Partner News

Beyond the Veterans Day Discounts, Corporations Find Ways to Engage Veterans

From talent software that translates military experience to paid time off for volunteer service, these five companies offer unique programs for veterans.

Countless American companies offer discounts to veterans on Veterans Day—and often every day. Some corporations, however, put their money where their mouths are, creating unique programs for hiring and retaining military veterans. Here are five corporations every veteran should know about. 

Cisco Has a System for Veterans and Spouses

Cisco offers a range of opportunities for transitioning service members and military veterans and their spouses. The company’s Talent Bridge for Veterans is a free job-matching platform that features a military skills translation tool to help employers find qualified candidates. Its Veteran Talent Incubation Program (VTIP) is a 20-week, self-study program that offers veterans and military spouses access to free Cisco Certified Network Associate training and certification, along with the opportunity to get hired into dedicated network engineering roles at Cisco. And, its CyberVetsUSA is a tech industry consortium that provides free cybersecurity training, certification, and employment services to veterans and military spouses. 

At Dow, Military Experience Brings Big Advantages

Dow has actively recruited veterans for years. But, on Veterans Day of last year, Dow officially rolled out its new military degree equivalency program—MDE—which, in addition to offering the associate degree equivalency, grants those with relevant military experience at a rank of E6 or greater the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree for U.S. and Canada job postings.

That was followed by a human resources policy that allows all Dow Team Rubicon volunteers the right to deploy with the disaster relief nonprofit for up to two weeks under the military leave policy.

The company’s ​​employee resource group, VetNet, also serves as an educational resource for service members, veterans, and allies, and focuses on attracting, retaining, and mentoring active service members and veterans into the Dow Chemical Company. 

At Farmers Insurance, A Deep Military Legacy

Founded in 1928 by two World War I veterans, Farmers Insurance’s commitment to the military runs deep. The company is so dedicated to employing veterans that one-in-four Farmers agents is a military veteran.

Part of what may contribute to such high numbers is Farmers’  Veterans & Advocates employee resource group, which focuses on supporting veterans currently on staff as well as attracting more. The Farmers Veterans ERG is dedicated to helping veterans to build a community, share their experiences, and help each other through the transition from military service to civilian success..

And, of course, one of the ways Farmers continues to support the military is through its relationship with Team Rubicon, which began in 2015 and includes, most recently, a $1 million grant toward the organizations emergency response, long-term disaster recovery, and COVID-19 vaccine accessibility efforts in underserved communities across the country.

Google Veterans Programs

For veterans looking to join the search giant, Google hosts a virtual series where they can learn about the company’s culture and job opportunities for veterans, and hear from veterans already on staff. Google also offers its own ​​VetNet, an internal community of military veterans, service members, civilian allies, and family dedicated to connecting, and serving the military communities internally, and supporting job searching, entrepreneurship programs, and partnerships.

Microsoft’s Suite of Veteran Programs

From an academy for transitioning service members to the group Military at Microsoft that allows former service members to network, Microsoft actively recruits military veterans. 

Microsoft’s Software and Systems Academy—a 17-week training for high-demand careers in cloud development or cloud administration—provides transitioning service members, Guard, Reserves, and veterans with career skills required for the technology industry, and offers graduates the chance opportunity to interview for a full-time job at Microsoft or one of its hiring partners.

Once on staff, veterans can expect their expertise from the field to be tapped, too. “As they’re developing technologies for the tip of the spear downrange, they’ll say ‘you were in the field, will this actually make a difference? Or how can we, how can we improve?’,” explains U.S. Air Force Veteran Megumi Voight, Senior Audience Marketing Manager at Microsoft.

Once at Microsoft though, the benefits continue. The company offers a $25-hour match for time spent volunteering. And, the company supplements the military pay of active military and members of the National Guard and Reserves when they are away on duty to match what they make at Microsoft and ensure they are not losing income. Plus, their benefits continue accruing at the same rate during their leave on deployment.