Hiring Military Veterans: 9 Helpful Tips for SMBs

Quick look: Many veterans possess strong leadership skills and a mission-driven mindset, qualities that can enhance any small or mid-sized business (SMB). With the right strategies, benefits, and resources, employers can tap into this valuable talent pool, strengthen their teams, stay compliant, and encourage long-term success.

Veterans Day is observed annually on November 11 and is a federal holiday dedicated to honoring the brave men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard.

The date holds special historical meaning: at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, World War I ended with the signing of the Armistice with Germany. Originally known as Armistice Day, the holiday was officially renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

Today, nearly 16 million veterans reside in the U.S., representing about 6% of the adult population. While Veterans Day is an important moment to express gratitude, employers can strive to support veterans year-round by creating a workplace culture that values and empowers them.

Veterans in the workplace

While many veterans transition to the civilian workforce each year, approximately only 25% have a role lined up after their military service ends, and roughly 200,000 veterans job hunt each year.

As of August 2025, the veteran unemployment rate was 3.1%, a slight improvement from 3.4% the year prior. By comparison, the non-veteran unemployment rate during this time was 4.2%.

The benefits of hiring veterans

Recruiting veterans is a meaningful way to give back, and it’s also a smart business move. Veterans often possess transferable skills that directly benefit companies, including:

• Leadership and teamwork: Veterans tend to be strong collaborators, highly accountable, and capable of making decisions under pressure.
• Technical expertise: Many veterans hold certifications or experience in logistics, IT, engineering, and operations.
• Adaptability: Transitioning from military to civilian life requires flexibility, a trait that helps veterans thrive in dynamic work environments.
• Strong work ethic: Veterans are trained to meet goals efficiently and follow through on their commitments.

Challenges facing working veterans

Even with the valuable skills and experience they bring, veterans can encounter obstacles like:

• Skills or experience gaps: Veterans often have highly transferable skills, but employers may seek specific technical or industry experience that doesn’t directly align with military roles. This can make it difficult for some veterans, particularly those who enlisted right after high school and have limited civilian work history, to qualify for certain positions.
• Limited networking opportunities: In the civilian job market, many employees find their jobs by networking. Veterans new to this environment may not yet have established professional connections, making it trickier to access potential openings.
• Unclear civilian career path: While veterans’ skills are diverse and adaptable, it’s not always easy to determine how they translate to civilian roles. Veterans who have a specific career goal but lack certain role-specific qualifications may benefit from pursuing additional education, certifications, or training.

Although progress continues in helping veterans find meaningful civilian careers, there’s still important work to be done to close the gap.

9 tips for employing military veterans

To attract, engage, and retain them, businesses can implement a few key best practices:

1. Understand and translate military experience

A common challenge for SMB employers is interpreting military experience in civilian terms. Job titles and training programs in the armed forces don’t always align clearly with corporate roles.

Here’s what you can do to connect the dots and attract veteran candidates:

• Focus on skills, not titles: For example, a military logistics specialist may have supply chain, project management, and leadership experience that directly applies to your company’s operations or management roles.
• Write veteran-friendly job descriptions: Veterans may not always recognize themselves in typical job postings. You can make your job descriptions more inclusive and transparent by using plain language, listing transferable skills, and clearly indicating your business’s openness to veteran applicants (e.g., “Veterans and service members are encouraged to apply”).
• Refer to the O*NET Military Crosswalk: This free tool from the U.S. Department of Labor helps employers match military occupational specialties with civilian job titles.
• Ask open-ended questions: During interviews, invite candidates to share examples of how their service experience suits your organization’s needs.

2.  Provide professional development opportunities

Role-specific skills gaps are common among veteran employees. Organizations can fill these voids by implementing a reskilling or upskilling program, which helps workers build upon existing abilities or develop new skills of interest.

Employers may also establish a mentorship program to connect veteran employees with other professionals within the company, enabling them to leverage their experience and explore potential career paths.

3. Train hiring managers to recognize veteran talent

Hiring managers may not always be familiar with how military experience translates into civilian roles. When hiring managers understand the unique value veterans bring, they’re more likely to make informed and inclusive decisions. Short training sessions focused on interpreting military resumes and service records, as well as avoiding unconscious bias and discrimination, can be helpful.

4. Design a strong onboarding program

The first few months on the job are critical to long-term retention, especially for veterans transitioning from military to civilian workplaces.

Onboarding for veterans should:

• Pair new hires with a mentor who can help them navigate company culture
• Clearly communicate expectations, reporting structures, and performance metrics
• Offer ongoing feedback and support

5. Build a comprehensive benefits package

Personalized employee benefits help attract and retain employees, including veterans. Employers should take time to evaluate their benefits packages and ensure they address the needs of those who have served.

