Military Culture Breeds Management Material

Companies considering diversity in their hiring plans don’t always think of veterans as an equal opportunity candidates. However, anyone affiliated with the armed services realizes that it’s more than a lifestyle or a job. Across the regional and racial variances of service members lies a culture all to itself and it’s one that breeds excellent workers and exceptional managers.

Whatever their rank, military personnel are ingrained with attributes conducive to civilian careers as well. Combat leadership and military discipline forge forward-thinking employees who boost an organization's productivity. They are results-oriented with an understanding of responsibility and accountability. Enlisting instills self-reliance, collaboration and honor - all of which are qualifications critical for emergent organizations.

The military trains our men and women to make smart decisions even under duress. Even young veterans have experience with heavy leadership responsibility having been in command of small teams. In high-stakes, time-sensitive scenario situations. veterans are often far more effective than civilians. Understanding the importance of delegation and motivation, they lead by example and encourage camaraderie amongst coworkers. General Douglas McArthur once said, "A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others."

Veterans returning to the workforce come with identifiable skills that can be transferred to the business world. They are often skilled in technical trends applicable to commerce and manufacturing. Receptive ready hires that value ongoing learning and training thrive in expanding businesses with advancement opportunities. Having served with people from diverse economic, ethnic and geographic backgrounds as well as race, religion and gender veterans make excellent company representatives.

Unfortunately hiring trends don’t show that companies across the country have grasped this concept. The unemployment rate among young American veterans is higher than the national average, which hovers around 9.7% for civilians. Young male veterans, including those returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, face an unemployment rate that is more than double the national average at 21.6% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The shift in numbers comes with the civilian culture’s separation from military way of life. Less than 1% of the U.S. population serves in the armed forces. In 1975 Veterans made up 70% of Congress compared to 20% today. On top of that, false preconceptions abound about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), its symptoms and its treatments. It will take time and shared awareness to overcome the stereotypes associated with an unfairly inflicted on veterans.

Don’t be dissuaded though, companies are coming around. Find businesses that realize the benefits of diversifying and adding a bit of military culture to their team at ArmedServicesJobs.com.

Sometimes the struggle is internal though. Service members are humble and often uneasy with the self-promotion involved with interviewing for a job. The best way to procure a permanent position is to know your worth and present it assertively when applying for a potential position.


By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a multimedia developer with experience in web, film, photography and animation as well as traditional fine arts like painting and sculpting. In addition to writing for ArmedServicesJobsBlog.com, she is co-founder of design and promotion company. Heather’s spare time consists of making puppets, teaching Sunday School, building Legos and doing science experiments with her children.