VETERAN HIRING: If a company states they are "Veteran Friendly," what is your initial reaction?

As CPT Aaron Kletzing stated, I am skeptical. I see it as marketing for their company or brand. If companies are really interested in helping, they will and do, and don't make a big production over it.

It's kind of a mixed bag. Yes, there are companies who do it to check the box. There are companies that genuinely like hiring vets. And there are companies who say they hire vets and then don't do jack squat.

Here are a two companies that genuinely like to hire vets:
Alaska Airlines
Southwest Airlines

I would say they are hiring vets to get the tax credit. After I got hired on by a so called military friendly company. I was hounded on a daily basis to fill out forms so the company could get the tax credit.

"VETERAN HIRING: If a company states they are "Veteran Friendly," what is your initial reaction?"
"what is your initial reaction?"
Marketing

Yes. However most jobs I've seen from these companies is entry-level service jobs that pay very little. Maybe they have a good advancement and would better benefit a first term military member who plans to use their Post 9/11 GI Bill but for a 22 year Veteran with a family and obligations it might not be of much worth.

Skepticism

I've seen many advertising campaigns that toss around the word "veteran" and then find out they actually mean "active duty service members" (I don't live anywhere near a base so not much chance that they would have to make good)... So I'm a bit cynical...

Doesn't happen because most of their requirements exceeds what a veteran's has, be it, education or experience. And the most tantalizing thing about this is that the experience is something you can only get in the civilian work force, such as a particular specialization like PMP and industry certificates MCSE, CCIE, etcs.

It varies so widely from company to company, but if it's advertised, I would take it at face value.  There are probably many veterans who work there already, and after one or two interviews, it should be clear if they are serious.

I have never been hired for a position due to my veteran status. Perhaps smaller businesses might see the benefit of hiring a highly skilled and trainable employee. But for large corporations with giant recruiting and HR departments, they only ask about our status in order to report to the government how many veterans have identified themselves during the hiring process, IMO.

A few years ago I had an experience with my HR representative when she found out I was a vet. She proceeded to lambast my perceived management style would be based on her experience with her own father and how he behaved, being a former Marine DI.

Fortunately, nothing came from this conversation, but I did everything I could to avoid any conflict with her.