Why You Should Hire Veterans in 2012

As we start off 2012, Hire a Hero thought it appropriate to remind our readers how veterans of all ranks and branches can add value to their company throughout the New Year.

• Junior Military Officers (JMOs) have earned a BS or BA, and many have advanced degrees. US News & World Report named U.S. Junior Military Officers as “America’s Best Leaders” in November 2008 due to the circumstances under which they have led their troops. JMOs are ideal for positions in Engineering, Leadership, Operations Management, and Sales.
• Non-commissioned Officers (NCOs) are senior enlisted personnel in a direct leadership role, with 7 to 20+ years of military experience. NCOs are the primary military leaders responsible for executing the mission and training military personnel. They have extensive training in leadership and management, as well as combat, service-specific and specialized technical training. Many have college degrees. NCOs are ideal for Technical, Maintenance, and Field Service Management and Supervisory positions.
• Enlisted Technicians possess strong technical qualifications and training as Electrical, Electronics, and Mechanical Technicians. They have world class technical training, hands-on experience, and excel in any situation, no matter how difficult. They are ideal for positions in Electrical, Electronics, Mechanical, Maintenance, Field Service, Operations, and Technical Supervision.

This blog is chock full of posts highlighting a variety of reasons and opinions on why veterans should be your next source of talent. Take a minute to peruse these posts, and you will see why Time Magazine named veterans “The New Greatest Generation” in August 2011. Veterans represent a large, talented labor pool ready to provide leadership, teamwork, and ingenuity to any workplace.

Stress Prevention Policies

Work-related stress is common for the average worker and can be caused by a variety of situations including communication difficulties between workers and management, work overload/understaffing, insufficient training, and inadequate resources. Considering the toll that stress can take on an employee’s health, and therefore their productivity, it may be time for your company to create its own stress prevention policy.

Stress prevention policies should be a combined effort between both employees and management. Policies should focus on work organization, and companies should take the same approach as they would to address safety hazards and health issues, by eliminating the issues where possible.

Some basic steps a company can take to reduce or eliminate work-related stress include:

Ensuring management styles are consultative, so that employees take part in determining the expectations of the job and the arrangement of their work situation.

Avoid pay arrangements that encourage excessive overtime.

Distribute workloads fairly and with realistic goals.

Make sure the work environment is safe and comfortable

Eliminate or control all safety hazards and health concerns.

Ensure vacation, family and sick leave time is adequate.

Removing all stress factors from the workplace many not be possible, but taking small steps to reduce workplace stress, or creating stress prevention policies will keep workers happy, healthy and more productive.

Click here for original article.

Veteran Spotlight: Chris Canfield

Chris Canfield transitioned out of the Marine Corps in July 2008 and started a career with RQ Construction through Orion International. Since that time, he has been rapidly promoted, which he attributes to his time in service. Chris's story exemplifies the type of success veterans are having in the civilian workforce.

Chris’s first position in the construction industry was as a Project Engineer. RQ Construction is a general contractor firm in the commercial construction industry specializing in government buildings ranging from BEQs to Armories to all buildings and structures in between. They have an internal career advancement program into which Chris was placed back in 2008. Chris’s program was called the Project Engineer Farming System, where they developed his values and skill sets to match those required by his eventual position in company as a Project Manager.

Chris first served as Project Engineer on a project for Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) at Camp Pendleton. At the end of 2009, he was promoted to Assistant Project Manager. “The rapid promotion was based on my leadership, management, and communication experience gained in the military. During that time, I also helped write various parts of our company’s proposals, mainly because I was able to understand what the lingo was and how it applied to our projects,” explains Chris.

When MARSOC ended in the summer of 2010, Chris was assigned as an APM for a utilities job on Camp Pendleton. That assignment did not last long, however, as Chris was again promoted to Project Manager and was asked to take over a struggling job in Camp Lejeune, NC, as well as run a project at Miramar, CA. Chris attributes his rapid promotion and being trusted to run two concurrent projects to the competencies and values he learned while serving.

