Step 2:

TALENT ACQUISITION

You want to develop a strategic process that will attract and recruit the best talent available to ensure your organization has the right people, with the right skills, who are in the right job, and are working against the right requirements.

Best Practices for

All Employers

Cultivate an excellent candidate experience.
Ensure that education level and years of direct experience are not being exclusionary.
Apply a resource endowment lens to human capital needs assessment. Look across the organization and apply a skills and competency inventory to identify both areas within the firm where existing skill and competencies are both superior and lacking.

Best Practices for

Veterans

Let veterans know you have received their resume or application; give them insight as to the next steps in your application process.
Triple-check on job descriptions: pass the job descriptions around to other departments to see if the roles and responsibilities are clear.
Focus on veterans needs and skills, in order to match them with the best positions in the company.

Questions to Ask

What are your prioritized needs for skills?
Are you considering other factors besides years of direct experience and education level?
In your conversation with veterans, are you gaining understanding of their unique needs?
How do you curate an excellent candidate experience?
Are interviewers familiar with interviewing techniques to ensure effective discussions with veteran candidates?
Have you established a workflow to communicate receipt of resume or application?

Resources

These suggested resources are available at no cost:

Are Background Checks Different When the Candidate is a Veteran?
PsychArmor Institute, Video, Veteran 101: Officer vs. Enlisted
Veteran Jobs Mission Employer Start Up Guide
Part 1. Veterans Business Resource Groups: Return on Your Investment
Employer Guide to Hire Veterans
The Veteran Advantage, DAV Guide to Hiring and Retaining Veterans with Disabilities
USAA Hiring Veterans and Military Spouses, A Workbook for Employers
USAA Employer Roadmap, Action Plan: Recruit
USAA Employer Roadmap, Job Description Builder
USAA Employer Roadmap, Case Study, Innovative Hiring Programs
USAA Employer Roadmap, Case Studies, These Companies Speak Military

BUSINESS CASE STUDY:

LOCKHEED MARTIN

ATTRIBUTES:

  • Veteran recruiters
  • Relationship building
  • Use of technology

For the fourth time in a row, Lockheed Martin cracked our list—and it’s easy to see why.

For one, Lockheed Martin employs a full-time military team that’s composed of vets and is dedicated to recruiting outreach targeted to veterans and advocating for veteran job placement. Additionally, the company hosts a Veteran Employee Resource Group Leadership Symposium every year for military and veteran leaders across the enterprise to share best practices and build new initiatives in support of veterans. Perhaps most impressive, though, is Lockheed Martin’s Military Connect, the first-ever social media platform designed to enable discussions between external military candidates, veterans and the company’s internal employees.

Thank You to Our Corporate Partner