For example, 7% of veterans will experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point during their lives. Providing access to an employee assistance program (EAP) can be invaluable, offering free, confidential support for mental health concerns, emotional well-being, substance use, financial or legal challenges, and more.

Additionally, organizations should strive to offer affordable medical, dental, and vision insurance that includes coverage for mental health and telehealth services. Student loan repayment programs can also appeal to veteran employees, helping them pay their remaining education debt beyond what’s covered by their veteran education benefits.

6. Offer flexibility

Employers can show that they understand their military employees’ needs by adopting a flexible company culture.

For example, if your employees are military reservists, they may need to attend training or could be deployed in the future. It’s critical that your business accommodates this. In fact, it’s federal law that companies must hold military employees’ jobs for the duration of their deployment. If their position becomes eliminated, organizations must find them another relevant role within the business.

This flexibility should also extend to your workers with a military family member. According to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), eligible employees are entitled to job-protected time off to care for an injured servicemember, arrange childcare, attend arrival ceremonies when a loved one returns home, and more.

7. Leverage relevant incentives

Hiring veterans may qualify your business for valuable federal and state tax credits, including:

• The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC): Provides up to $9,600 in tax credits for each qualified veteran hired. (Note: The WOTC is available until December 31, 2025; several active legislative proposals aim to extend, expand, or make the program permanent, but none have been enacted yet at the time this blog was written.)
• Specialized grants and training programs: Offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Labor to support veteran hiring and retention.

SMBs can consult with their professional employer organization (PEO) or payroll partner to ensure they’re taking full advantage of available incentives.

8. Partner with veteran employment organizations

Business leaders don’t have to navigate the veteran hiring process alone. There are many programs designed to connect employers with talented veterans:

• Hiring Our Heroes: A U.S. Chamber of Commerce initiative that links organizations with transitioning service members and military spouses.
• American Corporate Partners (ACP): Provides mentoring and career development for veterans.
• The VA: Offers employer toolkits, career fairs, and resources to support veteran hiring.
• SHRM HireVets: An extensive military candidate database, including a military jobs translator tool, powered by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
• State and local agencies: Many states have veteran employment representatives who can connect employers with candidates in their area.

9. Be mindful of veteran employment laws

It’s critical for employers to understand the legal protections supporting veterans in the workplace. Here’s a look at three federal laws safeguarding veteran employment rights:

• The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA): Mandates that all employers protect the job rights of individuals who leave civilian employment to serve in the military by:
  • Guaranteeing reemployment in the same or equivalent position after military service
  • Prohibiting discrimination based on past, present, or future military service
  • Ensuring returning service members keep their seniority, benefits, and pension rights as if they had never left
• The Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA): Applies to federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts of $150,000 or more, and promotes equal employment opportunity and affirmative action for veterans through:
  • Requiring affirmative action programs to recruit, hire, and promote protected veterans
  • Mandating that contractors list job openings with state employment services.
  • Covering categories such as disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, and campaign badge veterans
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Requires employers with 15 or more employees to prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities, including disabled veterans by:
  • Requiring reasonable accommodations (modified work schedules, assistive technology, etc.)
  • Protecting against discrimination or retaliation related to a service-connected disability
  • Ensuring veterans with disabilities can fully participate in the workplace

PEO: here to help SMBs prioritize patriots

Hiring, onboarding, and retaining veterans can involve complex human resources (HR), payroll, and benefits administration, especially when it comes to tax credits, compliance, and recordkeeping. This is when partnering with a professional employer organization (PEO) makes sense.

PEOs help SMBs streamline their HR function and reduce risk. From identifying which military occupations align with your job openings to designing inclusive benefits packages, a PEO can assist every step of the way.

For instance, ExtensisHR offers its customers:

• Dedicated HR guidance to help you create workplace policies, design mentorship and reskilling/upskilling programs, etc.
• Full-cycle recruiting services, ranging from job advertisement to offer letter consultations, and more (included in our PEO solution at no additional cost).
• Access to Fortune 500-level benefits, including an EAP, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans, and various student loan management and repayment tools.
• Payroll and tax expertise, ensuring you maximize available hiring incentives and stay compliant.
• Risk and compliance know-how to help you navigate employment regulations and maintain a safe, legal workplace.

By recognizing the value of military experience, offering competitive benefits, supporting professional growth, and tapping into external partnerships like a PEO, your business can attract exceptional veteran talent and develop a stronger, more equitable culture.

Interested in learning more about how to become a veteran friendly workplace? Explore our PEO solution or reach out today.

The Veterans Crisis Line is available 24/7 for veterans and their loved ones who need support. The Crisis Line is confidential and can be accessed by dialing 988 then pressing 1, texting 838255, or chatting online at https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/. VA benefits or health care are not required to connect.