Chris’s success in the construction industry is a familiar story to employers who understand the benefits of hiring veterans. Skills like time and resource management, organization, communication, flexibility and adaptability, managing people and situations, and leadership set veterans apart in the civilian workplace and enable them to succeed just like Chris.

Workers, Employers and Internet Use at Work

It’s no secret that employees use the internet for personal reasons. But when their web activities spill into their work time, employers put their foot down. CareerBuilder.com recently conducted a survey which concluded that internet use for non-work purposes is on the rise. This in turn has led employers to tighten their internet policies.

CareerBuilder’s survey found that 34% of workers will spend one hour or more online shopping during the holiday season, 16% will spend 2 or more hours shopping and 4% will log 5 or more hours browsing deals online.

Shopping isn’t the only activity workers use their internet time for either. Sixty five percent of workers conduct non-work related searches during their workday, while 22% conduct those searches at least 5 times a day.

Social networking sites are another internet time waster at work as 56% of workers check their profiles while at work.

This trend has led employers to revise their internet policies. Fifty four percent of employers report blocking employees from accessing certain websites and 50% of U.S. companies monitor Internet and email use of employees. Some companies are even doling out harsher punishments for violating their policies. More than 20% of employers have fired someone for using the internet at work for personal reasons.

With the approach of the New Year, now is a great time to review and revise your company’s internet policy, especially with the use of internet for personal reasons at work on the rise.

Click here for original article.

Orion Alumni Attend Hiring Our Heroes Conference

Orion alumni with Siemens once again traveled to Washington, DC, in conjunction with The Siemens Initiative to Support Military Families. This time, Alan Lateer, Jeff Bell, Christopher Pieczonka, and Jody Compton attended the 4th Annual Business Steps Up, Hiring Our Heroes Conference at the U.S. Chamber of Congress in Washington, DC, on November 10. Previously, James Lamz and Nicholas Espe visited the White House in conjunction with Joining Forces.

The 4th Annual Business Steps Up, Hiring Our Heroes Conference focused on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s goal of lowering unemployment among veterans and their spouses by partnering with Veteran Service Organizations, government agencies, and the business community to hold job fairs across the U.S. This year, the Conference recognized specific businesses that have gone above and beyond to honor military families. Finalists for the 1^stAnnual Lee Anderson Hiring Our Heroes Awards included PepsiCo, The Home Depot, Bank of America, Dollar General, and Siemens, among many others.

Jody Compton (pictured front row, second from left) was one of the four Orion alumni to participate in this Conference. Compton was an Automated Logistical Specialist in the Army who is now a Materials Handler Specialist with Siemens. Her civilian position corresponds directly with her military experience, and illustrates how well veterans transition into these types of positions. “Not only do companies get a qualified employee, but they get the dedication, discipline, commitment out of the Veteran, which a company may not find in other employees,” explains Compton.

She goes on to say that attending the Hiring Our Heroes Conference was something she never thought she’d have the honor of doing, much less sitting on stage with the First Lady. “I'm proud of the years I served protecting freedom for others, and now I'm proud to be part of a company that supports veterans and leads the way for other companies,” states Compton.

Christopher Pieczonka (pictured front row, fifth from left), a United States Naval Academy graduate and former Surface Warfare Officer, also attended the Conference. He is currently a part of the Sales and Marketing Development Program (SMDP) at Siemens Energy. Pieczonka attended the morning lectures, as well as the awards dinner at the US Chamber of Commerce. “Attending the US Chamber of Commerce event was a tremendous experience that highlighted some of the incredible things the Federal Government, Chamber of Commerce, and various companies are doing to utilize the talents of military service veterans,” says Pieczonka.

The Hiring our Heroes program is another of the many initiatives that have been put in place to help veterans find employment when they transition out of the military. Hire a Hero, Hire a Vet salutes the Lee Anderson Hiring Our Heroes Awards recipients for their dedication to hiring veterans and are proud that our alumni were chosen to represent the success veterans experience in the civilian workplace.

