New Job Board Taps into High-Tech Transitioning Military and Veteran Labor Pool

Looking for responsible team players from a ready-made, highly skilled talent pool? Consider military veterans. Approximately 180,000 veterans enter the civilian job market each year, all well qualified from their military training to compete in today’s high-tech business arena. Additionally, there are 8.5 million veterans currently in the work force, which has remained an untapped resource. This steady stream of potential employees brings with it a desirable level of skills ranging from computer competency and managerial experience to specialized training in a wide-range of fields including medicine, engineering, information technology, and human resources. Their military experience puts most veterans on the cutting edge both technically and professionally, having been exposed to some of the nation’s most sophisticated equipment and training techniques. Capable of making quick decisions, devising and implementing strategic plans, and functioning both independently and within a team, veterans comprise a motivated and undeniably valuable workforce. A new job board, VetJobs.com, now makes the task of reaching this large market of transitioning military and military veterans easier. Launched by two Navy veterans on Veterans Day, 1999, VetJobs.com gives access to resumes of both officers and enlisted personnel who are transitioning out of the military as well as the millions of veterans currently in the workforce. Since their launch in November, the site has had over a million hits, received thousands of resumes, and has over fifty companies posting jobs to the site. An annual fee of $5,000 secures employers unlimited job postings, unlimited refreshing of job postings, unlimited resume access, as well as a hot link of each company’s logo on each job they post. Lesser annual fees limit either job postings or access to the resume database. The site also features employer resources including links to employer forums, salary surveys, and military information such as base locations. There is no charge for veterans to use the site. VetJobs.com also offers “12 Good Reasons” and an employer’s perspective on why to hire a veteran. These resources underscore the computer expertise of most veterans: 73% of military personnel use desktop computers; 51% have experience with Local Area Networks, and 17% are familiar with mainframes. Additionally, they point out, most veterans are “highly-mobile” and receptive to relocation, and include a strong selection of minority candidates. Most notably, VetJobs.com gives employer members direct toll-free access to a counselor capable of assessing and translating veteran skills to civilian occupations. This feature helps eliminate confusion over military jargon that could interfere with the adequate appraisal of a potential candidate for a specific job.