We Serve – March 2021

Letter from our CEO

In feedback from January’s inaugural We Serve newsletter, I was encouraged to hear so many share a desire to rise above partisan divides and come together in more meaningful ways to serve the military community. Thank you.

But let’s talk about how others sometimes view our community of those creating civilian opportunity for the military community. Outsiders and critics have long viewed the many disparate organizations performing this noble veteran mission as fragmented. They say things like, “Why can’t the veterans get it together?”, “Speak with one voice?”, “Why can’t they consolidate?”, and, unfortunately, at times, “Why are the veteran groups fighting amongst each other?”

First, I submit that the beautiful diversity of organizations serving our veteran community is to be lauded. This rich diversity brings many valuable perspectives on achieving our mission.

Veteran service organizations are the advocates, pushing for the passage of laws aimed at helping veterans and military spouses thrive in the private sector.

Legislators in the federal, state and county governments pass those laws and policy guidance creating programs.

Presidents, governors and their staffs use their vast influence to create awareness and invoke action from all corners of American society.

Government agencies like VA, DOD, Labor and state and county level VA agencies carry out the will of our VSOs and elected officials and run the programs that train transitioning veterans on how to pursue a job or an education.

Veteran-owned businesses and other private sector firms create the markets and platforms that enable connections between veteran talent and civilian jobs and education.

Non-profit organizations ensure that our most vulnerable don’t get left behind.

And, of course, American companies and colleges offer the jobs and the job training.

I challenge you to find a more vast array of resources of bright, passionate and motivated people serving any other group.

The results of the work of you, our veteran leaders, speaks for itself. Look no further than the drastic rise in prominence of corporate and higher education recruiting programs of veterans in the last couple of decades as proof.

But while we all agree on the pursuit of a vision of economic opportunity for veterans, we sometimes disagree on how or when we get there. And this is where our industry’s critics offer opportunity for us to get better.

Respectful debates are not just OK, they’re critical. We must all be open to new and different ways to support the veteran community. But our civility in how we treat each other during those debates—our respect for each other—is how we’ll be judged as a group. Respect for one another is ultimately how we’ll silence the critics. And it’s also the best thing for our veteran community. We are so much stronger together.

Many of you have shared information and news for years with us. Keep it coming, and we’ll continue to do our part in sharing the good work that you do.

Yours in service,

Chris

Celebrating 20 Years

At Viqtory, we’re celebrating our 20th year of connecting the military community to civilian opportunity.

A Megaphone for Veterans Advocates

In this section of the newsletter, we share the great work our veteran advocates are doing so we can build on that work and create better laws and policies to support veterans in the private sector.

Veterans Service Organizations: We covered six veterans service organizations (VSOs) that formed a coalition to help vaccinate Americans against COVID-19. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Team Rubicon, Student Veterans of America (SVA), Team Red, White and Blue, The Mission Continues and Wounded Warrior Project formed the Veterans Coalition for Vaccination (VCV) and are leveraging their 1 million-plus veterans to help ensure access to vaccinations. Learn More
Military Families: The March/April issue of Military Spouse magazine featured an update on the Military Housing Tenant Bill of Rights, including insight from the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Secure Families Initiative and the National Military Family Association (NMFA).
TAP for Military Spouses: The March/April Military Spouse also detailed the new Transition Employment Assistance for Military Spouses (TEAMS) program, a series of virtual workshops developed by the US Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment & Training Service (DOL VETS) that helps military spouses plan and prepare for their job search.

Content, Tools & Training for Transitioning Service Members and Military Spouses

In this section of the newsletter, we share tools, content and resources to help veterans make a successful transition into the private sector.

Skilled Workers Needed!

Critical sectors like commercial and defense shipbuilding are hurting for skilled workers, and America’s veterans could be a big part of the solution.

The cover story for the February 2021 issue of G.I. Jobs takes a deep dive into this shortage that could pose a threat to national security. Read more here.

Our next G.I. Jobs Virtual Career Fair on March 24 focuses on the need for skilled trades workers and will feature keynote speaker Gordon Logan, founder and chairman of Sports Clips Haircuts, Air Force veteran, and recipient of the 2015 Vetrepreneur of the Year award.

