We’re not quite to the end of the first quarter, but it’s been a busy and productive few months engaging with our Military, Veteran, and Military Spouse community.
- The job search process is very challenging, and that’s probably an understatement given the competitive nature of roles and the saturation of qualified talent. As a Veteran myself, I often find the job search process even more challenging and nuanced for the #MilVet community for a variety of reasons.
Numbers of Engagement
- A little data to share for context…. Since the beginning of 2026, as a member of our MVP team, I've received and sent out a total of 824 communications to service members, veterans, and military spouses that have completed our interest forms to engage in the selection and hiring process.
- The current break down is 512 for SkillBridge and 355 combined with Veterans and Military Spouses. Of those, 57 from SkillBridge and 68 Veterans or Spouses have replied to engage in questions or conversations. This doesn’t account for the multitude of daily LinkedIn messages.
- Of the 125 responses, 47 converted to the interview process. That is a high conversion rate for interviews especially when competing amongst the masses of external applicants, referrals, and internal employees.
- These numbers don't fully take into account the 5K+ veterans that have directly applied to positions on the website this year.
Intentional Follow-up
- So where are the 699 others that didn’t follow-up?
- Have you checked your junk/spam folder?
- Maybe your SkillBridge time frame is 6-12 months out and is too far to engage in our process.
- Perhaps you didn’t find a position that aligned towards your location, skill sets or experience?
- Do the positions require industry experience that may not be as transferrable as you think?
- Do you realize that you may also be competing amongst your fellow veterans or military spouses?
- Maybe you read the communication and moved forward with other opportunities?
- Some read, click on the links, forget, delete the email, and asked for the information to be resent---this happens more often than not.
- Perhaps the role you were really interested in is already in the final round interviews, or an offer was recently made.
- And of course, there is absolutely the roles that receive hundreds, sometimes thousands of applicants in a short amount of time, and you can feel like you’re drowning in a fox hole.
- There are many nuances and challenges both internally and externally. As the saying goes, “you don’t know, what you don’t know”.
Mentorship and Networking
- In collaboration with 50strong , I’ve completed 103 mentor calls since the platform was lifted last Summer equivalating to 51.5 hours, and 16 more mentor calls scheduled in the next few weeks.
- My question back to mentees is, “who else are you speaking with that is working in similar roles of interest?” That is actually the “secret sauce” of preparation and internal insights, and not just connecting with me.
- How much do you really know about the role or company if you’re only clicking to apply?
- At one point in my career, I had to leave an employer to complete an unpaid internship for grad school. It was one of the most challenging times in my career and drained me mentally, emotionally, and certainly financially. I heavily relied on my network when I was able to pursue full-time opportunities.
- The “post and pray” method is not a strategy. It is draining and often goes unnoticed if your tailored resume is not pulled out of the sand box from hundreds of applicants.
Involvement and Best Practices
- I’m very passionate about working in this community. I’m grateful to work for an organization and a leadership team at Cushman & Wakefield that takes exceptional pride and understands the value and benefits of hiring from the #MilVet community.
- We win and retain business by hiring some of the most diverse, experienced, and educated talent with over 1,400 Veterans and 250+ military spouses.
- We've brought on 120 service members through the SkillBridge program in over 35 different types of positions with a 95% offer conversion rate.
- For four consecutive years, we've been recognized as a Top 10 Military Friendly employer, and we're consistently involved in philanthropic organizations in giving back to this community. We also consult other employers, (some of those being our clients) about best practices with our military and veteran strategies and initiatives.
Feedback-Preparation and Pivot
- I received a very informative email response from a veteran (below) last week after providing internal insights about a few opportunities that were very industry focused. I enjoyed reading the response from the knowledge that he gained. It was a great take away to provide transparent industry insights.
“I cannot thank you enough for pulling back the curtain on these. Getting the unvarnished ground truth on the backend saturation and the specific competitor profiles is incredibly valuable.
You're exactly right—without deep, pre-existing commercial real estate experience, the direct ATS application route for these specific Director/VP roles isn't the right angle of attack.
I’m going to hold fire on the portal submissions and take your advice to focus heavily on internal networking to bypass the standard screen. To that end, I’ve already reached out to (Veteran employee) on the Operations side to start mapping the (department) landscape.
I'll keep building those internal connections and look forward to the 50strong event on April 29th.
Thanks again for the incredible advocacy and for saving me the cycles on those requisitions.”
- Being more intentional with internal networking and aligning skill sets and experiences towards the job description requirements is much more beneficial in navigating the job search process. If you're not deep diving in your job search like the example above, you're truly not benefiting yourself or performing a comprehensive search.
Industry Insights and the Hidden Job Market
- As someone who has been an external candidate, receiving solid industry knowledge and understanding the competitive landscape of positions is extremely impactful. On the inside of the house, it’s fulfilling to know that I can bring value and knowledge by sharing these insights and providing informative advice to pivot more towards internal networking. Strategizing on the “right fit” to assess transferrable skills and experiences will increasingly align beyond the “post and pray” method.
- If you want to get off the hamster wheel, make sure you're being intentional about your search. Not everyone will respond, but continue initiating conversations and following up with those that do. Don't put all your eggs in one employer basket, or one specific job.
- The hidden job market is out there for you to explore. Lean on this community to make impactful connections and conversations. Some of the veterans I've assisted that are now onboard with us have done a phenomenal job in being intentional to connect and network with others in the community.
- Understand how your values, interests passion and skills (VIPS) can align to a position, organization, team, and culture.
- Just like in the military, pull up your polished boot straps. Take positive accountability to pivot when needed. Intentionally follow-up to learn about best practices in understanding the competitive landscape of the market.
- Navigate your job search with purpose and positivity.
- When you have landed the right opportunity, just like we would do in the military, give back to this community in helping others pave the way forward---onward and upward.
