Most business leaders and hiring managers probably already know veteran employees bring substantial value to the workforce and the workplace as a whole. Firms that employ veterans have many success stories in which those hires are not simply long-term associates, but leaders within the organization. Many inherently appreciate the valuable traits attributed to veteran workers. These include a capability for leadership, mutual respect, proactivity, loyalty, and teamwork.
Unfortunately, a military career can also manifest certain stereotypes and myths. Most of these are the result of bias and preconception. It is unfortunate that many employers and hiring managers still subscribe to these myths, even in 2021. This blog explores several key myths associated with hiring military veterans. It will also address the very different realities of incorporating veterans into your workforce. Read on for more information.
Myth #1: Veterans Only Have Combat Service
Myth: The single biggest preconception people hold about veteran hires is that all of them have served in combat. In other words, people tend to believe a veteran employee can only fully function in a combat environment. They believe veterans don’t have the skills needed to handle noncombat-related tasks.
Truth: It is true that the number of combat troops deployed overseas has increased steadily since the traumatic events of 9/11. But there are also significant volumes of veterans who left active service before 9/11. Even after 9/11, many younger veterans were never deployed in combat. In fact, a vast number of jobs in the military are not directly related to combat. Veterans can often have intensive experience in roles concerning logistics, engineering, HR, administration, healthcare, and even finance.
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Myth #2: PTSD Makes All Veterans an Employment Liability
Myth: Thanks to Hollywood and sensationalized media reporting, PTSD has become synonymous with military service. PTSD is a serious condition. It can often have damaging and lasting effects on a person if not treated properly. Employers are often predisposed to reject veteran candidates on the assumption that they likely have PTSD, which would make them a liability in the workplace.
Truth: PTSD is a very serious mental health problem, often caused by both physical and mental trauma. But unlike the movies, the percentage of veterans affected by PTSD is not much higher than the percentage of American civilians who also experience PTSD. In the same vein, the military offers specialized psychiatric support and counseling to military personnel. Most veteran candidates already understand what triggers their PTSD and how they might effectively respond to it.
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Myth #3: Veteran Skills Can’t Transition Into Civilian Life
Myth: This is related to the myth that all veterans are combat-experienced. There is a prevailing bias that veterans only possess skills that work in military settings. This automatically implies that veterans don’t have the necessary skills to function in a civilian role productively.
Truth: This is a baseless notion that has been proven factually incorrect many times over. There are numerous documented cases of veterans bringing valuable skills to a civilian work role. These skills range from leadership ability to mission-focused teamwork to taking initiative and making timely judgment calls. Moreover, depending on their work certain military veterans have high-level security clearances that remain valid up to two years after their transition.
With veterans in hiring roles, employers can save significantly on background checks on incoming candidates. Military service includes thousands of specialty roles, many of which correspond with similar civilian roles. In fact, a case can be made that many military occupational roles are identical to civilian ones, and much more demanding given the dangerous nature of many deployments.
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Myth #4: Veterans Can’t Act Without Concrete Orders
Myth: It is easy to see where this myth started. In military life, you don’t just follow orders, but follow them to the letter. The value of trusting and following commanding officers is ingrained into personnel from boot camp to their retirement. Therefore, many people naturally assume that a military veteran can only function in a structured environment with specific instructions. In other words, they can’t innovate or come up with original solutions to workplace problems without direction.
Truth: This concept is as far from the truth as one can get. Yes, veterans learn to adhere to orders in situations that can often mean the difference between life and death. But these same situations are often extremely fluid and can suddenly shift the chain of command. The military isn’t just training soldiers, but personnel with the ability and skills to quickly take up leadership in volatile situations. Most veterans are used to autonomy and innovation in terms of successfully executing mission-critical goals, especially in the face of many variables. This makes them uniquely suited to acting on their own initiative and delivering successful results.