Hilton Worldwide : A digital approach to helping veterans find jobs

Veterans need all the help they can get when reentering the workforce. In the field, service members are often responsible for multi-million dollar equipment, delivery of projects of massive scale in difficult environments and managing multiple teams - but those responsibilities don't always translate into related job skills on a traditional resume.

Many veterans have been in the military their entire adult life, and do not have previous work experience that non-military professionals understand, making it even harder for them to appear as a good fit on paper. Combined with being stationed overseas or outside of the country, the cards are stacked against veterans when they come home - a problem that needs addressing: Veterans' experience matters, and they can be true leaders in any organization.

The unemployment rate among veterans who served after Sept. 11, 2001 is 6.2% for men and 10% for women - and the underemployment rate is even higher. When compared to the 5.9% unemployment rate for non-veterans, it's clear that veterans are having a hard time securing the jobs they deserve.

It is both a personal and professional goal of mine as CEO and founder of HireVue to help veterans find meaningful work when they return home. Veterans are not represented by resumes or profiles that get screened out of applicant tracking systems - their stories, experiences, skills and ideas must be heard, and a digital or video interview is one way that veterans can showcase their skills beyond a paper resume.

Below are a few tips for veterans for mastering the art of the digital interview.

• Translate your skills to non-military terms: Helping a non-military interviewer understand your credentials is crucial to a nailing your interview. It will also help you extend the scope of your experience and responsibilities, and frame your skills to match what employers are looking for. You can find skills translators online, from the Department of Veteran Affairs and Military.com.

• Learn and use corporate language. The military uses language and practices that aren't common in the traditional workplace, and by training yourself to use corporate language, you can help present yourself as a civilian. For example, addressing people as "Sir" and "Ma'am" is required protocol in the military - but theses titles are often seen as too formal in the corporate world. Be sure to follow the interviewer's lead and address them in the same way in which they introduce themselves. Also, since most companies do not use military time, it's usually safe to use standard time in discussions and email correspondence.

• Highlight skills and projects. Be sure to include any specific certifications, training and other specialized experience, especially tasks that you completed from start to finish. The military trains you to respond well in situations that change frequently, which is a valuable skill in the corporate workplace - and one that you should highlight. Also, many of the certifications and training you received in the military will set you apart, in a good way, from civilian applicants, helping give you an edge over the competition.

• Dress to impress. The military has some great uniforms, but for a digital interview, you want to emulate the company culture. Check out the company website and social media pages to see if they have candid photos of employees, but if you can't find anything online, a suit is typically a safe choice.

• Use available resources. The government has many online resources aimed to help transitioning veterans re-enter the civilian workforce. The American Job Center site links to over ten organizations that have job listings specifically for veterans, as well as programs to help them with the transition.

At HireVue, we created a program called HireMission, designed specifically to help servicemen and women find jobs with great employers like Hilton Worldwide and Verizon before they transition out of the military. We help these veterans create their resumes, participate in test interviews and provide feedback on their interview performance. Recruiters from any organization can source, screen or coach veterans in the pool to help them get setup for their next job opportunity.

Recently, we had the honor of working together with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Hiring our Heroes Foundation at a series of events across U.S. bases in Germany called the European Theater Transition Summits. We were able to help over 1,000 transitioning service members conduct digital interviews, in which they recorded videos focused on telling their story and demonstrating their ability to work for potential U.S.-based employers, all before they transition back to civilian life. We also held sessions to coach these soon-to-be veterans on presenting themselves and their experiences in interviews.

It's been a great experience working at these events with companies that share our vision, especially Hilton Worldwide, which launched Operation: Opportunity, a program whereby any military veteran can receive a free night's stay in their hotels when searching for a new job - an empowering and innovative campaign.

While the problem of under- and unemployment among our veterans is not easily solved, I certainly hope more companies will jump on board and make a greater commitment to hiring veterans. While Veteran's Day is a great holiday to acknowledge those in the armed forces, we need to find ways to better serve our veterans every day.

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The Mashable Job Board connects job seekers across the U.S. with unique career opportunities in the digital space. While we publish a wide range of job listings, we have selected a few job opportunities from the past several weeks to help get you started. Happy hunting!

• Publicist at WebDAM, a Shutterstock company in San Mateo, California

• Data Guru/Data Journalist at Company Confidential in Washington, D.C.

• Account Coordinator/Executive at The Designory in Herndon, Virginia

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