Are you looking for the best veteran job out there -- the holy grail of veteran jobs? As Military.com's transition master coach, I often meet job-hunting veterans who want to continue their career success in the civilian world.
These veterans are not just looking for a good job or a good start in the civilian world. They are looking for the best job; the best employer; the best-paying, most impressive, most fulfilling job on Earth. And they want me to tell them where that veteran employer is right now -- and how to get the interview.
Where Is the Holy Grail of Veteran Jobs?
I wish the answer were that secret. If I were like one of the Knights Templar in charge of the holy grail of veteran jobs, I could not keep the secret. Shoot, I would be a terrible knight because I would put up a big neon sign that said PERFECT VETERAN EMPLOYER HERE and get burnt at the stake for my trouble.
Who Hires the Most Military Veterans?
Believing that there is one perfect employer or one good path leads veterans and spouses to seek employment at the same employers over and over. I find this especially true when I work with transitioning senior military clients. These companies and organizations have deservedly good reputations for veteran employment. Like the federal government, they consistently hire the most veterans. Like the biggest defense contractors (Lockheed, Boeing, BAE Systems), they hire veterans in droves for what they learned during their military career. Or like Amazon or Blackstone, they set a giant hiring goal for veterans.
But concentrating on these few paths to employment is not the secret to finding your job, Indiana Jones. Instead, there is a wealth of veteran-friendly, veteran-seeking, veteran-loving employers out there. Literally, there are hundreds of them for you to discover.
How Can I Find the Best Veteran Employers Fast?
Most veterans and spouses do not seek out these other veteran employers. This could be because we are all a little leery of companies we haven't heard of before. Or because we know the company, but can't imagine why they would hire veterans. Or because the natural inclination is not to study the company first, but to learn about a company after we see an attractive job online. It just seems easier that way.
Yet it is not an easier approach. Study after study shows that applying online to random jobs is not how people get hired. You can greatly increase your chances of getting hired by finding out more about the best veteran employers in your location you have not heard of yet.
Sign up for our FREE Transition Master Class
In our free Transition Master Class: The Best Employers for Veterans You Don't Already Know on Thursday, Jan. 27, at 4 p.m. EST, you can expect to learn:
- What makes a company truly qualify as one of the best employers for veterans and spouses?
- How to find the best employers who are most likely to hire you and your skills outside the Department of Defense and the defense industry.
- How to develop no-risk, natural contacts inside the company who can help you apply to the right jobs without a lot of awkwardness.
- How to work your research so that you are making true progress toward your best civilian career.
Sign up for our free master class today and find the true treasures waiting for you in the civilian world.
Jacey Eckhart is Military.com's transition master coach. She is a certified professional career coach and military sociologist who helps military members get their first civilian job by offering career-level Master Classes through our Veteran Employment Project and on her website, SeniorMilitaryTransition.com. Reach her at Jacey.Eckhart@Monster.com.
Learn More About the Veteran Employment Project
To get more tips on how to make a successful military transition, sign up for one of our FREE Military Transition Master Classes today. You can view previous classes in our video library. Questions for Jacey? Visit our Facebook page.
