Having Trouble Finding Candidates? Have You Considered Attracting Veterans?
By Guest Blogger Michaela Ryan, Council of Industry Intern
In the manufacturing industry, one of the challenges that we all face is attracting quality candidates. Have you ever thought about trying to reach veterans through your candidate search? Did you know that jobs can be made searchable by MOS code? MOS codes are a specific code used in the military that identifies a particular job. Each MOS code has its own job description. Active members and veterans typically know their MOS code like the back of their hand. Therefore, when a veteran is searching for a civilian job, they know that they have the qualified skills and experience if it aligns with their MOS code. This information is being implemented in various recruitment strategies when trying to attract veterans for job openings.
The Manufacturing Industry aligns nicely with many of these MOS code job descriptions. Much of the work they do is hands-on work with machines, which fits perfectly into the Manufacturing Industry. Finding information on this is simple. When you search “MOS code job search” in Google, MOS translators for civilian jobs are the first links to pop up. For example, MOS code 44E is the code for a Machinist in the Army. A veteran could type “44E” into the MOS translator and it would present a list of job openings that align with their background as a machinist in the Army. It allows veterans to use their gained experiences and skills from the military and put those skills and experiences to use in civilian jobs.
Recruiters, such as yourselves, can implement MOS code compatibility into your recruitment process by providing applicable MOS codes into your job postings. Multiple MOS codes can align with a single job. You can find a list of MOS codes categorized by military branch, for example, an Army MOS code list and a Marine MOS code list can be found here. There are numerous resources online when trying to figure out which MOS codes could apply to your job openings. This can help veterans find jobs faster that align with their prior experience and it can help you find qualified candidates by reaching a new market. This could open new doors for access to skilled candidates!
The Council of Industry started matching the jobs in our Recruiting Initiative to corresponding MOS codes. We started this to open new doors for our members to try and help solve this problem of finding qualified candidates. All of the applicable jobs will have a list of corresponding MOS code(s) implemented into the job description/posting. This will allow veterans to know that they qualify for that particular job and it will also make the job searchable by MOS code. Anyone can go to our website (Link Here) and search an MOS code and all applicable jobs will appear for candidates to easily apply. Our hope is to reach a broader candidate base for our members, as well as, assist veterans in their job search.
The Council of Industry started this process and implemented a few MOS codes into some applicable jobs already, but we need your help! As you know the jobs and qualifications better than anyone, we encourage you, as our members to follow suit and start thinking about this idea when creating a new job post. You can do this by going to the links above and searching for titles and job descriptions that are most relevant to your openings. Once you do this, you can add those applicable MOS codes into the job description. If you are apart of our Recruiting Initiative and joined iCIMS, once the MOS codes are implemented into the job posting, veterans can go to our website and search for their MOS code. If your job lists their MOS code, it will immediately show up. This will help you reach a new market of qualified candidates, in hope to help with your recruiting process.
Making MOS codes searchable with job openings is a new opportunity for you, as members, to attract veterans. By simply implementing this into your recruiting process, you can increase your likelihood of finding the quality candidate you’ve been looking for. Many other companies within various industries have already started to implement this into their recruitment process and there are a variety of tools readily available to assist in the implementation of this process. If you would like to attract veterans or find a new market of candidates during your recruitment process, this could be what you are looking for. If you have any questions or need help starting this process, feel free to reach out to us! We will be more than happy to help.
