Job Opportunities for Veterans on the Rise
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. CREDIT: Hiring Promotion Image via Shutterstock |
Job opportunities for U.S. military veterans are on the rise, new research shows.
A survey by CareerBuilder revealed that 29 percent of employers are actively recruiting veterans to work for their organizations, up 9 percentage points from a year ago. In addition, 22 percent of companies are planning on adding members of the National Guard, up 8 percentage points from 2011.
Overall, veterans have a leg up on their civilian counterparts when searching for work. The research shows that 65 percent of businesses would be more likely to hire a veteran over another equally qualified candidate.
"Today's military is a well-educated, professional, all-volunteer force," said Elaine Howard, president of Gannett Government Media Corp., publisher of the Military Times brands. "So when troops join the civilian workforce, they bring with them skills, discipline and unmatched drive."
The study found that employers are looking to leverage the technical and leadership skills of military personnel, with 30 percent hoping to fill information technology positions with veterans. Other common areas for hiring U.S. servicemen and women are:
- Customer Service
- Engineering
- Sales
- Manufacturing
- Business Development
"While military veterans possess a great deal of the business-friendly skills that employers look for in candidates, one of the challenges vets face is knowing where to begin when job hunting after they return from active duty," said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America.
The research revealed one of the biggest challenges employers face when recruiting U.S. veterans is that many servicemen and women don't always market themselves as having served in the military. While 45 percent of the hiring managers surveyed pay more attention to applications submitted by U.S. veterans, 30 percent say it's not always obvious whether or not a job candidate is a veteran.
To help veterans searching for work, Military Times has teamed up with CareerBuilder on a new career site for service members and veterans. The site hosts a wide range of jobs across industries from employers eager to hire veterans and tools for veterans to use in their job search.
The study was based on surveys of more than 2,600 U.S. hiring managers and human resources professionals.
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