Employers Eager To Hire Veterans
According to a new CareerBuilder study, 29 percent of employers say they are actively recruiting veterans to work for their organizations, up 9 percentage points from a year ago. Twenty-two percent are planning on adding members of the National Guard to their headcount, up 8 percentage points. Sixty-five percent said they would be more likely to hire a veteran over another equally qualified candidate. The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive of more than 2,600 employers nationwide in August and September of this year.
Now CareerBuilder and Military Times are joining forces at www.MilitaryTimes.com/Jobs to help veterans access the tools and information they need to connect them with the employers who most want to hire them. Employers may be eligible for certain tax incentives when hiring veterans. The tax incentive is currently set to expire after December 31, 2012.
Employers are looking to leverage the technical and leadership skills of military personnel. The most common areas for hiring U.S. service men and women are:
• Information Technology — 30 percent;
• Customer Service — 23 percent;
• Engineering — 22 percent;
• Sales — 20 percent;
• Manufacturing — 20 percent; and
• Business Development — 15 percent.
"The unemployment rate for veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq, though declining, is still considerably higher than the general population," said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America. "While military veterans possess a great deal of the business-friendly skills that employers look for in candidates, one of the challenges vets face is knowing where to begin when job hunting after they return from active duty."
The website built by Military Times and CareerBuilder hosts a wide range of jobs across industries from employers eager to hire veterans and a comprehensive tool set for veterans to use in their job search. Employers in turn will be able to quickly reach a nationwide pool of veteran talent that is quick to learn, trained to take initiative, and adaptable to change.
One of the biggest challenges employers face when recruiting U.S. veterans is that service men and women don't always market themselves as veterans. Forty-five percent of employers say they pay more attention to applications submitted by U.S. veterans, but 30 percent say it's not always obvious whether a candidate is a veteran.
SESCO Management Consultants is available to assist with your human resource issues. You may contact us by phone at 423-764-4127 or by email at sesco@sescomgt.com.