If you're an employer looking for skilled trade workers, we invite you to join us. Get your booth set up early and access hundreds of resumes prior to the event! Reserve your booth today.

Creating Civilian Opportunity

In this section of the newsletter, we share proprietary data, insightful anecdotes and best practices from the leading companies and schools about how to recruit, promote and advance veterans as employees, students, and franchisees.

Military Friendly® Employers (MFEs) - Year over year we have seen a consistent increase in companies moving to a no time restrictions policy for their Guard and Reserve employees. 51% of all Military Friendly® Employers have removed time restrictions on pay benefits for their salary Guard and Reserve employees called to active duty. In addition, 82% of the top-ranked employers follow this practice. This practice leads to positive outcomes for employees, increases employee satisfaction and reduces risk for employers.

Companies that have set the standard for a balanced Guard and Reserve policy that provides flexibility and a customized approach to filling the unique needs of every person utilizing this benefit have higher retention rates for their returning employees. These days as Guard and Reserve employees are frequently activated more than once in a calendar year, it's important to revisit policies to ensure there is no bias, discrepancies or confusing limitations. Defining limitations and removing time restrictions can be a great way to make adjustments for multiple activations in a calendar year.
Verizon proudly supports its employees serving in the United States military. Many of the benefits Verizon offers go above and beyond a service member’s rights as addressed by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994 and/or state law. With regard to pay treatment while on leave, an employee's years of on the job service determines the amount of military differential pay that the employee receives from Verizon while on military leave. If an employee has (6) months or more of on the job service, the employee is eligible to receive a cumulative maximum of 36 months (3 years) of military differential pay from Verizon. If an employee has less than six (6) months of on the job service, the employee is eligible to receive a cumulative maximum of 10 days of military differential pay per calendar year.

"As a sixteen year V-Teamer, I can say without a doubt, Verizon's Military Leave policy is the best in the world. Words are difficult to describe the amazing support I continue to receive from all my V-Team family. Our Credo states the foundational premise of who we are as an organization. When our military reserve component employees "run to a crisis" to support our states and nation in disaster response, civil support, and even combat operations, it is with great comfort and pride knowing Verizon will support us in times of need. I am, and always will be, a V-Teamer for Life." David Green, Verizon Public Policy Law and Security employee plus Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army National Guard (Texas)
Military Friendly® Schools (MFS) - Choosing to attend college while serving in the armed services can be a great way to prepare and diversify civilian career options and opportunities. However, individuals who choose this route find that it does present unique challenges, not just to the service members, but also to the educational institution as well. In order for schools to meet these needs, provide positive outcomes and retain these students they must make adjustments to current policies ahead of the challenges that arise.

Without exception, all of the top 10 2021-2022 Military Friendly® Schools across every category allow active duty or Reserve students who leave a class due to deployment to return without penalty. It's also important when addressing the unique needs of our service members to consider how a deployment or relocation may affect dependents and military spouses.

An average of 75% of the top Military Friendly® Schools have a policy concerning military spouses and dependents whose families must move due to redeployment or relocation. When it comes to the adoption of policies concerning military spouses and dependents, the top 10 schools in the categories of Private Offering Doctorate, Small Community College, and Small Public lead the charge.

About VIQTORY: For Veterans, By Veterans

Founded in 2001, VIQTORY is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business that connects the military and veteran community to civilian employment, education and entrepreneurship opportunities. VIQTORY’s brands include G.I. Jobs, Military Spouse and Military Friendly®.

International Women’s Day

Around the world, March 8th is known as International Women’s Day and celebrates the historical, cultural, and political achievements of women.

Here at VIQTORY, our mission is to connect the military community with civilian opportunity and there is no way we would be able to do that without the tireless efforts of the women on our team. From department-heads to executive management, these women are leaders, innovators, industry experts, and essential to keeping our organization thriving. We want to give them a special shout-out today.

Women In The Military

We want to share a special thank you to all the women who are serving, who have served, and those who have lost their lives in service of the United States Military.

Women have always been present come wartime in our nation’s history. From nurses during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars to the women taking over male-held factory positions during WWll to keep up the war effort at home while the men fought overseas. But women had to fight for their rights within the military just like they have everywhere else.

