
"It's a constantly changing environment—soldiers go from serving in Afghanistan to responding in natural disasters on US soil…. They have to be fluid and flexible. The military operates as a team," explains Rosser. If a member of the military finds they don't like their new combat mission as much as they liked peeling potatoes in Fort Polk, LA, too bad— a soldier can't just turn down an assignment because they don't like it, says Rosser.
Compare this to the American university system, where a student can change their major or drop a class if it becomes overwhelming or they decide a course of study isn't for them. At an age when many of their peers were enjoying frat parties and road trips, most service men and women were learning about the potentially deadly consequences of a poor judgment call, the importance of teamwork, and to value the needs of their organization over their own.
Veterans know how to handle stress, follow orders, and evaluate situations realistically.
2. Cultural Competence / International Experience
As the national cultural becomes increasingly diverse, hospitals and health systems that mirror the communities they serve by employing linguistically and culturally aware workforces stand to best serve their patients.
"Many people only associate military with war and forget natural disaster and humanitarian response missions," says Rosser. "As a soldier, you have to care for the population being affected [in a disaster or humanitarian mission]... If the mission is to care for the injured or ill, we do that, and we do it well."
The military has many jobs which require understanding of a foreign language and culture, including foreign area specialists, translators, and intelligence analysts.
Even soldiers who don't directly work in a capacity with foreign nationals or who never see combat are often stationed abroad at some point, in regions as diverse as Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. Many of these men and women will learn at least a little bit about the language and culture of the area where they are stationed.
3. Leadership Experience
How many 22-year olds do you know who are ready to step in to a leadership position at a moment's notice? If you've spent any time around members of the military, you probably know quite a few of them. "The military operates as a team—everyone is trained to take charge when the need arises. At any moment… your current leader could get injured and killed. In those situations, you can't open a req and wait for it to be filled," Rosser says.
Soldiers are usually prepared for supervisory positions within three to four years of enlisting—usually sooner if they're commissioned. After an additional year or two, the soldier is likely to be moved to a managerial role, which is fast in comparison to corporate America.
Additionally, of the more than 7,000 occupations within the military, 81% have direct civilian equivalents, including food service, security, janitors, plumbers and human resources associates—not to mention doctors, nurses, and other medical specialists.
"It's not that service members don't have the right skills, it's that leaders don't know how to translate them to civilian skills, and vets don't know how to put them into the right terms [so hiring managers and HR teams can understand what they mean]," says Rosser.
If a veteran gives you the military occupation code of the job they did during their service, look it up online or simply ask them what they did in that role—even in cases where there isn't an exact civilian match, there are almost certainly skills that they learned that can be applied to civilian jobs.
"Look at this from talent management perspective," suggests Rosser. "Do you have high turnover? Is it difficult to fill critical positions? Whatever you pain points are, filling a position with veteran talent is a good solution."
When you hire a veteran, you're not just doing something patriotic or a serving those who have served their country—you are hiring an experienced professional who will bring a unique skill set to your team.
Lena J. Weiner is an associate editor at HealthLeaders Media.