CareerBuilder Survey Finds That While Veteran Hiring Continues to Rise, Veteran Workers Continue to Feel Underemployed

-- 47 percent of companies hired a veteran in the last year

-- Percentage of working vets reporting underemployment or low-paying job increased to 31 percent from 23 percent last year

-- 29 percent of employed veterans took advantage of their tuition credit granted by the GI Bill - down 9 points from 2014

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CareerBuilder

Nov 10, 2015, 05:04 ET

CHICAGO, Nov. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- While the Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that the unemployment rates of certain segments (especially those 18-25) of veterans continues to trend above national rates, employers stay committed to actively recruiting and hiring veterans. According to the CareerBuilder Veterans Day Job Forecast, 38 percent of employers are actively recruiting veterans over the next year, up from 33 percent in 2014 and 27 percent in 2013. Further, 47 percent have hired a veteran in the last year, compared to 44 percent in 2014, and 31 percent have hired a veteran who recently returned from duty.

However, while talent acquisition efforts are gaining steam, veterans are considerably less content with their jobs than last year. Nearly a third of employed veterans (31 percent) say they are underemployed or in a low-paying job, up from 23 percent last year; and while 65 percent say they are satisfied with their jobs, this is a two point dip from 2014 (67 percent).

The nationwide survey was conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from August 12 to September 2, 2015, and included a representative sample of 2,529 hiring and human resources managers and 256 veterans employed in full-time positions across industries and company sizes.

"Over the past few years companies have focused heavily on marketing their veteran hiring initiatives, which was necessary and has paid off," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resource officer at CareerBuilder. "But employers may still not understand the skills veterans had in the military, which may land them in positions that don't use all their skills and not get them the higher salary levels that they deserve. Veterans may have to present themselves in a different way, but once hired employers should work to ensure they have the skills they need to be successful and in challenging, rewarding roles in their civilian careers."

Top Jobs for Veterans
While a majority (71 percent) of working veterans say they felt prepared to enter the civilian workforce after leaving active duty, this is down 10 points from a year prior. Conversely, about the same percentage of employed veterans say they knew how to write a resume this year versus last year — 66 percent vs. 64 percent.

And only a third (33 percent) said they didn't know what industry or field in the civilian world was relevant to the type of service they performed on active duty, on par with last year.

The following are the top positions, according to employers hiring veterans this year:

1.       Customer service: 38 percent
2.       Information technology: 32 percent
3.       Sales: 31 percent
4.       Production: 29 percent
5.       Distribution and logistics: 22 percent
6.       Accounting/finance: 22 percent
7.       Business development: 21 percent
8.       Marketing: 20 percent
9.       Research and development: 20 percent
10.     Human resources: 19 percent

Tips for Veterans
1. Be yourself: More than one in four (27 percent) of all currently-employed veterans plan to test the job market for a new job next year — an increase from 24 percent in 2014. And while 80 percent identify as a veteran on their resumes, 58 percent of them think self-identifying does not help their chances of finding a job, on par with 2014 (57 percent).

Employers are taking note, though. Nearly half (47 percent) say they pay more attention to the applications submitted by veterans, and 69 percent say that if given two equally qualified candidates — one veteran and one not — they are more likely to hire the veteran.

2. Highlight your strengths: Employers selected the most important qualities members of the armed forces bring to organizations after leaving active duty. Discipline and teamwork topped the list:

1.       Disciplined approach to work: 65 percent
2.       Ability to work as a team: 63 percent
3.       Respect and integrity: 62 percent
4.       Ability to perform under pressure: 55 percent
5.       Leadership skills: 54 percent
6.       Problem-solving skills: 49 percent
7.       Ability to adapt quickly: 48 percent
8.       Attitude of perseverance: 46 percent
9.       Communication skills: 42 percent
10.     Strong technical skills: 32 percent

3. Take advantage of training: Veterans can use their GI Bill to receive job training in an on-the-job or apprenticeship training program, but only 29 percent of working veterans say they took advantage of their college tuition credit granted to them by the GI Bill this year, down from 38 percent last year.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,529 U.S. hiring managers and human resource professionals, and 256 U.S. veteran workers (employed full-time, not self-employed, government and non-government) between August 12 and September 2, 2015 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With pure probability samples of 2,529 and 256, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have sampling errors of +/-1.95 and +/-6.13 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®
As the global leader in human capital solutions, CareerBuilder specializes in cutting-edge HR software as a service to help companies with every step of the recruitment process from acquire to hire. CareerBuilder works with top employers across industries, providing job distribution, sourcing, workflow, CRM, data and analytics in one pre-hire platform. It also operates leading job sites around the world. Owned by TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA), Tribune Media (NYSE:TRCO) and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

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SOURCE CareerBuilder