Posted on Aug 1, 2016
unexpected-truth-hiring-veterans-dakota-meyer
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https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/unexpected-truth-hiring-veterans-dakota-meyer?trk=hp-feed-article-title-comment
RP Members and Connections and those getting ready to Transition - check out this article! The entire article is provide below - do you agree with the author?
The Unexpected Truth Of Hiring Veterans
Published on July 28, 2016
By
Dakota Meyer
CEO/ Founder at DM Tactical LLC
Since 2012, when I first began working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative and Toyota to advocate for meaningful employment opportunities for veterans, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about veterans in the workplace. I’ve attended dozens of hiring fairs, lead workshops and talked to hundreds of employers and thousands of veterans.
The message I set out to share seemed obvious: veterans make great employees — if only employers knew where to look for them and how to communicate with them about their experience in the military. As both a veteran and a business owner, I know this to be true. Thanks to their military experiences, veterans are resourceful problem solvers and strong leaders. These and many other valuable skills they’ve gained during service make them assets to companies of all sizes and industries.
However, what I have learned over the years is that not every hiring manager or small-business owner knows what to expect when hiring veterans. Many employers are motivated to hire veterans because it’s a patriotic choice and they want to support those who have selflessly served our country. And that’s great, because America’s all-volunteer force depends on the young men and women who answer the call to serve, something they may be less likely to do if they believe they’ll return only to struggle to find a job, or without the skills needed to take the next step in life.
My hope is that employers can begin to appreciate just how much their company stands to benefit from including veterans on their team. Hiring veterans is smart business, with real benefits.
Veterans are problem solvers. No matter how successful your company is, chances are there are times when your team is confronted with new challenges, or looks to find ways to answer old challenges with newer, simpler solutions. Veterans have the background to introduce novel solutions to these problems thanks to their training. The Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University found that “military experience, on average, exposes individuals to highly advanced technology and technology training at a rate that is accelerated relative to non-military, age group peers.” As a result, when presented with a new challenge or task, veterans typically have a deep pool of training and experience to dip into, for identifying potential solutions.
Veterans are successful leaders. When it comes to cultivating leaders, the military is the standard bearer. Your entire career path, from the day you show up for boot camp, is designed to make you a team player and eventually a team leader. Marines, sailors, soldiers, and airmen are responsible for increasingly larger and more complex programs and units, learning firsthand what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to coaxing the best performance out of their troops. And research has shown that these leaders continue to excel in the civilian world. One study found that military officers serve as CEOs of S&P 500 companies at a higher rate than their civilian peers. What’s more, those veteran-led companies had higher-than-average returns. Even if you aren’t looking for a CEO, it’s hard to imagine a company that wouldn’t benefit from high-quality leadership at every level of your team.
Veterans are loyal. Virtually every manager knows the frustration of finding, hiring, and training a new employee, only to repeat the process when that new employee leaves for a different opportunity. It’s time consuming and costly to re-recruit, re-hire, and re-train a new employee, and it happens in nearly every industry and at every level. Veterans, in particular, are likely to feel a strong sense of professional commitment, and that same IVMF report indicated that commitment leads to reduced turnover — which means less recruiting, hiring, and training for your organization. Put simply, loyal employees are good for your bottom line, and veterans are a loyal bunch.
Employers, as a veteran I appreciate your interest in hiring my brothers and sisters in arms. But as a business owner myself, I encourage you to not miss out on the opportunity to recruit veteran employees — your bottom line will thank you for it!
Not sure where to start? Visit ResumeEngine.org, a free tool I’m proud to have help built, to connect job seeking veterans with employers. And if you’re in the Atlanta area, join me on Thursday, July 28, for a Hiring Our Heroes veteran hiring fair and meet your next great hire.
RP Members and Connections and those getting ready to Transition - check out this article! The entire article is provide below - do you agree with the author?
