Overcoming Objections in the Job Search

As you leave the military, you walk away with leadership and management skills, and well as levels of discipline and adaptability that cannot be found most other places.  These provide a huge benefit to your perspective employer.  In fact, a research team from the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) interviewed 69 employers about their perceptions of veteran job applicants.  The results were:

• More than 70% stated they wanted to hire veterans because they have good leadership and teamwork skills. 
• About 50% cited character as a good reason to hire a veteran.
• More than 1/3 said that they hired veterans specifically for their expertise.
• More than 1/3 stated that they valued veterans’ ability to adjust and adapt their decisions and act decisively in dynamic and uncertain environments.    
• Nearly 30 % said hiring veterans was the “right thing” to do 
• About 10% said hiring veterans garnered good publicity for their firm.

However, these same employers also cited several reasons not to hire veterans. 

• Over 60% reported problems with skills translation, stating that veterans continue to not represent their skills and expertise in ways that are relevant to civilian companies.  
• Approximately 55% pointed out several negative stereotypes of veterans, including concerns about service-connected disorders, such PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), an inability to think creatively and being too rigid in approaching a problem/situation.
• Over 40% reported that they were willing to hire veterans but that their skills are simply mismatched for the job post.  In addition, a lack of qualifications and/or certifications was quoted (especially in the medical field).  
• About 35% reported concerns about future deployments.  

So here is a list of 4 things that veterans can do to help overcome these objections.  

1. Communicate military service clearly on resume - This is “Job #1”, and the onus is on you to show how you can be a valuable addition.  Civilian employers do not know that military-specific jobs – such as machine gunner or a tank driver or even a helicopter crew chief - have skills that can directly transfer to a civilian workplace.  So show them.  Translate your military experience into civilian terms.  
   
   There are many resources out there, including several military skills translators, but these should only be used as a starting point.  They are very general, and they only tend to identify skills specific to the military occupation entered.  Start with these translators, but then make a long list of your job duties, and then in small, digestible chunks begin to translate them into civilian terms.  Think about your grandparents or parents.  If they cannot understand what you did while in the military, neither will most hiring managers. 


2. Educate and debunk the myths surrounding service-connected disorders, such as PTSD - Employers can play a powerful role in the recovery and rehabilitation of returning veterans as well as debunking the myths surrounding them. About 8% of the U.S. population will develop PTSD at some point in their lives, and not all of them are veterans. It is not brought on by a weakness of character, and it does not make someone prone to violence.  America’s Heroes At Work website contains a lot of information for employers about PTSD and does a wonderful job debunking many of the myths surrounding the condition.  


3. Education and Certification - During a recent study conducted by the Apollo Research Institute employers stated that they prefer military applicants who hold a degree, with 71% stating that the degree is more important than the major.  Even with military experience, a high school diploma is not enough to set you apart from other job seekers.  
   
   In fact, the overwhelming majority of employers stated that they would prefer a candidate with 10 years of military experience with a college degree vs. 20 years of military experience but no college degree.  Look into college.  Your military career has given you the self-direction and discipline needed for the classroom.  Remember, if you can handle basic training, you can handle college courses. 


4. Relieve fears of deployment -- The median tenure that U.S. workers spend in their current job is 4.4 years (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2010).  The average reservist gets deployed once every five years. Military men and women are no more likely to get deployed than their civilian counterparts are to find a new job. 

Transitioning from a military career to a civilian career can be an exciting new chapter in your life, but it is not easy to do.  The transition can be hard.   It takes time, and you will need to build a support network around yourself to be successful.  Just the same way you depended on others while serving, find a network of civilian mentors to help you with your transition.  This can be anyone from your pastor to a successful high-school classmate. 

Snelling is here to help.  We understand that returning veterans are a different kind – a powerful kind – of candidate.  Our offices, across the country, are working to help veterans re-enter (or just enter) the civilian workforce.  We can help.  So visit our website to find your local Snelling office, where one of our talented staffing managers or recruiters can help you find your best-fit job….the job that matches your powerful job skills.  

By Christiane Soto, Snelling.com  

Download a full-color PDF of this article! As you leave the military, you walk away with leadership and management skills, and well as levels of discipline and adaptability that cannot be found in other candidates. These provide a huge benefits, but many employers also cite concerns about hiring veterans. Read our article to learn how to overcome these them and make yourself stand out. Click here to download a PDF version of this article today!