There are many challenges that veterans face today when trying to find a civilian job. It is not just about translating military experience to civilian work, there are other challenges that sometimes make it difficult to find employment. However, there a lot of employers who would love to hire veterans. Unfortunately, most people don't know about the reasons why some hiring authorities would want to hire those who served in US military forces. It doesn't really matter where you served (division, rank, responsibilities), there are certain qualities and skills you have likely obtained while serving the military. And believe it or not sometimes those skills and qualifications are something employers need so much.
Why Do Employers Want to Hire Veterans?
As we have already mentioned there are employers who would love to hire you simply because being in the military has influenced you so much hat you could do nothing but acquire skills that are often in demand in reputable companies. Wherever you served it is likely that you have gained specialized skills. We are sure that whatever those skills are they could be easily combined with some new skills in order to perform well at a high level. For this, you will have to learn to translate your skills to the job requirements. Don't worry, this is what every job seeker should do.
The thing is that very often employers recognize better how your military skills can be applied in their company but it is not a good thing to sit and wait for such a smart employer. It is better to understand how it works on your own. But specialized skills are not everything former military people have. They usually possess way more than they think they can offer to employers because it seems like an insignificant thing. For example, let's take accountability. Most of the former military people are responsible workers with good accountability attitude. This has probably become a trait that goes hand in hand with military service. There are certain types of jobs where responsible employees that take accountability for their performance are needed so much. And it is something most veterans do have so why not focus on this in your cover letter or just during an interview? Teamwork and loyalty are other top traits for which employers want to hire veterans. It goes without saying that teamwork is one of the big cornerstones on which the big idea of the army is built.
Take out the teamwork and you have nothing but the bunch of people who don't know what to do. That is why no matter where you served you will likely have great teamwork skills. So a good idea would be just to demonstrate to the company representative that you are capable of seeing a big picture and their individual role in it. Well, the same goes for loyalty. People go to serve in the army out of loyalty to their country. Veterans are people who know how to sacrifice their time and opportunities for the sake of the team.
Focus on These Things
If you manage to focus on these traits during an interview with a prospective employer then you will have a good chance of being considered for hiring. You can add your strong work ethic which means you will do everything you can to learn new things in order to succeed. Do everything you can to highlight these in your job application package so that employers know what you can bring in to their company. This way it will help you stand out among the crowd of other applicants.