Surveys Confirm Veteran Recruitment on the Rise

Last month, both Careerbuilder and Monster released the results of their respective surveys on veteran employment. Both surveys reveal that employers are seeking to hire veterans in a big way. Careerbuilder surveyed more than 2,800 hiring managers and concluded that 20% of employers are actively recruiting veterans to work for their company over the next 12 months. According to Careerbuilder, these employers are tapping into veterans’ technical and communication skills for careers in IT, Customer Service, Engineering, and Sales.

Monster’s recently released Veteran Talent Index tells much the same story. The report begins by defining why veterans are desirable employees:

Veterans represent an elite and diverse talent pool available for hire. Most possess transferrable skills, professional discipline and positive attributes identifiable in today’s evolving workforce. By hiring veterans, employers can leverage the U.S. Military’s $140 billion per year spent on education and training and tap into the 200,000 service members that transition to the civilian workforce each year. (Source: Department of Veteran Affairs, US GovernmentSpending.com; U.S. Dept of Labor)

The Indices in the report include Veteran Career Confidence, Veteran Job Search Activity, and Employer Veteran Hiring. The Employer survey of almost 500 employers reveals that 70% of surveyed employers have hired more than one veteran in the past year. 99% of those employers felt veterans performed ‘much better’ or ‘about the same’ as non-veterans, and 69% of employers felt that veterans perform their job ‘much better’ compared to non-veterans. The impressive percentages of veteran-friendly employers were further evidenced when employers were asked if they would hire a veteran again. Of those that had hired a veteran, 98% said they would do so again.

Both surveys revealed that veteran job seekers could often do better in conveying their experience. According to Monster, 77% of employers believed veterans could do a better job translating their military skills to civilian skills. Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America explains, “The survey shows that employers recognize the unique value military experience can bring, but that they don’t always understand how military skills fit into corporate America. Veterans will need to clearly make that connection in their resume, cover letter and job interviews as they enter this new chapter of their careers.”

Orion represents thousands of companies whose stance on veteran recruiting is reflected in these surveys. We are here to help our candidates translate their skills and value to civilian employers, and ultimately, connect our candidates with companies that are actively seeking veterans for their skills, experience, and values.

Hire a Hero is pleased with the results of these surveys and hopes that these results will shed even more light on why veterans should be a part of our workforce!

Five Reference-Checking Mistakes to Avoid

Checking references continues to be one of the most important aspects of hiring new employees, but with the cyber-age has come attempts to automate the process. Those striving for an instantaneous process are missing out on the most important aspect of reference checking: human interaction.

It takes skill, tact, and intuition to perform a proper reference check. A solid reference check also requires that you don’t make the following five mistakes.

Not Checking the References at All: Enough said!

Lack of Consistency in Checking References: Selective reference checking is risky. If employers are checking references for one candidate, they should be checking them for all prospective employees. The breadth of the reference check doesn’t have to be the same for everyone, however, as it may vary according to the position requirements.

Making Job Offers Contingent on References: Often, hiring authorities wait until they have decided on one candidate for the job, and offer them the job dependant on the reference check. Not only is this too late to be doing a reference check, but it creates a legal relationship between the employer and the candidate. References should be checked when the candidate pool has been narrowed down to two or three people.

Not Asking for Certain Types of References: Contrary to popular belief, employers are entitled to ask for additional references and do not have to make do with only the ones the candidate wants to supply. Employers should ask for a supervisor, peer, and subordinate that worked with the candidate in the last five to seven years.

Asking Leading Questions & Failing to Follow-Up on Responses: Avoid “yes” or “no” questions. Don’t ask if the candidate was a good worker. Instead, ask what type of worker they were. Also, don’t forget to follow-up on vague answers or to ask for examples to illustrate the reference’s answers.

By avoiding these common reference checking mistakes, employers ensure that they are taking full advantage of a useful hiring tool. Poorly performed reference checking can result in high turnover and even harm to the hiring company. Careful reference checking helps to ensure hiring quality, productive employees.

Click here for original article.