When you’re a veteran job seeker, the employment search can be a constant process of hurry up and wait that may not even lead to an interview. But sometimes, getting a job is all about who you know. More than 80% of employment positions are never advertised on job boards, and only exist within personal networks, says Veterati Transition Center, America’s mentoring network for the military. Using a military headhunter is one way to avoid feeling defeated while searching for career after your transition out of the armed forces.
With our complete guide to military headhunters, you’ll understand what a headhunter is, be provided a list of the top ten veteran recruiters, and get the key information you need to determine whether a recruiter is best for you, no matter whether you’re an officer or enlisted servicemember.
What is a Military Headhunter?
Think of a headhunter as a matchmaker who works on your behalf to find the best employment opportunities for you. Essentially, a military headhunter is the liaison between the military member and a company or corporation.
According to an article in Military.com, they also act as recruiters, search firms and placement companies, as they establish and maintain relationships with their client companies and source and screen potential employees for them.
Benefits of Using Headhunter Services
Using a headhunter or recruiter comes with its advantages to include saving money, time and headache, connecting with vetted companies, and partnering with a “coach” who more than likely has military experience.
The ultimate benefit of all? Headhunter services are usually free of charge. If you find yourself paying a recruiter to help you find a job, there may be something wrong. It’s important that you watch out for employment scams during COVID-19.
Because there are several military staffing agencies, we’ve compiled a list of the top tier recruiters you should know.
Top 10 Military Recruiting Services and Agencies
When it comes to veteran recruiting, placement agencies work to actively place candidates in positions. Being a headhunter is a highly specialized service that can lead to attractive positions for veterans seeking jobs. And, because the service is highly specialized, they focus on specific industries, specializations, or job roles.
Below is our top 10 list of military and veteran talent recruiters:
1. Lucas Group
Lucas Group is a full-service executive recruiting firm founded in 1970 with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and locations across the nation. They place military officers, senior military officers, junior military officers, non-commissioned officers, military technicians, and veterans with corporate experience in positions throughout corporate America.
The firm specializes in connecting military veterans to companies that will benefit from their years of military service in the areas of accounting, human resources, finance, information technology, legal, manufacturing operations, marketing, sales, and supply chain.
Military job seekers can work with the Lucas Group with four areas of approach: live hiring conferences, virtual hiring conferences, Navy nuclear virtual hiring conferences, and individual interviews.
Get started with the Lucas Group now by creating a Military Profile.
2. Cameron-Brooks
Cameron-Brooks is the best JMO recruiting firm for military to business transitions. For over 45 years, this organization has equipped junior officers with the tools they need to transition from the military and placed them with top corporations in the U.S. including Johnson & Johnson, DaVita, United Technologies, Michelin, and Exxon Mobil.
With headquarters in Fredericksburg, Texas, Cameron-Brooks has a track record of 99% of candidates being pursued by companies at their hiring conference. This is largely due to their Development and Preparation Program which includes studying their resource library, interview techniques, a resume critique, and a major career conference, which is now taking place virtually.
This headhunter has a comprehensive, proven process that consists of attending a webcast, getting a personal marketability assessment, program acceptance, preparing for the career conference, interviews at the career conference, post conference follow-up, and becoming a member of their alumni organization.
To get started with Cameron-Brooks, apply now and create your candidate profile.
3. Bradley-Morris
Bradley-Morris is a military staffing company founded in 1991 with locations in Chesapeake, Virginia, and Loveland, Ohio.
The veteran recruiting firm works to identify transitioning officers and NCOs and enlisted technicians with the best talent and place them in organizations that can benefit from their training, leadership and hands-on experience.
Job seeking veterans have the opportunity to be gainfully employed in Bradley Morris’ areas of specialty including engineering, sales, operations, cybersecurity, technicians, team leadership, and business analysts.
Bradley-Morris helps candidates locate a job in four steps: 1) completing a candidate application, 2) uploading or creating a resume, 3) searching and applying for positions, and 4) interview preparation and learning local hiring trends.
To get started with Bradley-Morris today, complete the candidate application or join a webinar to see if they are a right fit for you.
4. Orion Talent
Orion Talent is a military recruiting leader with over 25 years of experience providing military hiring solutions that helps business attract, hire, and retain military veterans. The company has offices in San Diego, CA, West Chester, OH, Virginia Beach, VA, with headquarters in Cary, NC, and Austin, TX.
This recruiting agency helps JMOs, NCOs, Navy Nuclear-trained technicians, enlisted technicians, and combat arms personnel, as well a veterans who have transitioned but seeking a career change find civilian careers by matching their skills and goals with American companies.
As one of the nation’s largest military recruiting firms, they specialize in military talent programs, recruiting services, contract and temporary staffing, military and veteran outreach and military hiring conferences.
heir simple process includes creating a profile to be connected with employers directly. During this time, your recruiter will learn your background and employment preferences, then you’ll attend the 2-day hiring conference to interview with hiring managers.
