A military veteran can be a huge asset to any company provided the employer is sensitive enough to create an accommodating workplace and understand both the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a military veteran. Team up a military veteran with a confirmed procrastinator and you might have the warfront pushed right inside your workspace. Make a military veteran a part of an efficient team of people who revel in performance and you'd find a happy man and a happier team. Mostly, military veterans are more loyal people and are rarely job-hoppers. Investing on military veterans to train them is rarely a waste because of a high sense of duty and honor in the employee. A military veteran would rarely leave you if he/she senses that obligations remain unattended.
If you are set on hiring a military veteran, be sure of the job role and responsibilities before you put out an advertisement. It would be helpful to go through the different roles and associated job functions in the military and determine the military position closest to the vacancy you have. Remember, the terminologies for the same types of jobs and positions can differ between the military and general workplaces. An attorney in the civilian world is called a judge-advocate in the military, and nobody in the civilian world would associate the word ‘judge' with anyone who is not part of the bench. Differences in employment terminology need to be identified so that you can attract the right candidates with your job advertisement.
Also remember, it is better to offer a transitioning phase or a temporary job offer to a military veteran, just because it might take efforts on the parts of both the employer and the employee to get used to the situation. In many companies, with military or war veterans, a probationary period precedes a full-time job, which provides the new employee a space to adjust.
Always during interviews, be careful about employment and employment discrimination laws and rules regarding the employment of military veterans.
As with other interviews, while interviewing a military veteran, try to ask questions that are relevant to the job role, and skills and attributes relevant to the job role. Questions regarding disabilities are better to avoid unless it is directly relevant to competence for the job role and then again it should be related to required abilities and should not focus on a disability.
Before interviewing or hiring a military veteran, be sure which types of military experience and training are relevant to the vacancy or job position that you intend fill by the candidate. Military veterans would be much more formal than normal civilian interviewees, but that does not make them any less congenial. Also, while interviewing a military veteran for a job, remember, he/she may be highly efficient and extrovert, but culturally conditioned to ask for permission or require permission before speaking. Not understanding such small things can make it difficult to hire a military veteran and may make you lose a great candidate and end up hiring the wrong one.
