5 Reasons You Should Hire More Military Vets In Advertising

As a Marine veteran, I struggled to find a solid career fit when I entered the civilian world. Everyone was in my ear telling me I should be a police officer or a security consultant or even a prison guard. And on the surface, that seems like good advice. For some people.

But in my case, creativity is one of my strongest assets (believe it or not, the military helped hone that) and writing has been a passion of mine since childhood. So, I felt like I’d never experience any type of job satisfaction marching along the traditional path.

Enter advertising: A place where creativity, passion, work ethic and irreverence are rewarded. I finally found my tribe. Once I joined the industry, I started to notice the similarities to military life. And I asked myself, why aren't there more veterans in this industry? 

So, here are five reasons why you should hire more veterans for careers in advertising:

1. Teamwork makes the dream work.

Lame-ass clichés aside, we military folk know the importance of teamwork. Everyone has a job to do, and the mission is dependent on how well each individual does said job. Once you realise that others rely on you to make it home in one piece, all selfishness goes out the window. And by counting on others to keep you alive, you learn the importance of trust. 

Same applies to ad land. Except no one actually dies if you fail to do your job - it’ll just make the work suck. But nobody wants that, either. Which is why, as veterans, our experience working together towards a common goal makes us the perfect prospect. 

2. Leadership is necessary at every level.

The military is essentially a leadership college. You quickly learn that a job title, a fat pay check and the ability to bark orders doesn’t make you a leader. Being a leader makes you a leader. Having the ability to make every member of the team feel like they’re leaders, themselves - that’s how you get people to follow you into a messy, confusing (or dangerous) situation. 

And as veterans, we always bring leadership to the table.

3. Performance under pressure is our whole shtick.

Things blowing up all around you. Bullets whizzing by. Fires to put out everywhere. Just another day in advertising. So, anyone with experience on the battlefield will feel right at home. 

Once you’ve called in a time-sensitive medevac while being shot at - submitting a PowerPoint presentation on short notice ain’t shit. 

Whether it’s tight deadlines, big projects with quick turnarounds - sometimes with reputations and millions of dollars at stake - our ability to function in tense situations makes us invaluable.

4. We tend to be batshit crazy - and that’s okay.

The military is chock-full of weird people. And advertising is a business of people. After all, it takes different strokes to move the product (I think that’s how the saying goes). 

It goes back to being a leader. To get people to follow you into battle - you must be willing to go into battle in the first place. Putting yourself on the line in the face of adversity takes a special kind of crazy. And in advertising, great work often comes from standing up for what you believe and going against the grain. 

So, if you’re looking for fearless, crazy-ass team players to improve the work - look no further. 

5. We thrive on strategy and structured chaos. 

Just like in combat, a strong strategy is the key to success (and survival) in the ad world. Okay, maybe not just like combat, but you get the point. Having a solid structure and system in place when the fit hits the shan keeps things flowing smoothly and good work going out the door. 

Being prepared for what can go wrong and how to handle it, knowing who to report to when things go south and making sure you know exactly who your target is and where to find them are things veterans understand better than anyone - except maybe ad people, of course.

So, consider these insights when you see that veteran status on an application. And remember, college campuses aren’t the only place to recruit talent. Visit tapevents.mil to learn how to connect with transitioning military vets looking for amazing career opportunities.