The Unexpected Truth Of Hiring Veterans
Published on July 28, 2016
By
Dakota Meyer
CEO/ Founder at DM Tactical LLC
Since 2012, when I first began working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative and Toyota to advocate for meaningful employment opportunities for veterans, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about veterans in the workplace. I’ve attended dozens of hiring fairs, lead workshops and talked to hundreds of employers and thousands of veterans.
The message I set out to share seemed obvious: veterans make great employees — if only employers knew where to look for them and how to communicate with them about their experience in the military. As both a veteran and a business owner, I know this to be true. Thanks to their military experiences, veterans are resourceful problem solvers and strong leaders. These and many other valuable skills they’ve gained during service make them assets to companies of all sizes and industries.
However, what I have learned over the years is that not every hiring manager or small-business owner knows what to expect when hiring veterans. Many employers are motivated to hire veterans because it’s a patriotic choice and they want to support those who have selflessly served our country. And that’s great, because America’s all-volunteer force depends on the young men and women who answer the call to serve, something they may be less likely to do if they believe they’ll return only to struggle to find a job, or without the skills needed to take the next step in life.
My hope is that employers can begin to appreciate just how much their company stands to benefit from including veterans on their team. Hiring veterans is smart business, with real benefits.
Veterans are problem solvers. No matter how successful your company is, chances are there are times when your team is confronted with new challenges, or looks to find ways to answer old challenges with newer, simpler solutions. Veterans have the background to introduce novel solutions to these problems thanks to their training. The Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University found that “military experience, on average, exposes individuals to highly advanced technology and technology training at a rate that is accelerated relative to non-military, age group peers.” As a result, when presented with a new challenge or task, veterans typically have a deep pool of training and experience to dip into, for identifying potential solutions.
Veterans are successful leaders. When it comes to cultivating leaders, the military is the standard bearer. Your entire career path, from the day you show up for boot camp, is designed to make you a team player and eventually a team leader. Marines, sailors, soldiers, and airmen are responsible for increasingly larger and more complex programs and units, learning firsthand what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to coaxing the best performance out of their troops. And research has shown that these leaders continue to excel in the civilian world. One study found that military officers serve as CEOs of S&P 500 companies at a higher rate than their civilian peers. What’s more, those veteran-led companies had higher-than-average returns. Even if you aren’t looking for a CEO, it’s hard to imagine a company that wouldn’t benefit from high-quality leadership at every level of your team.
Veterans are loyal. Virtually every manager knows the frustration of finding, hiring, and training a new employee, only to repeat the process when that new employee leaves for a different opportunity. It’s time consuming and costly to re-recruit, re-hire, and re-train a new employee, and it happens in nearly every industry and at every level. Veterans, in particular, are likely to feel a strong sense of professional commitment, and that same IVMF report indicated that commitment leads to reduced turnover — which means less recruiting, hiring, and training for your organization. Put simply, loyal employees are good for your bottom line, and veterans are a loyal bunch.
Employers, as a veteran I appreciate your interest in hiring my brothers and sisters in arms. But as a business owner myself, I encourage you to not miss out on the opportunity to recruit veteran employees — your bottom line will thank you for it!
Not sure where to start? Visit ResumeEngine.org, a free tool I’m proud to have help built, to connect job seeking veterans with employers. And if you’re in the Atlanta area, join me on Thursday, July 28, for a Hiring Our Heroes veteran hiring fair and meet your next great hire.
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Edited 8 y ago
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Responses: 18
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Thanks for sharing an interesting article by Dakota Meyer COL Mikel J. Burroughs
The article seemed to be focused on a 28 Jul 2016 hiring event in Atlanta.
I appreciate the valor of USMC veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer.
He makes some general statements which fit many but certainly not all veterans:;
1. Veterans are problem solvers.
2. Veterans are successful leaders.
3. Veterans are loyal.
LTC Stephen C. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Christopher Mueller CW5 (Join to see) CSM Charles Hayden SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert Hawks SrA Christopher Wright Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM
The article seemed to be focused on a 28 Jul 2016 hiring event in Atlanta.