We’ve come a long way since WWll, and women now make up right around 10% of our nation’s military, with an additional 12% of the country’s veteran population being made up of women. That’s almost 2 million female veterans, not to mention the tens of thousands of military spouses who continue to fight the good fight at home while their significant others are off serving our country.

A Megaphone For Veteran Advocates

Our goal at VIQTORY is to help veterans find employment, educational, and franchising opportunities once they transition out of the military, and our G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse brands are dedicated to not only assisting service members in their transitions, but we are always excited to share the great work our veteran advocates are doing so we can build on that work and create better laws and policies to support veterans in the private sector

One of the most recent issues of G.I. Jobs celebrates America’s women veterans, starting with Nana Adae on the cover, a Navy veteran who is rising through the ranks at JPMorgan Chase. We also included an exclusive video interview of Nana for those viewing the issue digitally.

Additionally, we take a look at how Self-Made Women are defining a new generation of veterans.

We featured an article on The Mission Continues, which recently graduated its first cohort from the Women Veterans Leadership Program, despite the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And just in case you missed it, we kicked off 2021 by releasing our annual Military Spouse Friendly Employers list. Military Friendly® is the standard that measures an organization’s commitment, effort, and success in creating sustainable and meaningful benefits for the military community. If you’re a military spouse or know somebody who is, make sure you check out the 14th annual guide.

We like to say that every day is Veterans Day at VIQTORY because we understand the value of a veteran and appreciate the sacrifices they’ve made. And while we salute their contributions every day, on this special day we want to again recognize and thank all of the women on our VIQTORY team, all of the women that are a part of the military community, and every woman around the world on this International Women’s Day. We appreciate you. Thank you for all that you’ve done and continue to do.

If you’re interested in reaching the military audience, review our marketing solutions. We have several products that can help you reach your target audience.

A Solution To The Skilled Labor Shortage

Recent employment numbers show that of the 22 million jobs lost due to the Coronavirus pandemic, just over half have been recovered, still leaving millions of Americans out of work and seeking employment. What a lot of people don’t know is that there are tons of open positions out there and employers are struggling to fill them. The problem isn’t that there aren’t jobs, it’s that many of these vacant opportunities are ones that require hands-on work, a lot of which is manual-labor that many people don’t want to do when so many of us are working remotely.

The realization that these skilled trade positions are proving hard to fill is a hard pill to swallow for employers. The fact is that everyone has a different comfort level when it comes to COVID-19. Many among us aren’t ready to work alongside numerous other people every day, therefore, people are holding out for remote opportunities.

The issue with this, beyond the simple fact that these jobs need to get done, is that, according to a study from ZipRecruiter, only 1-10 job postings on the website offer remote work, making those positions much more scarce than people realize. Now that we have our key pain-point identified, what’s the solution?

Define and find your target audience

Before your marketing team starts sending out messaging to your audience, make sure you’ve identified your ideal candidate archetype, which in this case is skilled laborers, and mold your messaging around them.

We’ve already established that these jobs are out there and people seem to simply not want them. Some of that can be attributed to COVID, and some of it is the simple fact that many people don’t want to put in hard days work if that means working with their hands, or they lack the necessary skills and training. That’s why it’s all the more important to go after individuals who know the real meaning of a hard day’s work and have the skills needed: members of the military community.

When hiring transitioning veterans, you don’t just know that you’re getting employees who are willing and able to do these tough jobs that others won’t or can’t, but many of their military backgrounds include experience and certifications that align with the job descriptions for many of these vacant positions across the skilled labor sector.

One problem a lot of organizations run into, even after deciding what their ideal candidate looks like, is that they don’t have their own first-party-data and they don’t know how to find these individuals. Luckily, at VIQTORY, we have almost 2 decades worth of first-party-data and an extensive audience within the military community.

With our audience size and recorded data, we’re able to segment that audience and target the very skilled-laborers you’re looking for. We also have our own proprietary DSP that allows us to serve digital ads to the screens of those potential candidates and retarget those who show interest. We offer a number of other ways to ensure your message is getting in front of the right people at the right time.

Let Veterans and Military Spouses Looking For Work Come to you

For many smaller organizations, along with the numerous large ones that are operating on limited marketing budgets, there simply isn’t the money to spend on full-fledged programmatic marketing campaigns, even if the process is tried and true.

