Middle Tennessee's Largest Private Employer Bolsters Veteran Hiring Initiative with Paychecks for Patriots
Vanderbilt University, Middle Tennessee’s largest private employer and the second largest private employer based in Tennessee, became involved with the Paychecks for Patriots veteran hiring event at its inception three years ago.
Janet Rachel, Vanderbilt’s Talent Acquisition Manager for Diversity, Relocation, and Career Navigation, said the university was already focused on establishing guidelines of a new initiative for hiring veterans, and the first Paychecks for Patriots in 2012 served as a good launch for that plan. She said one action Vanderbilt has taken is to hire recruiters with a military background. Those employees have brought an impressive skill set to the workplace and have shown loyalty and the ability to deal with different kinds of issues.
“Vanderbilt is like a city within a city as far as the variety of positions we have, in both the education institution and healthcare arenas – from general laborer roles to administrative roles to IT to finance to everything you can imagine in a healthcare environment. We even have our own police force. In the Human Resources department we screen and hire for all staff positions, and we want to include the veteran population for those opportunities,” Rachel said.
VIDEO CLIPS
Janet Rachel, Vanderbilt Talent Acquisition Manager for Diversity, Relocation, and Career Navigation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=valeNSgSiVA&list=UUSUj80adax8uVqTqFGki8hg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUeEEzh5aEk&list=UUSUj80adax8uVqTqFGki8hg
Rachel said they found that this event is one of the better opportunities to connect with the military population. At the first Paychecks for Patriots event, Vanderbilt had three recruiters and needed more for the volume of the turnout.
Rachel imagines most employers are looking for dedicated talent who will grow their organization. “Paychecks for Patriots is an opportunity to find excellent talent as well as show commitment to hiring veterans,” she said.
To learn more about Paychecks for Patriots that is taking place Thursday, October 9, including locations across the state, please visit the TN Department of Labor & Workforce Development website for the event at http://www.tn.gov/labor-wfd/Patriots/Paychecks.shtml.
MP3 AUDIO ATTACHED
Janet Rachel, Vanderbilt Talent Acquisition Manager for Diversity, Relocation, and Career Navigation
- # # # -