Tips for U.S. Veterans
Our Founder, Brittany Ritchie Sievers, served in the U.S. Army for 10 years, deploying three times. Brittany continues to be an advocate for veterans in the workplace and a consultant for companies to create a path forward in their veteran talent pools, pipelines, and hiring initiatives.
Here are some helpful tips for veterans re-entering the civilian workforce.
Tips on Resumes and LinkedIn
- Incorporate keywords that a recruiter would search for if they were looking for someone with your skillset. Recruiters always use keywords to search for candidates.
- Post your resume on LinkedIn, Indeed, Zip Recruiter, Monster, and ClearanceJobs.com.
- LinkedIn offers up to one year of free LinkedIn Premium status for transitioning service members. You’ll also receive free access to LinkedIn Learning courses. They have many other resources for you.
- Highlight your LinkedIn profile photo with an Open to Work badge. You can choose who sees this: either Recruiters Only or All LinkedIn Members. If you open this choice to All LinkedIn Members, you’ll see the Open to Work sash on your photo and more people will notice that you are looking for a new opportunity.
Tips on Job Searches
Target Yellow Ribbon companies. They demonstrate their support for service members and military families. The is the link to the Minnesota Yellow Ribbon information. Search your state for Yellow Ribbon companies.
Look for companies that have a special section for veteran opportunities on their career page. Many of these companies have programs to benefit service members and their families in their career journey with a supportive, veteran-forward environment.
Once you have applied for a job on a company system or through a job posting site, go to LinkedIn or call a recruiter you know to get contact information for an internal recruiter for the company that you have just applied to. Then, send that internal recruiter a message letting them know that you applied, what the job title is, and that you are a veteran who is interested in working with their company. Be bold enough to ask directly for an interview.
Tips on Networking
- Don’t keep your job search quiet. Spread your resume out to family and friends. Let them know what you are looking for in a new role. The more people involved in your job search, the better.
- Always network! Join clubs, teams, VFWs, and nonprofit organizations. Human connections are healthy, and the process will greatly speed up your job search by increasing the number of people who are aware of your intentions.
- Look for BNI (Business Network International) chapter locations near you or those with virtual, online meetings. Register, attend, mingle, and network with the members. Let them know what you’re looking for in your job search. You will be sharing your quest with many people at once, and each of them has a wide network of contacts.
Encouragement!
- Understand that this process takes time. Don’t submit 5-10 resumes and give up. It is going to take time to find the right role for you, so keep your chin up and always keep pushing forward.
- Be your own biggest advocate. This is not the time to be modest. This is the time to be the best salesperson you can be for yourself.
A Heart for Veterans
“As a retired service member of 20 years, I found transition to be much more difficult than I thought it would be. Through the care and support I got, and still get, from Brittany, I have managed to get settled into a new job, a new home, a new state, and a new life with my family in a way that most assuredly would have been much rougher without her help. If you are looking for someone who understands the skills and needs of veterans, go to Brittany and Higher Recruitment, you won’t regret it. I know I don’t.”
— Chris “Raven” O’Keefe