I appreciate the valor of USMC veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer.
He makes some general statements which fit many but certainly not all veterans:;
1. Veterans are problem solvers.
2. Veterans are successful leaders.
3. Veterans are loyal.
LTC Stephen C. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Christopher Mueller CW5 (Join to see) CSM Charles Hayden SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert Hawks SrA Christopher Wright Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM
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Sgt Joseph Baker
I work as a team leader at a major aerospace manufacturer, a position which I planned for when entering the Corps. Many of my techs, and all the best ones I have worked with over the years, all had military training. Some have trigger time, some not but they all bring an internal ethos to do the job right, to do their best, to bring credit to their team. I know of many Marines who are in leadership positions, and Navy, and Air Force, and Army. Veterans don't hold all the slots in leadership, but they hold many. Some folks think the commercials about learning leadership in the military are just a sales pitch. But my experience tells me it is absolutely true. Sometimes employers may think "I'm not hiring for a leadership position right now," but someday you will. Veterans start with just leading themselves at first, something that many non-servers in their 30's haven't figured out. When the day comes, the cream rises to the top
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Thanks COL Mikel J. Burroughs. While I have the utmost respect for Dakota I wonder what makes him an expert on everything. Receiving the Medal of Honor does not make him an expert but he does seem to give an awful lot of commentary. He is the only MOH recipient I have seen who is this vocal and I follow him on Facebook and have read his book. I have nothing against the man at all, I just think he is setting himself up for burnout.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
SFC William Farrell I respect that and you never know. I hope he doesn't in the end!
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SFC William Farrell
COL Mikel J. Burroughs - With all due respect to Dakota Meyer, here is commenting again Colonel: "At the Democratic National Convention, retired four star Gen. John Allen, Medal of Honor recipient Florent Groberg and other veterans were heckled by the crowd with boos and chants of "no more war!"
Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer thinks this lack of appreciation for the U.S. military is "typical of modern liberals."
On "Fox and Friends Weekend," Meyer said that many on the left don't understand the importance of fighting our enemies abroad to keep our homeland safe and they don't understand the enormous sacrifices our service members make." He's on Fox constantly.
Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer thinks this lack of appreciation for the U.S. military is "typical of modern liberals."
On "Fox and Friends Weekend," Meyer said that many on the left don't understand the importance of fighting our enemies abroad to keep our homeland safe and they don't understand the enormous sacrifices our service members make." He's on Fox constantly.
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Sgt Joseph Baker
My first reaction when I got the link to this from Col Burroughs was, "Is this THE Dakota Meyer?" I heard and read what he did for his men. A CMH is not a reward you get from a scratch ticket, especially so in the Corps. Whatever good and success he has for the rest of his life was earned in one day. He may not be an expert on anything, but I would definitely take his advice over some non-server. I believe all the attention he can bring to help his brothers and sisters to whom we owe so much is great. Semper Fi with a salute to Dakota Meyer USMC. OOrah!
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Sgt Joseph Baker
Just as a point of clarification SFC Farrell, you don't have a CMH, am I right? snicker
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One key important truth that all future employers need to know and thoroughly understand about hiring veterans is that we do not suffer fools gladly, i.e., we disdain being micro-managed. Present us with mission parameters then get out of the way. Working for civilians who do not understand this work ethic will struggle with the work relationship.
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Sgt Joseph Baker
You are so right! Been leading for nearly a decade, must have had to train 15 managers in that time. Some are good leaders, they come in, check things out for a bit, see how the leads work with their teams. If they have it going on, they provide some guidance but let their NCOs I'll call them run the show and harvest the glory. Others come in that obviously don't know the business and start mucking around day 1 making a mess. Hopefully they outgrow their mistakes and start listening. Some don't. My attitude is this: if I hire a manager and all they do is run the things the teams should be running themselves, I don't need to pay them. I already have a lower-paid employee to do that, right?
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