One of the questions we often get from owners and hiring managers is this:
“Can real estate companies successfully source candidates who are leaving the military (usually because their service commitment is complete) and attempting to transition to the civilian employment world?”
The motivation for this question is usually two-fold. Many companies (especially those in close proximity to military instillations) simply want to help veterans in their communities. They feel a sense of gratitude towards those who have served our country and know many of these individuals have a difficult time finding a job in the civilian workforce. If a company can offer a helping-hand at this critical juncture, many are glad to help.
The second motivation for seeking out the veterans is the
perception that many of these individuals would potentially make outstanding
real estate agents. Traits such as integrity,
self-discipline, attention-to-detail, persistence, and service mentality are
many of the qualities that also make agents successful. I’ve had several owners introduce me to new
top-performing agents who recently left the military. It is an impressive package when it all comes
together.
I know what I’m describing sounds like nirvana. If you could fill your company with these outstanding men and women, you’d be unstoppable. Right?
I wish it were that easy. The problem in this equation is the veterans themselves. From their perspective, the real estate employment world does not look very enticing.
How do I know this? First, I am a veteran and I have many friends who are ex-military as well. I have some personal insight into the military to civilian employment transition, but there are very clear indicators in military publications that also make this point.
Here are a several articles/publications to consider:
1. Top 10 Ex-Military Employers. Forbes and Payscale.com recently completed research benchmarking the top ten companies in the U.S. who hired “skilled labor” ex-military employees. These are individuals who typically have advanced training that would equate to a bachelor’s degree or higher. Here are the companies that made the list:
Booz Allen Hamilton
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
Northrop Grumman
L-3 Communications
Lockheed Martin
U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
BAE Systems
Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
CACI International
The Boeing Company
What do most of these companies have in common? They are all defense contractors or the government itself (i.e. DOD). Many people who have advanced skills and training find it comfortable to seek employment in an organization that operates much like the military—both in the work they perform and company culture.
2. Hourly-Wage Employment. It’s natural to believe that specially skilled workers would seek employment in specific areas of their expertise, but what about “blue-collar” workers? Military.com recently cataloged the most enticing jobs in this arena:
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians –Average Salary: $54,500
Boilermakers --Average Salary: $56,650
Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas –Average Salary: $58,540
Commercial Divers –Average Salary: $58,640
Subway and Streetcar Operators –Average Salary: $59,400
Electrical Power-line Installers and Repairers –Average Salary: $59,450
Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators and Gaugers –Average Salary: $60,290
Transportation Inspectors –Average Salary: $65,770
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation and Relay –Average Salary: $65,950
Elevator Installers and Repairers –Average Salary: $73,560
While some of these jobs require unique technical skills that can be transferred from the military (ex. aircraft mechanic), many do not (ex. subway operator, commercial drivers, etc.). The common thread among these jobs is stability. Employees show up to work, they’re told exactly what to do, and perform well. Much of the military operates on this formula and many people joined the military because they want and enjoy this type of stability.
3. Corporate Employers. As you might suspect, there are many traditional corporations (outside the real estate industry) who are trying to hire military veterans as well. A military career site called GIJobs.com has tracked and ranked the top 100 corporate employers on this topic since 2003. GIJobs (in partnership with a website called MilitaryFriendly.com) produces a list of the “Most Military Friendly Employers.”
You’re welcome to page through this list (they broke the
list into ten pages so it takes a while to load the pages one-at-a-time), but here
are some things that I noticed:
There are no residential real estate companies on this list. None. Zero. Nada. The closest thing to residential real estate is one commercial real estate company (CBRE..#79 out of 100). Also, there is a secondary list of “Most Military Spouse Friendly Employers.” No residential real estate companies made this list either. This is surprising considering there are large, prominent residential real estate companies in areas that have high military populations (ex. Long and Foster in Washington DC, Prudential California Realty in San Diego/LA)
There are multiple insurance and financial services companies on the list. The insurance industry (ex. USAA, Allstate, Hartford, etc.) and the banking/financial services industry (ex. Charles Schwab, JP Morgan Chase, CITI, etc.) seemed to have cracked the code on hiring ex-military. Many of these companies hire ex-military personnel into sales positions.
Many of the top companies hiring ex-military are brands you probably do not recognize. Do you know these brands?
ManTech
Combined Insurance Company of America
J.B. Hunt Transport
All three of these companies are among the top ten companies who are most successful at ex-military hiring. By the way, you’re not the only person who finds these brands unfamiliar. Most military personnel have never heard of them either.
Summary
So, let’s get back to the original question:
“Can real estate companies successfully source candidates who are leaving the military (usually because their service commitment is complete) and attempting to transition to the civilian employment world?”
The answer: Yes, but not easily.
The greatest challenge to accomplishing this goal is that veterans are not familiar or experienced with the idea of being a real estate agent. There is no job like this in the military and many will find the culture of a real estate company unfamiliar. There does not appear to be prominent, widespread success stories of real estate companies turning veterans into successful agents.
The good news is other industries have figured how to accomplish this goal. If others have done it, there is a possibility that you can do it too. It is also good news that being successful in this arena does not require a nationally recognized brand.
In our next discusssion, I’ll give you some ideas on becoming more successful in hiring ex-military individuals. In particular, we’ll study a group of companies (that have some close similarities to real estate companies) that will teach us how to break through the barriers that keep veteran hiring from happening in your company.
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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.
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