G.I. Jobs: A Reflection of The Last 20 Years

“It took the Navy seven years to transform me from a civilian into a P-3C Orion Mission Commander. How did they expect to turn me back into a civilian in 2 ½ days? It just wasn’t enough,” Chris Hale, CEO of VIQTORY.

After experiencing the transition themselves, three prior shipmates in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were inspired to launch G.I. Jobs Magazine to provide more resources to help veterans find successful transitions.

This was the launch of a magazine that influenced decisions in countless ways. G.I. Jobs has impacted veterans, active duty service-members, military families, legislation, various programs, and more over the last 20 years. 

The Beginning of GI Jobs, A  VIQTORY Brand

Chris Hale, Scott Shaw, and Rich McCormack pioneered the movement to help veterans get hired by providing service-members valuable job search information after seeing a lack of resources available to them. 

Mike Stevens, the prior MCPON and prior COO of VIQTORY felt similarly to Chris Hale; he said in a previous interview, “The government had invested years of intensive training to teach them their military jobs, then sent them on their way with a 2 ½ day workshop that was supposed to teach them how to be civilians again.” 

Determined to bridge the gap, the three founders launched G.I. Jobs Magazine followed by the website in the fall of 2001. Through the years, G.I. Jobs has featured endless interviews with veterans to inspire individuals in similar positions to forge their own path in the civilian world, highlighted various industries that are hiring, and featured educational opportunities across the board. 

Following the attack of 9/11, organizations across every industry were committed to veterans and joined G.I. Jobs Magazine’s mission.

Highlights for G.I. Jobs & VIQTORY Over The Years: 

Scott Shaw reflected on the transition of G.I. Jobs, “What I am most proud of is the way G.I. Jobs shared the landscape of veteran hiring. Back in 2002 this included only a handful of companies. By setting the standard and creating a widespread awareness, G.I. Jobs helped make corporate veteran hiring programs the norm. The end result is creating endless job opportunities for our troops. What we do matters, and continuing that mission is what motivates me each and every day.’” 

G.I. Jobs Magazine created waves in the veteran space and was followed by G.I. Jobs’ Military Friendly® Rating, published in 2003. The rating system helps identify and connect veterans to employers and schools that are committed to the veteran and military spouse audiences. Chris Hale reflected that, “When we started G.I. Jobs, Military Recruiting by corporate America was, at best, a recreational activity. Military Friendly® put a scoreboard on the field. That changed everything. Companies started to not only care about military recruiting, they started competing for it. When that happened, veterans benefitted.”

Connecting employers with candidates who are knowledgeable, hardworking and solutions-oriented has been the biggest highlight. We’ve had several success stories from our clients finding top-quality candidates in connection with G.I. Jobs. 

With a targeted campaign using first-party data from the G.I. Jobs audience, Canadian Pacific Railroad that produced 25% of all veteran hires!

In 2007, the Military education guide launched to help members learn about the benefits they earned during service. Schools like East Tennessee State University have surpassed their veteran hiring goals through partnerships with G.I. Jobs. During a campaign they ran with G.I. Jobs that included a holistic marketing approach (organic blogs on gijobs.com, traditional marketing, and targeted social & programmatic) ETSU attributed more than 100 enrolled military students to VIQTORY. 

The Future of G.I. Jobs, A VIQTORY Brand: 

While the G.I. Jobs’ website continues to be a paramount resource with endless information for veterans, there’s still more coming. 

Hale believes that, “The modern advertising technologies today enable us to deliver measurable and efficient matching of civilian opportunities to the military community.” With products and tools like the G.I. Jobs Career Portal, the G.I. Jobs Virtual Career Expo, and programmatic advertising, VIQTORY is connecting organizations to the military community every day. 

The G.I. Jobs Career Portal will launch with more ways to search our database for quality candidates and get notifications when candidates submit information that match your hiring needs. Your one-stop shop for veteran recruitment. 

Meet veterans at our G.I. Jobs Virtual Career Expo. This monthly hiring event sprung from a necessity to meet candidates remotely during the pandemic. It’s evolved into an event that gives organizations access to candidates wherever they are. Whether you’re hiring for remote positions or simply want to broaden your search to find qualified candidates, our past clients have found the Virtual Career Events a beneficial addition to G.I. Jobs. 

You can take G.I. Jobs with you wherever you go. The publication has officially launched on the NEW G.I. Jobs app available on iOS and Android. We’re looking for endless opportunities to create a space for veterans to use this app and create brand opportunities for organizations like yours who are committed to the military community. 

The programmatic service we provide continues to be one of the most successful ways to provide ROI. Our team of experts works one on one with you to create a seamless process to identify your target market, guide you through the best advertising methods to reach the audience, and work with you on optimizations once the campaign is live. It’s been one of the most effective ways to reach a high volume of talent. 

Thank you for your dedication to the veteran and military community. Without organizations like yours, G.I. Jobs would not be what it is today. Here’s to the future in helping the military community for the next twenty years