Ready to get started with Orion Talent? Simply register for an account or search for jobs on their job board.
5. Alliance
Alliance is another transitioning veteran recruiting company with headquarters in Raleigh, NC. This firm works to ensure the military’s best leaders lead America’s best companies.
They help officer employee candidates between the ranks of O2-O4 to secure new careers with their direct placement services. Additionally, Alliance limits its officer partnerships to only 300 candidates per year to make sure each candidate receives undivided attention from recruiters throughout their transition.
Their specialty is the Transition Program – Corporate Boot Camp where they provide one-on-one and small group training sessions, Harvard Business School case studies, resume preparation and review, mock interviews, and webinars. Through this program, Alliance hold a 100% success rate in candidate placement.
Alliance’s five step process for officers includes contacting them online or by phone, submitting a selection packet, conducting a pre-selection interview, conducting a selection interview, accepting the invitation to join the Transition Program.
If you’re an enlisted candidate, you simply need to contact Alliance through their Longview recruiting option, submit an application, conduct an interview with the vice president and finally begin training.
6. Robert Half
Robert Half is a well-known recruiting firm headquartered in Menlo Park, CA. This firm offers staffing solutions such as remote staffing, flexible staffing, full-time hiring in various specializations including accounting and finance, administrative and office, technology and IT, creative and marketing, and legal.
Founded in 1948, the staffing agency offers training and certification programs that can make applicants more attractive to hiring authorities. To assist transitioning service members, the Veterans Initiative was created to help transitioning veterans and military spouses with civilian career opportunities and help employers see the value in this unique demographic.
Robert Half is noted in U.S. Veterans Magazine as best of the best top veteran-friendly companies from 2014 to 2019.
To learn more about how this 325-location agency works, review the FAQs page begin looking for a job with Robert Half, simply submit your resume. You will then be contacted by a representative and arrange to meet with him or her and may be required to take a skills assessment. If you’re a fit, the recruiter will get to work finding the best companies and positions for you.
7. Recruit Military
Recruit Military, located in Loveland, OH, is a military recruiting company owned by Bradley-Morris, Inc. The company helps nationwide organizations connect with the best veteran talent and has been doing so for 29 years and counting.
This company offers various resources for veterans and their spouses including job and networking access, webinars, resume guidance and templates, interview prep, the Search & Employ Magazine, and job fairs.
Recruit Military recently announced its appointment as the contracted provider of employment services and resources through Soldier For Life, the Army’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP).
Job seekers can begin the employment search by creating an account with Recruit Military and then entering the MOS code or keywords and the location of the search.
8. Kelly Services
Kelly Services is an agency that partners with veteran job finders, their spouses, and corporations to enable growth.
Founded in 1946, the company was created to provide modern, temporary help to organizations in need of assistance. Today, the recruiter is a full-service organization for outsourcing, consulting, and staffing on a global scale.
With this headhunter, you can get the tools, resources, attention, and guidance to successfully transition into civilian jobs in education, engineering, accounting, science, IT, manufacturing, and logistics.
To get started on the path to success with Kelly Services, all you need to do is create an account and submit your military to civilian resume. Once your resume is received, a recruiter will contact you for the on-boarding process.
9. Betts Recruiting
Since 2009, Betts Recruiting has been helping veterans make career dreams come true and helping companies scale for growth. With locations in San Francisco, New York, Austin, Chicago, and Los Angeles, they source the best talent quickly.
This recruiting agency is changing the future of recruiting through Betts Connect, their intuitive online platform, that allows job candidates to connect with top companies on the spot.
Betts Recruiting specializes in recruiting for sales, marketing, and people operations and those who served can be placed in meaningful and purposeful positions from sales development, to customer success to sales engineering.
Get started today by booking a meeting to talk to a Betts representative.
10. CSI Executive Search
CSI is a leading AESC certified executive search and consulting firm founded in 1997. With recruiting locations in Texas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, California, Washington State, and Washington, DC, the firm is an advisor for companies seeking direction and counsel on leadership needs.
The organization specializes in operational and technical placements in aerospace, healthcare, transportation and logistics, oil and gas, renewable energy, construction, and business development to name a few.
The company is beginning to offer services to military veterans and help corporations locate their leadership needs. To be first in line for CSI’s veteran employment services, visit their candidate center, and submit a resume.
You may be surprised to know that a few of these headhunters are recognized as America’s best executive recruiting firms by Forbes and market research company, Statista.
Always remember that all headhunters are not created equal. If you’re interested in hiring a recruiter to assist with your career search, do your homework and check out the company on LinkedIn and other forms of social media.
Finally, you’ll need a professional military to civilian resume that clearly showcases your experience and value in civilian terms that employers will understand.
Dr. Phillip Gold is President/CEO of Empire Resume and has vast experience writing resumes for service-members transitioning from the military into civilian roles. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force responsible for leading nuclear missile security. Phillip is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and holds a BA in Communications from The Ohio State University, an MS in Instructional Technology, an MBA in Finance, and a PhD in Finance.
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