Is your recruiting team actively seeking veterans to fill your open positions? If not, you could be missing out on an unbeatable combination of skills and experience. Not only are military personnel often cross-trained in a variety of useful skills, but they also have invaluable experience that can benefit your organization. The available Work Opportunity Tax Credit even provides a federal tax incentive for companies that hire eligible veterans.
I know firsthand the value that veterans can bring to a business. We are grateful for the servicewomen and servicemen who work for Paycom, for both their service to our country and the talents they bring to our corporation.
Recently, I sat with a roomful of Paycom employees who are also veterans. I spoke with linguists, a combat medic and a radar technician representing the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and the Army National Guard.
I asked these veterans to share which elements of their service they are most proud to carry into their civilian work. Here’s some of what they shared with me.
1. Punctuality
The military is no-nonsense when it comes to respecting others’ time. If you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. And if you’re late, you’re in trouble.
2. Getting the most out of limited resources
Maximizing the use of available resources is a key skill. Veterans know how to get more done with less, because there’s no guarantee that you’ll have everything you could possibly need in a crisis situation.
3. Adaptability
Important lessons are learned in the field – and not just during training. It’s crucial for an individual to be flexible enough to take new information and apply it to future situations.
4. Great listening skills
A linguist in our group noted that active listening was an especially important skill in the field. Active listening can improve communication and ensure that projects are completed as expected the first time.
5. Attention to detail
Being able to reliably pay attention to small but critical details is essential for success in the military. This ability translates into any number of civilian jobs.
6. Being organized
Our veterans noted that you really don’t have the option of being disorganized in the military – which means that veterans know how to get and stay organized.
7. Problem-solving
As one veteran shared, “In Afghanistan, our mission was something like 90% boredom and 10% sheer terror. So in that 10% time of sheer terror, you have to be able to fix a problem in a very short period of time.”
In times of chaos, quick decision-making carries the day. This problem-solving ability serves veterans well once they’re back in civilian life, too.
8. Teamwork
Military personnel work with people from all walks of life and all skill levels. Being easy to work in diverse groups helps everyone do their jobs better. Veterans know that success depends on an entire team working together to achieve results.
These capable men and women can bring a wide variety of skills that can improve any work environment, and they’ve certainly contributed a lot to ours.