Two Key Hurdles Holding Back Veterans’ Skills and Experience From the Workplace

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In this newsletter, we will conclude our recent series on employment “hurdles” by looking at two obstacles facing veterans after they leave the military and transition into the civilian workforce.

Yesterday’s observation of Veterans Day was an opportunity to reflect on the invaluable service that all members of the armed forces, past and present, give to our country. Yet as recruiters, we also recognize that many people serving in the military will return to civilian life at some point and face unique challenges in securing and succeeding in employment.

I highlighted some of these issues in a previous article and want to build on that today by considering two key areas that continue to stand out to us here at Team JTC.

Put simply, veterans find it hard to explain the relevance of their military skills and experience to civilian employers, and they’re also hindered by common but unhelpful stereotypes about veterans.

But why should we focus on these areas in particular?

This is firstly because we often encounter them in conversations surrounding veterans and employment. Secondly, it’s because they are both areas where employers could do more. And if they do, those companies will see the benefits. A recent McKinsey study reckoned $15 billion could be added to the US economy by helping veterans transition to the civilian workforce.

CALL TO ACTION: Throughout this article series, we want to engage with you, our community, to learn more about organizations that are tackling these hurdles. Our goal is to amplify the good work they are doing to dismantle major employment obstacles and increase diversity and retention. 

Let’s begin with a few basic facts. In 2023, there were 17.9 million veterans in the US (about 7% of the overall population) and 8.4 million of them were employed. Each year, an estimated 200,000 people exit the US military and offer a wide variety of skills to civilian employers, because they leave from 100 different departments across the armed forces with around 7,000 different job roles.

With that in mind, let’s zone in on those hurdles we mentioned above and take a closer look before considering what our response should be as a community of diversity recruiters.

Hurdle #1: Translating Military Experience for Civilian Employers

While most military skills are transferable to civilian jobs, explaining this to prospective employers is difficult. Skills, training, and experience gained in the military don’t often translate to recognized qualifications or certifications. On the other hand, most hiring managers are unaware of effective language to use with people who are veterans and don’t know how to interpret military terminology, so a lot gets lost in translation.

This “communication divide” between the military and the private sector means that for a majority of veterans, recruitment professionals fail to understand or properly assess their work experience and expertise.

Veterans therefore need support to explain their credentials in civilian language. Former US Army Commander Jason Roncoroni, now a successful leadership coach, summed up the challenge this way: “The civil–military gap is so wide that returning to the civilian world is like traveling to a foreign country. People don’t speak the same language.”

While resources such as “military skills translators” can help veterans bridge the gap, employers can do their part as well. Art delaCruz, a 22-year US Navy veteran and CEO of Team Rubicon, argues that “employers should meet them in the middle and commit to understanding the military professions.”

This makes perfect sense for employers because folks with military experience tend to be highly skilled workers. A military career develops many transferable skills including soft skills, communication skills, flexibility, team-building and leadership skills, and organization and management skills. On leaving their military roles, some veterans also have advanced technical skills.

A recent McKinsey report highlighted how veterans’ skill sets actually map well to high-demand roles in infrastructure and manufacturing. In other words, veterans have much to offer civilian employers as long as the right initiatives are in place to enable clear communication and mutual understanding.

Hurdle #2: Unhelpful Stereotypes About Veterans

As we saw earlier in this series for Asian Americans and people with disabilities, common but misleading stereotypes can impact employment opportunities for veterans when they return to civilian life.

Veterans are widely viewed as “heroes,” but even this positive perception can create problems. It encourages the assumption that they prefer “selfless” work, potentially funneling them into service-oriented jobs and limiting their future careers.

Alternatively, veterans can be stigmatized as “crazy” people or “ticking time bombs,” partly fueled by media portrayals, and these negative clichés may result in workplace discrimination.

Between these extremes, veterans are sometimes typecast as unemotional and goal-oriented or as “rigid, cold, and lacking interpersonal skills and tact.” These stereotypes create bias that means they might be unfairly overlooked for some jobs.

Another common employer misperception is that veterans need rigid structure and specific guidance, whereas in actual fact, most veterans develop autonomy and agility when operating missions in the field. These skills can be adapted to the workplace to either lead a team or function as part of one.

In sum, several assumptions about veterans can harm their civilian employment opportunities, so we need to be vigilant in guarding against these biases in our selection processes.

How Should We Respond?

If you already have a veteran recruitment program in your organization, we hope that today’s article will help you pinpoint changes to better overcome both of the above hurdles. If you don’t have such a program yet, now would be a great time to consider starting one given the compelling business case for hiring veterans and their potential to fill the prevailing “skills gap.”

At a national level, many federal programs provide support for veterans, such as the Veteran Readiness & Employment program run by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service.

Other organizations are advocating for veterans on various issues and we are keen to hear of any you know of that are directly tackling either of the hurdles we have highlighted today. As with previous articles in this series, we encourage you to share this information so we can make these organizations known to the wider diversity recruiting community.

For example, if forming a partnership has allowed your organization to create an effective veteran recruitment or retention program, we’d be excited to hear of any success stories.

In closing, with Veterans Day still fresh in mind, I hope it will inspire us to better serve the veteran community as they adapt to civilian life after leaving the military.

JOIN US IN THE COMMENTS: Let us know the organizations you’re aware of that are helping veterans, employers, or both to bridge that “communication divide.” Also, do you know any training programs or other initiatives that are working to defeat unhelpful stereotypes about veterans?