Hiring the right people for your organization is crucial to long-term success. The unfortunate narrative many people have about Veterans is they have issues from time in the military, or that they're in way broken. But there is a different story that we want to help write. As a recruiter, I’m always looking for patterns and predictability in the talent pool. While every person is different, and so is every Veteran, I’ve noticed some similarities among Vets that help make them great additions to the professional workforce.

I encourage all leaders and businesses to consider this unique population and the special skills and experience they have to offer. For us, it’s personal too—we’re a certified Veteran Owned Business (VOB) so we know firsthand that the lessons learned from the military apply to more than just their active duty. They’re lifelong tools that can be used any time, any place. From the top down, we believe this is an important distinction to make when considering the Veteran talent pool. So here are the top five reasons we hire Veterans:

1) Grit

It’s not easy to sign-up for the Military, and it doesn’t get any easier once you’re in. Veterans are challenged with all sorts of failures, injuries, barriers, adversity, etc. throughout their military experience. They learn how work through it. They understand that challenges, failures and struggles are part of the process. They’re gritty and willing to work hard to add value and achieve goals without giving up.

2) Trust

As a company, we focus a lot on trust. This is a huge part of our culture and a big reason why our organization has been successful and experienced the consistent, steady growth that we have. We find that Veterans are accustomed to trusting the people around them, and they hold the trust placed in them to a high regard. When you work with a group, you need to be able to rely on each other. That begins and ends with trust. Veterans get that, which helps tremendously when it comes to accomplishing goals.

3) Team Oriented

Building on the role of trust, is teamwork. Veterans are also trained and skilled when it comes to working within a system and being a member of a team. Veterans know how important it is to preserve and cultivate good team dynamics. When everyone has each other’s’ back, and holds each other accountable, the team moves forward and good things happen.

4) Good under pressure

In the military there are always plans, missions, projects but they always don’t always go according to plan. Vets expect the unexpected, and they’re experienced when it comes to problem solving. Instead of losing their composure under pressure, they strive to rise to the occasion and come up with a solution. They’re used to dealing with stress and fast pace scenarios, and they’re trained to keep their cool

5) Life Long Learners

Veterans learn invaluable skills, technologies, methods, etc. during their time in the military. But perhaps more importantly, they learn how to learn without ideal conditions. They can adapt and get the info needed to be successful. We find that Veterans consistently are not satisfied until they master a skill.
Why We Should All Consider Veterans

Giving Veterans the chance to apply their unique skillset in the professional world is something we encourage more organizations to do. As a recruiter, I have found time and again that this population has a lot to offer the workforce. The next time you need to fill a role, we hope you consider a Veteran.