Other companies are stubborn when they see the number of people out of work and think their open positions will somehow magically fill themselves. No matter what the reason is, we have another solution… let the candidates come to you.

While there’s no magic involved, there may as well be.

What if we told you that you can meet with 4 potential job candidates in a matter of 2 hours without ever leaving your house? At the G.I. Jobs Virtual Career Expos, we help you do just that. Sign-up and booth registration only takes minutes and during the 4-hour event on March 24th and get access to hundreds of candidates from the military community who are actively seeking employment and engage with them via one-on-one text/video chats.

Keep an eye out for industry-specific events coming up like our March 24th, event which will be Skilled Labor specific. Click here if you’d like more information regarding our targeted advertising solutions and/or our Virtual Career Expos!

What Does Student Recruitment Look Like in 2021?

We can’t talk about Student Recruitment without talking about the Covid Pandemic. It seems like we can’t talk about anything without Covid poking its nose in because we’ve all been affected by it personally and professionally.

No industry, Higher Education included, is exempt from that unfortunate reality. We’ve seen students decide to take a gap year after high school to see how this pandemic plays out. We’ve seen students decide not to return to campus and continue their education from home. We’ve seen schools slash their marketing and recruitment budgets out of necessity.

Schools cutting their budgets has made it more difficult than ever to keep enrollment numbers up and keep their institutions thriving. The good news is, we can help schools reach the veteran audience and increase enrollment.

Highlighting Your School's Benefits To Boost Student Enrollment

Students want to have a fulfilling college experience. Part of that is the life students have outside of the classroom. People are starved for some sense of, “normal.” Letting potential students know they can get a “normal” college experience can be a huge selling point.

Thankfully, a number of campuses are open to students, and if your school is one of those, make it known. Highlight all of the clubs and organizations that are still meeting and hosting events. And to reach veteran students, it’s especially important to include organizations and resources specific to veterans in your marketing materials.

Why You Should Target Veterans Now More Than Ever

Many schools are still choosing to remain 100% remote and others are doing an in-person/remote hybrid. Either way, a large percentage of students are not attending classes in person. With a year of remote-learning under our belts, the terrain isn’t new, but it’s still rocky. Many students who had planned on continuing their education put those plans on hold because the future is so uncertain.

But when it comes to students from the military community, online school is certainly appealing. It’s known that some service members enlisted not only because they want to serve their country, but because they also want to capitalize on the GI Bill. They wany to use their military benefits to pursue their higher-education.

Because when transitioning to the civilian sector many of those individuals already have families, jobs lined-up, etc, they were always planning on doing so online.

One thing that can be overlooked by many when returning to campus is that even though there are new rules and regulations put in place in regard to COVID, we are still dealing with college-aged students, so enforcing those rules may be more difficult than anticipated. Another added benefit of increasing your veteran student population is you know that you’re getting individuals who come from a background riddled with strict rules and procedures and they are accustomed to following them.

How VIQTORY Can Help You With Your Student Recruitment

The military community is clearly one of the top demographics schools should be targeting during this pandemic not only because the interest is there, not just because many of them come with money from the GI Bill, and not only because they are highly trained and highly qualified, but because we can help you stretch your limited marketing budgets and, in-turn, help boost your enrollment numbers, regardless of the current state of things. And not only will we get your message in front of this ideal audience, but we have exclusive events designed to bring potential students directly to you with resumes in-hand. Want to learn more?

The Telecom Industry In 2021

In recent years, the Telecommunications Industry has been riddled with stiff competition not only on the consumer side but also in terms of employee recruitment. There are countless companies within the sector, and with historically low unemployment rates, it has been an uphill battle. There’s still an urgent need to stand apart from your competitors, but with the high unemployment numbers brought on by Covid-19, the vision of a nationwide 5G wireless infrastructure, and the need for clear, fast methods of remote communication being higher than ever, it’s time to strike while the iron is hot.

Increased Demand For Workers

With more than a third of the nation’s workforce conducting business from home, there has never been more of a need for fast, reliable internet, clear phone lines, and access to all the various means of communication needed so that everything is business as usual. This Increased pressure means more customer issues, which means more customer complaints, which results in a dramatically increased demand for customer service representatives. Getting people to apply for your open positions isn’t the problem when it comes to recruitment, with the number of Americans currently looking for work, it’s getting qualified candidates quickly enough to meet the demand. When reading any customer service job description, you see the same qualities listed time and time again: strong communication skills, problem-solving skills, ability to master processes and procedures. And when you read the cover letter and resume of most service members, you see them listed again. Now that we know who we’re looking for, next is determining how you find them and how you get them to come to you.

