how-companies-are-trying-to-fill-their-vacancies-with-veterans

How Companies Are Trying to Fill Their Vacancies With Veterans

There’s a big push among companies employing veterans these days because of their unique skills and work ethic.

That recent phenomenon involves young workers ditching their jobs for different ones. According to NPR, roughly 33 million Americans have quit their jobs since the spring of 2021.

The Military Times reports that Walmart, Hilton, Amazon, and many other companies (including non-profits) want veterans and actively seek them out for positions. They want servicemembers who recently left their service looking to get back into civilian life.

The Military Times reported on this new crop of jobs.

Why It Matters

  • Veterans coming home to civilian life have great opportunities for work
  • Companies like Hilton and Walmart hire thousands of veterans
  • Many vets can serve in National Guard while working

The Work Is Out There For Military Veterans

The climate is ripe for companies to hire veterans these days. Look at the February jobs report, employers added 678,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent.

In addition to those facts, a labor shortage boosts workers’ pay in many instances.

Why do companies want vets? The website said they have excellent leadership experience. They can work well under pressure and have a ready-to-work ethic. Many veterans are easily trained and adaptable with the desire to foster teamwork.

“The military is people-focused,” Mike Abrams, founder and president of FourBlock,. The lieutenant colonel is also in the Marine Corps reserves.

At the same time, veterans like companies where the culture mirrors their service. Many companies want to espouse teamwork, leadership, and support.

The news report highlighted Hilton first, saying the company has a long history of military support. The company’s namesake, Conrad Hilton, served during World War I. Over the years, the company has launched several initiatives. One 2013 plan called Operation: Opportunity hired 35,000 veterans and military spouses.

Hilton Revenue Management Consolidated Center revenue specialist Bryan Estrella said his company has done “an amazing job” to find vets who can take their valuable experience and adapt to other roles.

Melissa Stirling leads the company’s Military Programs and runs Operation: Opportunity. She said Hilton’s commitment to hiring veterans is a “tried-and-true focus for us.” Stirling related it’s not an initiative, but it’s “who we are.”

Estrella, who also works in the National Guard, said the company operates around his schedule. He’s found success in both jobs.

Walmart Following Hilton In Finding Valuable Veterans For Jobs

The Arkansas-based company is one of many companies employing veterans and military spouses. They’ve found more than 250,000 great workers since 2013. 

The company’s Find-A-Future program has special tools for veterans who want to assess their skills. It also helps them get jobs through additional education and entrepreneur work.

Veteran Brynt Parmeter is Senior Director of Military Programs for Walmart. He calls the program an easy way to take the “guesswork out of someone’s post-military landing place.”

The program helps veterans figure out what they want out of Walmart jobs and take their experience for future roles. Parmeter calls it a “more deliberate, more thoughtful process” that people “appreciate.”

Finally, there are several non-profit companies employing veterans as well.

FourBlock, Helping Our Heroes, and the Honor Foundation (which works exclusively with former special operations forces personnel) offer training, resume help, career fairs, and assessments. There are also other essential services for veterans and their spouses.

Some even help vets get job interview experience, graduate-level study, and other practice for networking events.