Whether they hail from the Air Force, Army, Navy or Marines, there’s something special about vets, say hiring managers — be it leadership qualities, tenacity or a simple willingness to go the extra mile.
“There’s a soldier’s commitment to completing a mission,” says Tom Boyle, a regional sales manager at Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s sales division.
If you can hire someone with that mindset, it’s priceless, say managers who have recently brought veterans into their ranks. Read on to learn why managers make a special effort to hire veterans — and what vets say about how their time in the service translates to their civilian jobs.
Macy’s
What’s an Apache helicopter pilot doing at Macy’s on 34th Street?
In Carlos Alvarez’s case, he’s working, not shopping.
Alvarez, a 30-year-old West Point grad, is training for Macy’s year-old Military Executive Development Program. It accepts former military leaders and, over a one-year period, prepares them to be store leaders at one of the company’s large-volume stores. Not too long after, they’re expected to reach the store’s vice president level.
It may be difficult to imagine how this transformation happens so quickly, but Stephanie Smith, Alvarez’s assigned manager, says it’s not that big of a leap — military leaders and retail executives share many of the same attributes.
“We both understand that in order to accomplish a mission, you need a team — and that a team’s success is dependent on the commitment of the individual,” says Smith.
Alvarez also understands, says Smith, that getting things done is not just about giving orders. It’s about winning over workers — which, evidently, is something Alvarez has already accomplished: A few weeks into the program, he was put in charge of a department when a manager went on vacation.
And there are other similarities between retail and military leadership, says Alvarez.
“In the military, you’re taught to observe before you react, to focus on attention and fact, and that there’s an occasion for fast feedback. Same in retail,” says the Soho resident.
NYSE Euronext
If you look at Mario Bonifacio’s resume, it’s hard to imagine he ever had any trouble landing a job.
He went from earning a bachelor’s degree in economics, to signing on for active duty in the military after 9/11, to serving as an Army captain in Iraq, to obtaining a master’s degree after he was discharged following 11 years of service.
Despite that, finding a job wasn’t easy. “It was difficult to convince employers that skills I gained in the military translate to the corporate world,” notes the 33-year-old Brooklynite.
Thanks to Twitter, however, Bonifacio heard in 2012 about a program NYSE Euronext was creating to help vets.
The 10-week paid summer internship gives veterans the opportunity to build a bridge between their experience in the military and the corporate world. There’s a syllabus, a mentor and the opportunity to gain experience in the financial industry — precisely what Bonifacio wanted but couldn’t get.
“It’s a complete misnomer that the only work you’re suited for when you leave the service is in security or logistics,” explains Ed Hunter, senior vice president of human resources at NYSE Euronext.
He points out businesses like his find other things more important — such as self-motivation, an ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines, and to thrive in a chaotic environment.
“We can train for the rest,” he adds.
And Bonifacio is a testament to the fact that Hunter is right. He did so well in the program that NYSE Euronext offered him a permanent position in August 2012 as a business analyst.
Jack Daniels Motors
When Phil Demersky, a service manager at Jack Daniels Motors, sees an application from a vet, he jumps on it. He says there are certain things you can assume about a vet: “They’ll get to work on time, because they’re used to being on a schedule, and they’re polite, take direction well and always get the job done.”
If they lack auto experience, Demersky doesn’t worry.
“We can teach them that,” he says. “Sometimes it’s better to hire someone who doesn’t know it all and has an open mind.”
It was former Navy medic Raymond Gonzales’ good fortune that the technical school he attended paired him up with Demersky for practical training. Unlike other jobs and other occupations Gonzales explored after his discharge in 2010, Jack Daniels works like the Navy.
“It’s organized, there’s a structure, there’s a chain of command, you know what you’re expected to accomplish, so you can deliver,” says Gonzales, who lives in Kearny, NJ.
He adds the crew seems to understand that, at first, the civilian world can be difficult to navigate.
“When I hear a ‘pop’ and react, no one at work gets upset,” says Gonzales, 31. Instead they suggest he take a walk and come back when he’s ready.
JP Morgan Chase
If you ask JP Morgan Chase vice president Joel Luciano what he looks for when he interviews job candidates, bravery, coolness under pressure and capability of managing risk would all be on his list — so it’s no wonder he plucked Marine Corps veteran Ryan Enriquez out of a crowd at a job fair to recruit him in 2011. He started as a project manager and now works as an assistant vice president.
Enriquez, a 30-year-old who joined the Marines straight out of high school, says he soaked up all the training the Corps had to offer and that it has proven invaluable in the business world.
He draws on cohesion, for example, when working with customers: “I have to take into account Chase’s mission and the customer’s mission, and bring them together.”
When faced with an unfamiliar situation, Enriquez uses tools from the battlefield such as, “Be openminded, improvise, adapt and overcome.”