Labor Workers

It’s not only customer service jobs that need to be filled. Someone quite literally needs to lay the groundwork. There are skilled laborers needed to fill construction positions doing everything from running the lines that ensure strong reliable internet connections, to operating the machinery needed to drop electrical poles in the ground. One of the main benefits of targeting veterans for these positions is the fact that you can save time and money in doing so. A large portion of these jobs require job-specific certifications and licensing, and a large portion of transitioning veterans already have these required qualifications to operate that heavy equipment, which will ensure a quick onboarding period. And with the 5G infrastructure, we’ll be seeing here soon, there are, and will be plenty of workers needed in this sector

Stand Out From the Competition

Standing out from the competition is one of the primary goals of any organization. It’s how companies move to the next level and how they stay there. There are a number of ways in which you can accomplish this. You can focus your recruitment efforts and get your message in front of the specific target audience you’re looking for. By running a Programmatic Ad Campaign you can track your impressions and the overall effectiveness of any given marketing campaign. Another way to keep your talent pipeline full is by making yourself readily available and visible to active job seekers. And since physical gatherings are quite limited at the moment, Virtual Career Expos are the answer to your problems. Access hundreds of resumes and chat one-on-one with hundreds of members from the military community. Unlike most other virtual hiring events, we cap the number of organizations allowed to host a booth at any given event so that the employers in attendance are guaranteed their fair share of facetime with the job candidates.

Although we have a cloudy present looming over us, the future of Telecom looks bright. There is an increased need for workers of all skill levels across various departments needed to meet the increasing demands brought on by so many of us transitioning from the office to working from home. And the good news is, we know how to find them.

We Serve – January 2021

Letter from our CEO

After 9/11, you struggled to find a front porch in America without an American flag proudly waving. 9/11 united us, as common foes almost always do.

Since everything today is political, permit me to steal a famous political quote from Lloyd Bentsen to compare 9/11 to the corona.

I served before 9/11. I knew 9/11. 9/11 was no friend of mine. But, coronavirus, you’re no 9/11.

Not only did the coronavirus fail to unite us, we actually figured out ways to let it further divide us!

What a fail.

All I can say is – Thank. God. For. Veterans.

Veterans are the last tribal affiliation that crosses all the lines we have let divide us: racial, political, gender, geographic, religious, socioeconomic status, paper/plastic, meat-eater or vegetarian, favorite color, dogs or cats…wait…what? Wait.

Everybody has a friend or a family member who served. We know them. We love them. We are all thankful for their bravery, for their selfless sacrifice, for keeping us safe…for allowing the rest of America the right to act like spoiled children, fighting over everything. Because they stand the watch.

This inaugural newsletter goes out to all of the wonderful, passionate people in this amazing interwoven fabric of organizations united in support of a common cause to improve the lives of veterans after service. We call the newsletter We Serve. Because We is all of us. Because we did. And because we do.

It’s for the veteran service organizations and military associations supporting veterans and pushing for legislative change.

It’s for the members of Congress, state legislators and their staffs who write the laws affecting veterans.

It’s for DOL-VETS, DOD and other government agencies who shape policy that affects veterans and military spouses.

It’s for the VA who takes care of those who shall have borne the battle.

It’s for the veteran nonprofits who serve our brothers and sisters in arms.

It’s for the people working in the transition assistance programs who prepare veterans to find jobs, schools and entrepreneurship opportunities.

It’s for those working in veteran centers on college campuses who teach us how to go back to school.

It’s for the corporate leaders who create career opportunities for veterans at their companies.

It’s for those who run companies that help veterans transition.

Viqtory salutes you. We’re here to support you. Whether we can help provide data to change laws, provide resources to help in transition assistance or simply to distribute your message of advocacy to a big audience.

Executing our mission to connect the military community to civilian opportunity is only possible because of the work you all do.

You’re an invaluable member of our beloved military community. Let’s unite. Not just for veterans. But because our country needs it. Now and forever.

