BMI: Recruiting Veterans for New Careers in the Energy Industry

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Bradley-Morris helps veterans put their experience and skills to good use in the oil and gas industry.

Energy industry recruiters are on high alert as they search for the talent necessary to keep the industry's momentum going amid the exodus of workers fast approaching retirement age. Finding enough qualified workers to fill the need will be a daunting task, but recruiting agencies like Bradley-Morris Inc. (BMI), a military recruiting firm, are helping the cause by finding good candidates, while also helping former military personnel find new civilian careers in the industry.

Military personnel generally acquire a significant amount of invaluable experience, training and personal qualities that translate well into the civilian job market, and into the energy industry in particular. However, most veterans transitioning into civilian life find the process daunting, and often are unaware of the resources available to help them. BMI, a military recruiting firm, helps these veterans with the process, and the company has placed many former vets into a wide variety of positions within the energy industry and other sectors, as well.

The military recruiting industry got its start in the 1980s, when it was realized that “there was a market in the civilian world for the skills and the background of military service members. But the job seekers and the employers needed help connecting with each other. The job seekers needed to educate themselves on the opportunities that were available in the corporate America arena,” as well as help in making their backgrounds relatable to the civilian community, and the companies “needed educating on the skill sets that the military men and women came out with,” Craig Griffin, BMI’s chief business development officer, told Rigzone.

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Craig Griffin, Bradley-Morris Chief Business Development Officer
Source:Bradley-Morris, Inc.

Vets typically do not realize how valuable their training and experience is, and how well their skills translate into the oil and gas sector, Griffin noted. BMI recognized that not only do vets possess valuable hard skills, but also soft skills like leadership ability. Additionally, many military personnel “are relied on to fulfill leadership positions at an extraordinarily young age,” and therefore acquire experience not generally available to civilians of the same age, Griffin said.

BMI has a presence at nearly every military installation in the world, Griffin said. Using the relationships that the company has with the military bases, Griffin and his team of 40 to 50 BMI candidate recruiters travel to these locations with a focus on bringing “quality military candidates into the organization,” in order to find career opportunities for them.

At the bases, they meet with military personnel who are just beginning to think about the process of transition, which could be as much as 18 to 24 months down the road. BMI’s team also works with the military transition programs, conducting seminars regarding resume-writing and other topics to help the service person have the resources needed to find an opportunity outside the military. The services are provided for free to the military personnel and new vets, Griffin said.

About 75 percent of the BMI staff are former military personnel, so they can relate to what new vets and those scheduled to separate in the near-future are going through, Griffin said.

“Over the years, we have been able to help over 30,000 military men and women find full-time work employment at all sorts of different corporations,” Griffin, who is former Army Aviation Officer, said.

“We are proud of our mission; it’s a passion of ours,” he said.

Nine Weeks to a New Energy Industry Career

Ben Wilkerson, a United States Air Force captain, had several weeks of leave time saved up close to the end of his tour. So, after going through a one-week transition program (TAPS) on base, he was able to return home for good about four weeks before his discharge date.

Within two or three days, Wilkerson was contacted by BMI to go over his skill sets. He performed acquisitions in the USAF and was not sure how well this experience would transfer into a civilian career. He met with BMI and learned interviewing techniques, how to write an effective resume, and also how his skills and experience were transferable to civilian employment.

BMI was instrumental in helping Wilkerson adjust to civilian life, he said.

“In the service, the rules were black and white. Once I returned to civilian life, they seemed to be a fuzzy gray,” he said, adding that BMI had helped him loosen up in interviewing situations, and to “chip away” some of the formality instilled during his service career.

Wilkerson had a formal education that was technically heavy, and included a Master’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. After meeting with BMI, Wilkerson received a number of suggestions as possible career choices, and he decided to pursue a career in the energy industry as a developmental engineer.

By the time of his official separation one month after returning home, Wilkerson had already been to a hiring event set up by BMI, and had eight interviews that the company scheduled for him in one day. He received six call-backs, got a firm offer, and he began his new job as a developmental engineer exactly five weeks after his official separation.

“BMI fills a nation-wide void for the returning service person who is transitioning into civilian life,” Wilkerson said, adding that he is very pleased with the process, and with his new career path.



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