According to the Deloitte Junior Military Officer Recruitment Program webpage, “Military leadership means producing exceptional results, often navigating under the most demanding conditions.”
I agree! However, I would add that leadership in the military is not defined by the rank on a soldier’s collar or sleeve. I did not find a program on Deloitte’s website targeted towards prior enlisted or NCOs.
Moving up the list to higher ranked companies, I came across Booz Allen Hamilton, or BAH. BAH is a leading consulting firm working in the defense and government industry and ranked as a top 20 military friendly employer, according to Gijobs.com. Once again, a junior military officer program stands out as the premier initiative to get your veteran foot in the door. There is a catch though, and it is explicitly stated on their website.
The website firmly states that “JMO [Junior Military Officer] candidates must meet the following: Three or more years of experience as an active duty, commissioned officer.”
There is no need to go down the list any further, especially for you prior service enlisted folks.
I am not disputing Booz Allen Hamilton’s commitment to recruiting veterans, but they clearly have a program dedicated to officers, and there is no program established for prior service enlisted members. If so, its not clearly listed on the website.
Lastly, I looked at USAA’s website, ranked in the top tier by GIjobs.com as military friendly. USAA is located worldwide on and near military bases as a premier banking corporation catering to our service members. While I have no doubt they recruit enlisted, officers, and dependents alike, can you guess what recruitment program they clearly advertise on their website? Yes, the trend of junior military officer programs continues.
According to the USAA careers section of their website, “This unique program helps top-performing junior officers transition from the military into corporate life at USAA.”
I had a chance to speak with the media relations office at USAA . Their public relations officer did clarify that their program is not limited to officers, as is the case with Booz Allen Hamilton. However, the program language on the website does not clearly state that. For those of us who have served in the military, junior officer does not equate to enlisted soldier. Therefore, the language does not adequately reflect who is eligible for the program.
It is evident that officers are far better welcomed based on program initiatives and website descriptions in leading companies in different industries. The primary issue here is not whether corporate America realizes the value of a veteran, but do they distinguish between perceived leadership abilities based on rank?
Given the success of the New GI Bill, and the increased college enrollment of enlisted veterans nationwide, it would be in the best interest of corporate America to target this untapped demographic with unique hiring programs. Imagine if leading corporations created veteran internship initiatives, or college level recruitment programs, targeted towards prior service junior enlisted service members, and NCOs. These programs, and the organization, would undoubtedly succeed.
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It’s sad that rank defines a person in today’s business world, but it’s like anything else. So much “pressure” is placed on individuals to accumulate “power” and “prestige” based on titles and designations; too often, good people are overlooked because of lack of power or prestige.
I’d like to point out a very very very important thing to consider. Yes, many companies have created specific junior officer recruiting portals. These portals are, in reality, only a very small percentage of the overall number of employees hired.
Every positions posted on a company’s career page is open to everyone who meets those qualifications for the position. Companies like Deloitte, and Booz Allen Hamilton hire thousands of individuals each year across a variety of diverse backgrounds. Their JMO Programs account for less than 10% of those hires.
Rank has little to do with being hired by many companies. It is the ability to match your skills, traits, and background to the skills required by the hiring organization.