Yours in service, Chris

Celebrating 20 Years

At Viqtory, we’re celebrating our 20th year of connecting the military community to civilian opportunity.

A Megaphone for Veterans Advocates

In this section of the newsletter, we share the great work our veteran advocates are doing so we can build on that work and create better laws and policies to support veterans in the private sector.

Veterans Nonprofits: In the January issue, G.I. Jobs featured several nonprofit groups started and operated by veterans. The Mission Continues graduated its first cohort from the Women Veterans Leadership Program, despite the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We also spotlighted a woman veteran serving with Team Rubicon (if you’re sensing a pattern here, it’s because the January issue focused on women veterans - invisible veterans). Launched by two Marine Corps veterans, Team Rubicon puts the skills of prior military to work helping people and communities recover from disasters.
Veterans Legislation: Our publications follow veterans legislation and those who create it. The January issue of G.I. Jobs featured the six women veterans who will serve in the 117th Congress. Five of the six were featured on the cover of the January 2020 issue, our very first issue devoted to women veterans.
In December Congress passed sweeping veterans legislation that addresses education, housing and transition benefits, the coronavirus pandemic, and issues important to women veterans. Among its many provisions, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 reauthorizes the Transition Assistance Program’s pilot program for off-base transition classes from two years to five years.

Content, Tools & Training for Transitioning Service Members and Military Spouses

In this section of the newsletter, we share tools, content and resources to help veterans make a successful transition into the private sector.

Celebrating America’s Women Veterans

Women veterans are highly visible while serving in the military. When they get out, not so much. The January issue of G.I. Jobs celebrates these Invisible Veterans – starting with JPMorgan Chase’s Nana Adae, a Naval Academy graduate who’s rising through the ranks of a male-dominated industry.

We also take you inside the VA’s new Women’s Health Transition Training program, introduce you to three millennial women veterans who are writing their own rules for success, and share the inspirational story of a woman veteran who not only survived sexual assault but learned to thrive in its wake.
Virtual Career Expos for Military Job Seekers: Crowds of service members wandering awkwardly from booth to booth on the floor of a sprawling convention center may be a thing of the past. Our Virtual Career Expos (VCEs) are tailored specifically to transitioning service members, veterans and military spouses. From the comfort of their home, office, smartphone or tablet, job seekers in the military and veteran community can engage in one-on-one chats with recruiters from a variety of organizations that value military talent and experience.

Creating Civilian Opportunity

UnitedHealth Group - Military Friendly® Employer Spotlight: Leaders at UnitedHealth Group are dedicated to strengthening and evolving their military program through best practices, guidance and insights gained from Military Friendly®, which encourages organizations to designate centralized program managers to champion their military initiatives. UHG has partnered with Eddie Dunn as their military program champion. Eddie’s mission is to optimize UGH’s current program and, using the Military Friendly® survey as a roadmap, accelerate and build a world-class program. UGH consistently seeks best practices gleaned from Military Friendly® data and is continually evolving their process development and program structure.
Did You Know? 98% of the 2021 Military Friendly® Employers have a full-time dedicated military program manager. On average, 66% of their time is focused on recruiting, with the balance spent on program roadmapping, outreach, new initiatives, BRG/ERG and CSR functions in their military program.
Military Friendly® Schools (MFS) - Coming Soon! Military Friendly® is working on a new survey platform that will allow for interactive support functions, question by question explanations and interpretations, summary reporting, and eventually instantaneous designation results. In Q1 we’re also expanding public data collection for assurance.

About VIQTORY: For Veterans, By Veterans

2020 Video in Business Awards Finalists

Every year, Vidyard announces its Video in Business Award winners, celebrating businesses and individuals that are using video to generate more leads, close more revenue, and transform the way they communicate. We are honored to announce that VIQTORY has been named one of the finalists in this year’s Storyteller category.

The Storyteller

The Storyteller understands that video is the perfect way to tell a great story, to make audiences laugh, and to connect on a more emotional level. Through inventive use of metaphor and format, their unique and powerful storytelling is changing the way they build relationships with audiences and worthy of a Video in Business Academy Award!

“This year’s 60 finalists showed an incredible capacity for creativity, innovation and adaptability across 12 categories in an immensely challenging year. They have what it takes to not just survive, but excel in this new normal. Thank you to all who shared their stories with us!”

