Heading into November and National Veterans and Military Families Month, it is important to tout the diverse skill sets and strengths of veterans who have joined the civilian work force.
While some employers may have been hesitant to hire veterans in the past due to lack of experience or training, this is no longer as much of an issue as military training is now more aligned with the needs of today’s businesses. The skills that veterans bring have been shown to translate well into many roles. Industries including IT, banking, cybersecurity, engineering, and airlines see the extra value of hiring veterans.
As more and more employers are pledging to hire veterans, the trends seem to point to an increasingly attractive job market for those who have served. This also may explain why Veterans experienced an unemployment rate of 2.7% for the month of October which is lower for veterans compared to 3.4% for the general population.
In this post, we highlight some of the best companies for veterans in Arizona and across the U.S.
Best Companies Hiring Veterans
Who are these companies that hire veterans? In this article, BestCompaniesAZ recognizes companies that honor our heroes and demonstrate a commitment to hiring veterans.
- Accenture
- Achieve
- American Express
- Axon
- CarMax
- CDW
- Chase
- Cox Communications
- Deloitte
- Desert Financial Credit Union
- Farmers Insurance
- Freedom Financial
- GoDaddy
- Habitat for Humanity
- Hensel Phelps
- Intel
- KUBRA
- Northrup Grumman
- Republic Services
- Sonora Quest Laboratories
- Southwest Airlines
- Upgrade
- Voya Financial
- Willscot Mobile Mini
- Workiva
Accenture
Accenture values the strong work ethic, commitment, attention to detail, and adaptability of veterans. With over 5,000 military veterans, service members and spouses as employees, Accenture has shown a clear hiring commitment to former service members. The 2022 Military Friendly Gold Employer has a variety of leadership and advancement efforts open to former military personnel, as well as a dedicated military employee resource group.
The company’s Military Talent Recruiting Liaisons specifically work to not only find and recruit veterans, but to match them into reskilling classes and programs. These professional growth opportunities for veterans help accelerate their careers within their time at Accenture, as well as providing transferable skills for the rest of their careers.
Axon
Veterans thrive at Axon, and they focus a portion of their recruiting efforts on them. At Axon, they have two senior leaders who have a military background, Luke Larson, President, and Josh Goldman, VP of Operations — they were both Marines. Axon’s mission is to protect life and help bring transparency to justice. Axon believes that resonates deeply with veterans.
The benefits at Axon are excellent and include 24/7 access to mental health professionals via Ginger and a platform from Weldon to better support parents. They’re focused on personal and professional growth, giving voices to ideas, and, truthfully, they like spreadsheets! If you’ve been in the military, there’s a high likelihood that you want things orderly — and the Axon culture makes it one of the best companies for veterans.
When you’re managing 52+ petabytes of data every day to bring truth to the table, Axon needs people with a mindset of, as Luke Larson puts it, “The actions of social justice. If Axon is going to drive active participation among their employees in the communities that they serve, they are going to work with employees on how best they can engage with the community to give back and help build their awareness of various diverse backgrounds and circumstances.”
CarMax
CarMax is one of the most trusted used car dealers in the United States. As an industry disruptor, CarMax aims to drive the automotive industry’s integrity through transparent and honest interactions. The company believes that the key to this success is a diverse workforce that celebrates each employee’s uniqueness.
In 2017, CarMax announced a comprehensive plan that supports veteran employees and communities. From 2017 to the present, CarMax has supported military careers through partnerships with Hiring Our Heroes, Operation Gratitude, Operation Homefront, and The Mission Continues
Cox Communications
Since 1898, Cox has stayed true to simple, but enduring values of honesty, integrity, leadership, and community. How do they do that? By treating employees as their most important resource, giving back to communities, and seizing new, innovative business opportunities. These qualities have made Cox one of the best workplaces for current and past military members.
So, whether you are a veteran, reservist, or military spouse, Cox believes you’ll recognize its values as some of the same values that attracted you to serve our country in the first place. At Cox, you’ll find an employee-led resource group – SALUTE – dedicated to supporting military veterans and reservists. Cox also offers veterans mentoring and leadership training, thousands of free online courses, and corporate fellowship opportunities through its Hiring Our Heroes program. Cox has many career opportunities available for veterans including technology, sales, drivers, mechanics, security and recruiting, to name a few.
Desert Financial
Desert Financial Credit Union has shown a commitment to their employees in a variety of ways. Programs like their InvestED initiative allow continuing education by covering 100% of tuition fees at ASU. Even better- the classes taken can be in any subject area- allowing true professional growth opportunities for their employees.
Much like service members, Desert Financial has a true commitment to their community. The company has demonstrated this commitment with over 25,000 Random Acts of Kindness and has helped teachers at over 150 schools statewide. Desert Financial has also given 54 million dollars in annual cash bonuses to their members.
