“Hello Veteran, please explain our [your potential future employer’s] Return on Investment (ROI) for hiring you. You can start with year one, but feel free to go beyond.”
Although, thankfully, many of us will never have to directly answer this question during our transition interviews, we should never assume that the question is not being asked of the hiring manager and other champions of Veteran hiring within our prospective organization. In fact, we should expect the question IS being asked and might be a little worried about the fiscal responsibility of an organization that does not. You can bet that whether your “in” for this new opportunity is a front-line manager or the CEO, a business case is being made–and advanced–to bring you onto the team. Hiring you, brings an opportunity cost.
Dr. Eric Wright, founder of Vets2PM, tells a story of a CFO mentor he once had who explains there only 3 reasons people hire other people, 1) to do something they don’t know how to do; 2) to do something they don’t have time to do; or 3) to do something they don’t want to do. It’s hard to argue with such logic which suggests we, as new employees, must add talent and skills, capacity, or at least the willingness to “do windows” to be worthwhile to a prospective employer. That is how employees add value and earn a paycheck.
Considering Veterans are often seen as non-traditional candidates, which can–and should–be seen as a good thing, it is important for us to understand the opportunity cost we represent to a hiring manager. This understanding is key to effectively articulating the unique value we offer our future team and to demonstrating the return on the investment of our employment is a “no-brainer.” For employers with constrained budgets–most of them–the choice to hire a Veteran “generalist” with strong leadership skills often means passing on a well-qualified industry “specialist” that, while possibly lacking in leadership, could snap into the individual contributor job duties with minimal coaching and development.
Our ramp up period when entering a new ecosystem within the civilian workforce is often slower than our civilian peers as we have to learn everything about our new environment in addition to our new job duties from scratch. Many of us find that the opportunities to succeed simply by “gettin’ stuff done” and “making good things happen” are fewer and father between than we had expected. There are steep learning curves and uphill climbs needed just to snap into our new industry, company, and team culture not to mention the effort it takes to effectively deliver on our professional commitments. Frankly, our onboarding and integration timeline represents one of the greatest liabilities our potential employer faces in hiring us. Whether they ask us or not, they most certainly will be wondering if we’re worth the risk of potentially foregone short-term results. Will we provide a return on their investment in us?
We must answer this question for them, even if it’s never asked out loud.
To do so, think through the three reasons people hire other people and how you can best fulfill an immediate need now and a bigger need in the future. Never limit your answers by the constraints of a written job description.
- Hiring Reason 1 – Add Talent & Skills: To do something the hiring manager’s team doesn’t know how to do. Do you possess a unique talent or skill that the hiring manager’s team is looking for or can immediately benefit from? Can your military experience, education, or certifications help cover an identified skills gap?
- Hiring Reason 2 – Add Capacity: To do something the hiring manager’s team doesn’t have time to do. Most managers and teams take on work to the point of task saturation. What are their pain points? What’s not getting done? How can you add immediate capacity by absorbing some degree of workload from the manager or other team members?
- Hiring Reason 3 – Add Flexibility: To do something the hiring manager’s team doesn’t want to do. From the very first time you volunteered for a working party to the last time you stood overnight duty, think of all of the “windows” you’ve done. How can you add flexibility to the team? (C’mon this one is easy!) Let’s face it, there are tasks that some people have the skill and capacity to do but simply don’t want to do. Sometimes it doesn’t make economic sense for highly skilled and highly compensated individuals to devote their time doing tasks that they can pay somebody a lesser amount to do. Sometimes the boss needs to create more free time to think strategically or simply wants a better work/life harmony and is willing to hire somebody to achieve it. All of the above are wonderful things, and perhaps goals worth aspiring to… in the meantime they present opportunities to be a helper and problem solver.
Most job postings focus only on Hiring Reason 1, Adding Talent & Skills, but oftentimes the hidden pain points hiring managers face are a result of shortfalls in capacity and flexibility. If we are good at building rapport and uncovering these pain points while networking and interviewing, we can offer a vision of how our experience can relieve immediate capacity shortfalls and provide flexibility to the hiring manager… all without a day of training in the industry or specific job. By reframing the hiring manager’s perspective onto Hiring Reasons 2 & 3, we bring “gettin’ stuff done” and “making good things happen” back into the equation and crystalize a view of an immediate ROI to the team.
Sounds great, right? There is just one problem… okay, probably two. The first problem is the job description for the pain point you’re going to relieve doesn’t exist yet, which leads us to your second problem. While you’ve created this awesome niche opportunity for yourself, the company’s willingness or ability to invest in your income may be a far stretch from where you want to be.
Don’t worry about the first problem or, better yet, offer to help the hiring manager with writing a job description for it. As for the second, figure out if you can make ends meet for a short period and then decide if you are willing to bet on yourself. If the answers to both are yes, TAKE IT!
Just as a slingshot shooter pulls a projectile far back to the point of maximum tension before releasing it to achieve the greatest velocity and traveling distance, we may find our greatest opportunities for growth and career acceleration to come when we challenge ourselves to accept new opportunities on the extremes of what we initially thought financially and professionally acceptable.
The beauty of getting hired to provide general team capacity and flexibility is that there are limitless opportunities to help your team, your boss, and ultimately the company by just plugging the gaps and “doing windows.” Along the way, you will learn the lingo, company culture, details of the business, and some basics of your industry. In a relatively short period, you will pick up some of the talent & skills associated with the other job descriptions and can start applying for positions as an internal candidate but with the added benefit of being a proven leader. Just as a slingshot launches its projectile at high speed towards its target, a starter opportunity such as this can launch your career on an accelerated growth path toward leadership.
When offered the chance, use the slingshot!
