Dan Wilkinson, Founding Partner of Hire a Veteran discusses the valuable qualities that a veteran could bring to your firm and why you should consider the leadership nuances that a millitary candidate can bring to a role:

The quality of leadership is full of nuance.

But I think most people would agree that the military breeds good leaders. Yet, when it comes to finding a job, unless you are a senior officer with post nominals after your name, it has little or no bearing on your ability to find a job.

The framework of being a leader in the military transposes well into business. The key qualities of: Effective communication; Teamwork; Decision making; Adaptability: Accountability are a great starting point but they only tell half the story.

Many people in this country still think that soldiers shout a lot and that’s the way they get things done. The reality is very different.

I met with a friend recently who left the Army and found a great job, on completion of his Masters degree, at a sustainability advisory firm. When he arrived, he struggled to keep up with the graduates from Britain’s best universities as they crunched out endless spreadsheets. With practice, my friend got better and caught up. And left them behind as the firm recognised his ability to lead on projects and with clients. These were the skills he had honed in the Army. Yet they had no currency during the interview stage. Why? Because leadership doesn’t get you a job. It’s something you bring to a job. You have to prove your basic competence before you are able to unleash “the full spectrum of capabilities” that most veterans possess.

Should leadership count for more in a job search?

I believe it should.

I have seen many examples where a company needs to promote someone to lead a team. Instinctively, they promote the most skilled person, say the best engineer, from the group of candidates. Most of the time, it doesn’t work out. The appointed ‘leader’ may be a reluctant one, shy and not wanting the added responsibility. Look beneath the surface and these appointments can be made with greater intuition.

Take sport. Often a leader is born from being a big character in the dressing room. Other times, from being a student of the game and immersing themselves in analysis.

Of course experience plays a part, but it’s not the only factor.

Leadership is often misunderstood in business. Yet the impact of good leadership can be transformational.

Many organisations fluctuate in their fortunes; they have good and bad periods. My sense of why this happens is that much of it is down to the head.

The leader.

Look at schools – a good Head Master or Head Mistress will guide them through a period of strong audits, great results, impressive sporting, musical and dramatic achievements. They create a culture where the team want to work at their best and are rewarded for doing so. The same can be said of CEOs and sports coaches.

It is hard to maintain this level, hence the rollercoaster ride that means few are at the top continuously.

Leadership exists at all levels – junior, middle and senior – and is different to management.

Leadership is much more nuanced. And therefore harder to recognise in business. Harder to spot in a job interview.

So how does the leadership learned in the Armed Forces have value in the world of business?

In the military, it comes from a sense of selflessness. Leaders in the Armed Forces would never expect their subordinates to do anything they wouldn’t do themselves. This is non-negotiable. Good leaders will serve their people.

Let me finish by saying this.

I will wager that if you have 2 equally qualified candidates for a job and one of them is a veteran, there is only one decision to be made. Risk averse people might cringe and think of the old fashioned stereotypes about shouting and screaming to get things done. But talk to us at Hire a Veteran and we can let you know the many reasons why selecting the leader and team player is the right decision.