The culture at Desert Financial can be described as: Diverse, Collaborative, Transparent and Positive. They want everyone working at Desert Financial to feel valued, important, and part of something bigger. In fact, a recent employee survey reported 95% Employee Engagement and 95% in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility.
Farmers Insurance
Farmers Insurance earns its spot on our list of best organizations hiring veterans for its dedication to helping support military service members, veterans, and spouses. As a military-friendly organization founded by two World War I veterans, the insurer empowers veterans to leverage their skill sets to help build careers as agency owners or corporate employees. Additionally, the insurer’s Veterans & Advocates Employee Resource Group helps provide networking and career development opportunities, as well as cultivates meaningful connections between Farmers and its served communities.
Achieve
At Achieve (formerly known as Freedom Financial Network) , employees are empowered to put their ideas into action and transform their careers. The leading digital personal finance company helps put people on a path to better financial futures by offering solutions from personal loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCS), debt solutions, educational resources and tools, and more. Achieve values its diverse workforce, which strengthens company culture and collective work ethics. For this reason, Achieve welcomes military service members and veterans at every level of the organization.
Additionally, Achieve supports veterans’ transition from the service to the civilian work environment with their “Heroes” veterans employee resource group that creates a welcoming and warm-hearted community with on-going events, speakers and other opportunities to build lasting relationships with other veterans at Achieve and within the community.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy empowers entrepreneurs everywhere. They’re looking for high-performing veterans who want to help small business owners do what they’ve been dreaming of and make the world they want. GoDaddy is all about joining forces and getting things done together. In 2016, the company pledged to include hundreds of military veterans and spouses to their employment roster. Their GoDaddy Veterans in Tech (GDVET) employee resource group is a community of active-duty military, veterans, veteran spouses and allies supporting each other in their professional growth at GoDaddy.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is well known for its philanthropic service projects which serve underserved populations. In addition to their tremendous community engagement, Habitat for Humanity’s veteran hiring efforts make it one of the best companies that hire veterans.
The company actively recruits veterans to work at Habitat as employees, board members, volunteers, and AmeriCorps members. A perfect match in our books! After all, the military’s values — integrity, respect, selfless service, and more — coincide with Habitat for Humanity’s strong values.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines states that their mission is to “attract, hire, onboard, and retain extraordinary veterans who serve(d) our country and have given Southwest the freedom to fly.” Beyond stating this commitment, the company has started a number of initiatives to support veterans and military spouses. The company’s Military Ambassadors and Military Program Leads are trained to be advocates for military members, providing support and resources to veteran employees.
When applying to work at Southwest Airlines, the company’s dedicated Military Interest Form and Military Skills Translator help make the transition from serving to working as a civilian, with questions and dedicated experience fields to help demonstrate your applicable experience. The airline’s Military Service Appreciation Program also designates former service members with a pin to recognize their service and distinguish them from other employees.
Upgrade
Upgrade is a fintech unicorn that has been growing quickly since its founding in 2017. The fintech company’s persistent commitment to quality and progress aligns itself well with the strengths of most veterans. The company is also touted as having an incredible culture with a lot of perks and benefits to employees (including full health care coverage for employees, a 401(k) match, and stock options). Upgrade works hard on providing development and growth opportunities, allowing for veterans to grow into a new civilian career.
Willscot Mobile Mini
WillScot Mobile Mini understands the dedication, skills and commitment of veterans, and encourages former service members to join their its team. Employee and former service member Gina Gillis shared, “WillScot Mobile Mini offers a positive work environment with valuable training and opportunities for learning and growth. I’ve been able to grow personally and professionally and enjoy the challenging nature of the work.”
Veterans are also encouraged to participate in the variety of development options available, which includes training via our LMS, Language Training with Rosetta Stone, a robust Leadership Developmental Program (LDP) with BTS, and a partnership with ExecOnline and the University of Virginia’s Darden Business school. These programs offer veterans the opportunity to grow personally and professionally while employed at WillScot Mobile Mini.
Workiva
At Workiva, veterans are empowered to lead and innovate. The leading cloud platform for transparent reporting is committed to hiring veterans and their spouses, and offers a wealth of resources to support them in their transition to the civilian workforce. These resources include training and development programs, job shadowing opportunities, mentorship opportunities, and community involvement.
Find the Best Companies That Hire Veterans Through BestCompaniesAZ
These are just a few of the best companies for veterans, but it doesn’t stop there! Each of the employers on our list is committed to hiring military service members, veterans, and their spouses. These organizations offer a variety of resources to support veteran employees and their families, including training and development programs, mentorship opportunities, job shadowing opportunities, community involvement, and more.
Military service members and veterans alike have a unique skill set that many companies value. Learn to leverage your skills, transition out of the military, and find veteran job help on BestCompaniesAZ to land your next career.