How To Use Virtual Recruitment to Attract Military Hires

There’s no question about it that we are living in a virtual world. It’s moving in an even more virtual direction and quickly. While shifting from in-person to virtual back in March 2020, it was a matter of adapting to survive. That includes adding virtual recruitment to your strategy to fill your open positions!

Implementing these virtual trends moving forward is a matter of adapting to thrive. The benefits of incorporating remote work, video meetings, virtual events, etc, speak for themselves. Here’s what we’ve seen and what you can expect to see moving forward, especially in looking at virtual recruitment.

Virtual Recruitment in a Virtual Future. From Hiring Events to hired

It’s still difficult for some of the old-guard of the business world to understand that business can and is being done virtually. But the reality is that with a laptop and a wifi connection, you meet, “face-to-face,” so to speak. You can meet highly-trained, highly-qualified individuals who can help keep your talent pipelines full virtually. Hard to believe you can hire people without them ever walking through the doors of your office.

Virtual Hiring Events are starting to pop up more and more often for a few simple reasons:

Limiting in-person interactions is the smart thing to do in regard to public health
The candidates come to you. You can meet and have initial interviews with candidates from the comfort of your home/office
It’s a quicker/more cost-effective way to fill your open positions.

For the G.I. Jobs Virtual Career Expo, it’s an easy process to get started. Once you register, you will have a Virtual Booth where job candidates can come to have that initial one-on-one conversation. You can meet with them over video or through a chat conversation, that’s up to you. Candidates come to the event with resumes. So, when you meet someone you like, you can check their qualifications on the spot and decide if you would like to set up the following interview. From here, there are various user-friendly platforms that will allow you to continue the interview/hiring process virtually.

Why stop there? There has been a monumental shift, since the pandemic, of businesses closing their doors and shifting to remote work. With the technology readily available to the average person, we can meet, interview, hire, and work all from the comfort of our homes. This brings us to our next topic – Remote Work.

Shifting to Remote Work

Even before the COVID-19 outbreak reached the United States we had started to see a shift to employees working remotely. In fact, a story from CNBC revealed that 42% of full-time employees said that they would like to work from home more, even when things go back to normal. Even some more old-school, traditional companies are considering WFH in some capacity once things go, “back to normal.” We have seen that for a lot of organizations that the transition from the office to remote work was seamless. Introducing some sort of hybrid between working from home and going to the office is something worth exploring.

People are growing more accustomed to this new way of working, and job searchers are beginning to seek out positions that have remote work flexibility. In addition, a large portion of these remote workers find that they are more productive when they are away from the distractions of the workplace while striking a more comfortable work balance. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, remote work is the way of the future.

Webinars Are Trending

Webinars have been a staple in the world of marketing for quite some time now. They are a great way for an organization to showcase the expertise of its team members while helping to position them as thought leaders in the industry. They are also a great platform to showcase your company now more than ever with so much of the world being remote.

When done correctly, webinars can be more cost-effective and impactful than in-person events. If you are looking for a starting point, check out some of our previous webinars for reference. You can expect to see more of these popping up in the coming months and into the new year.

E-Commerce Sales Increasing

E-Commerce is a commercial transaction that takes place over the internet. Simply put, when you make a purchase online as opposed to at a store or over the phone with a sales representative, that is E-Commerce. Over the last few years we have already seen a shift in buyer tendencies from purchasing at brick and mortar locations to making online transactions and the reason is simple, it’s easier.

Things have continued to shift drastically as we face the new realities of the COVID pandemic. Brick and mortar businesses we hit hard and many will never recover, closing their doors for the last time. At the same time, consumers have gotten used to stay-at-home mandates and have adjusted by getting everything they need delivered right to their homes. Companies of every size are starting to offer the ability to transact online and you can plan to see the world of E-commerce continue to grow and expand as we move into the new year.

What Does The Future Look Like For Virtual Recruitment?

While we’re not proposing that every company in the world is going to adopt these new ways of conducting business overnight, the shift has already started and there’s no end in sight.

If you are interested in joining the charge then check out our upcoming Virtual Career Expo where we will bring top qualified candidates directly to your computer screens.

