What Corporate Recruiting Can Learn From the U.S. Military

Several Mondays ago, I watched a National Geographic documentary called Restrepo. Restrepo is a feature-length documentary from National Geographic
that chronicles the one-year deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers
in one of the most dangerous and remote locations on earth, the Korengal
Valley. Named “Restrepo” after PFC Juan Restrepo, who died on a
hillside 7,000 miles from home on July 22, 2007 the Korengal Valley was a
Taliban-infested death trap where nearly 50 U.S. soldiers lost their
lives in five years of conflict, according to the Miami Herald.

This was one of the most gripping and moving war documentaries I have
ever watched. The documentary followed the daily lives of the platoon
members assigned to the valley outpost. By now, you are probably asking
yourself what in the heck does this have to do with corporate recruiting? The answer is EVERYTHING. U.S. Military recruiters SELL.

Watching and analyzing Restrepo made me think back on my
time in the military — perhaps I had gotten a little bit lucky during my
tour as our country was not involved in any conflicts like we are now.
The location, the lifestyle, the battles, the pure hell these soldiers
were put through on a daily basis made the selfish side of me think “I’m
glad that’s not me.” In the days that passed, I would reflect on my
time in service and on the men I saw in the documentary, and a thought
crossed my mind: “Who and why in their right mind would want to go to
that place?”

The military may not be for everyone, I understand that, but it is a
company nevertheless, an employer; one of the largest employers in the
world in fact, with its own culture, mission, pain points, and
recruiting and retention needs. Looking back and examining the U.S.
Army’s recruiting numbers over the past couple of years, this is what we
find (numbers provided by U.S. Army Recruiting Command):

FY10 Mission Accomplishments

FY09 Mission Accomplishments

In fact, going back and analyzing the recruiting numbers from FY03
Mission Recap to present, the U.S. Army had only fell short one year in
its recruitment needs. We are not talking about an organization that
needs to recruit 20 individuals or even a few hundred; this is an
organization that year after year needs to recruit upward of 60,000
individuals for dangerous assignments. Reviewing the recruiting numbers
with thoughts of the Korengal Valley fresh in my mind, the recruiting
success of the military astonished me.

So the question persists: How can the U.S. Military sell an
individual into giving up their regular lifestyle, travel halfway around
the world, be gone for months at a time, and risk life and limb while
working in a hostile environment? Easy: the military sells the benefits
of its opportunities and lifestyle, pays bonuses, and is aggressive. As
dangerous as it can be, there are benefits in every opportunity. In my
experience, corporate recruiters and hiring managers seek out every
reason why an individual IS NOT qualified for a position — while
military recruiters look for every reason why the individual IS
qualified for a position. Another important selling factor is pure
opportunity; everyone regardless of their background can be eligible for
career fields such as HR, Finance, Aviation, Communications, Logistics,
Nuclear Power, Combat Arms, Healthcare and many more fields. Everyone
is given the opportunity to succeed.

People want to join the military for various reasons, just as they
would like to find an opportunity within your organization. It’s
important to outline the benefits, to be aggressive, provide future
growth and training, to sell the applicant on the company and as to why
an individual would want to work at your company — an important
application I call “employment branding.” Moreover,
the military is smart — it partners with trusted organizations to help
build, market, and deliver the respective employment brand — rather than
trying to do it on its own. In speaking with several former military
recruiters, the group consensus on what makes military recruiters
successful is the following: meaningful and productive activity, being
personable and friendly, ability to outline benefits and long term
goals, ability to relate to the applicant, and provide constant and
consistent communication.

Here is a challenge: next time you find yourself interviewing a
candidate, take off your recruiter hat and put on your sales hat. Look
for every reason on why the individual is qualified for the position,
listen to the applicant’s goals and objectives and match them up
accordingly, give them their due time, outline the organizations
benefits, sell them on why they should want to work for your company,
advise the hiring manager on why you are presenting the individual and
most importantly provide consistent communication — even if the answer
is no.

Rest in peace PFC Restrepo.

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Jan 13, 2011, 11:39 am ET from ere.net