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Veterans: A source of skilled and dedicated staff
Veterans: A source of skilled and dedicated staff
Employers can advertise their role directly to job seeking veterans for free by registering with the Career Transition Partnership.
As excellent problem solvers with a dedication to completing tasks on time, former armed forces personnel can make an ideal fit for farming and growing businesses looking to recruit.
And while their adaptability, attention to detail and ability to follow clear commands can all be highly valued, it can be important to know that the processes and practices they’ve been trained to follow can feel alien to farm owners and managers when they’re hiring.
Things to bear in mind when taking applications from veterans
It is not uncommon for former armed forces personnel to experience impostor syndrome when they enter the world of work. In fact, the whole process of writing a CV and a covering letter can present them with a number of challenges which are outside of their typical skill set. Often, their career progression in the armed forces has been externally managed, rather than handled through an application process.
For example, many former armed forces personnel will answer questions in the third person or in terms of their team’s achievements, rather than highlighting their own.
Similarly, they can often answer in relatively short, matter-of-fact terms, requiring more effort to extract additional information from them.
Both of these factors can make their written applications more difficult to effectively process, however, it's worth saying that veterans often present far better in an interview than they do on their CV.
Interview questions around specific, timely, action-oriented and realistic (or STAR) objectives can bring out the best in their experiences, though you may still need to pry a little to get details on their involvement, rather than that of their wider team.
Additional considerations when recruiting armed forces veterans
Service leavers are often not used to handling household, budgeting and domestic tasks. Consequently, veterans who have recently left the forces often benefit from having additional support around their work tasks.
The same can sometimes be said of their families, too as they may miss the social support offered by other forces spouses.
Bringing the team together – and their partners when possible – can really help to build stronger ties with veterans, and give them the opportunity to seek the out-of-work support they may be looking for.
Employers can also advertise their roles with Forces Families Jobs, allowing you to reach out to the spouses of armed forces personnel with job opportunities for free, too.
Benefits of employing veterans
Former armed forces personnel may not be explicitly qualified in many of the technical aspects of farming and growing, but they bring a whole host of other benefits.
Adaptable, keen and dedicated employees, veterans soak up knowledge and skills and are always committed to getting the job done. Settle them into a fast paced environment with a sense of purpose and they will often thrive, learning new skills quickly to tackle the task at hand.
On top of all this, employers can even claim a National Insurance Contributions waiver for the first 12 months of a veteran’s employment.
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