You can also create a free profile on our GI Jobs Career Portal to find veterans and military spouses looking for remote, hybrid, or in-office work.

VCE Insights

It’s not news to anybody that the current state of our country and of our world is a virtual one. From the start of this pandemic the business world has looked a little different, but we’ve adapted. We’ve gone from seeing people in person to on our computers. We’ve even seen people transition to a fully virtual interview process. And now, we can show you how to bring qualified candidates directly to you, ensuring a full talent pipeline, with these groundbreaking hiring events. Welcome to the G.I. Jobs Virtual Career Expo (VCE).

What You Need To Know

In a nutshell, we’re hosting a job fair where employers can register and set up a booth where they will be able to have conversations with candidates from the military community seeking employment. The difference is, it’s virtual. Powered by the Brazen platform, you can not only have one-on-one conversations with qualified and eager candidates, but you’ll save yourself time and money in the process. Once you get your booth set up, this is what it looks like the day of the event:

Day of the event

Candidates will join the VCE event with resumes “in-hand,” ready to answer your questions. When they enter the event they will see your “booth,” along with the other companies participating in the event. Right off the bat, they’ll be able to see your company logo and a brief description of what you are looking for in an employee. They can even see what open positions you are trying to fill, and if they like what they see, they can enter your booth. From here you can invite individuals who spark your interest to have one-on-one conversations via live chat. We also offer the option to upgrade your organization’s package to include a video option. That way you can talk, “face-to-face,” and decide whether or not you’d like to have another conversation or jump right into the interview process. The great thing about the Brazen platform is that you don’t have to sit around and wait for people to come to you, you can sift through our pool of job seekers and their resumes and select specific individuals to invite to a private chat.

While these events stemmed from a need to adapt and push forward through this new terrain left in the wake of the Covid Pandemic, they’ve proven to be successful, cost effective, and a huge time saver when compared to the traditional recruitment fairs. Meet with hundreds of highly trained, highly motivated members of the military community from the comfort of your home, while cutting down on time-to-hire and cost-per-hire.

3 More Marketing Trends For 2021

People are always on the lookout for the latest trends in marketing because as we know, those trends are always changing. Well, look no further. We’re bringing them to you with 3 More Recruitment Trends For 2021.

Decreased Operating Budgets

Going into 2021, countless businesses will still be trying to navigate this new landscape left in the wake of the coronavirus. A survey published by LinkedIn revealed that 42% of Marketers said that budget cuts have presented a significant challenge.

Yes, the challenge is a significant one, and the solution is easier said than done… Get the most out of your limited budget. That means getting your marketing content in front of the exact demographic in the exact location(s) you are looking for. Implementing advanced targeting technologies will allow you to get granular with your targeting, which, in turn, will help stretch your budget and get you the ROI you’re looking for. Learn more about advanced targeting options and make sure to check out our limited-time special pricing offers. Get the most out of your limited marketing budget.

Increased Personalization

When crafting your messaging it’s important to remember that people don’t want to feel like just a number. If you’re sending a marketing email out to 500 people, the recipients shouldn’t be able to ascertain that. Chances are, if your emails look like stereotypical marketing emails, people aren’t even going to open them. That’s why you want to personalize your message to the individual reading it.

That doesn’t mean you handcraft an email for each of those 300 individuals on your list, but segment your lists so that the messaging is personalized to everyone on the list. This isn’t just for email marketing but marketing across all avenues. Make sure that your messaging aligns with your target demographic, ensuring that your marketing materials are getting put in front of the correct people so that you can fill your empty seats and help your bottom line.

E-Commerce

E-Commerce is a commercial transaction that takes place over the internet. Simply put, when you make a purchase online as opposed to at a store or over the phone with a sales representative, that is E-Commerce. Over the last few years, we have already seen a shift in buyer tendencies from purchasing at brick and mortar locations to making online transactions and the reason is simple – it’s easier. Things have continued to shift drastically as we face the new realities of the COVID pandemic.

Brick and mortar businesses were hit hard and many will never recover, closing their doors for the last time. At the same time, consumers have gotten used to stay-at-home mandates and have adjusted by getting everything they need delivered right to their homes. Companies of every size are starting to offer the ability to transact online and you can plan to see the world of E-commerce continue to grow and expand as we move into the new year.