SHRM.ORG/HRMAGAZINE
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 HR MAGAZINE 19
FROM WE WILL TO AT WILL:
A HANDBOOK FOR VETERAN
HIRING, TRANSITIONING, AND
THRIVING IN THE WORKPLACE
By Justin Constantine
and Andrew Morton
After law student Justin Constantine decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps, he was
stationed around the world—from Okinawa, Japan, to California to Iraq, where he
was wounded in action. Now, the attorney
is a nationally known speaker on facilitating veteran hiring. His new book contains
essential advice for both military personnel
transitioning to the civilian workplace and
HR professionals. Here’s a sampling:
; HR needs to adopt a broader mindset. Most HR folks don’t come from a
military background. As a result, they
sometimes shy away from hiring veterans or don’t pay much attention to vets’
resumes because they are unfamiliar
with military duties and skills.
; That goes for veterans, too. Veterans
need to learn how to talk to civilian HR
professionals and how to write resumes
in the language private-sector employers
prefer.
; Employers should focus on veterans’
strengths. These often include leadership, physical ;tness, time management
and teamwork.
BOOKSHELF
NEW AND NOTABLE TITLES FROM
HR MAGAZINE’S BOOK BLOG
WISDOM AT WORK:
THE MAKING OF A
MODERN ELDER
By Chip Conley
When Chip Conley was hired by the
founder of a then tiny startup called
Airbnb in 2013, he became part of a
company packed with 20-somethings.
He was acutely aware of the age gap
and his lack of digital skills, but he also came to realize
the value of the wisdom he acquired during his years as
a CEO in the hospitality business. He coined the term
“modern elder” to describe the role of a person who can
share insights, emotional intelligence and leadership skills
with younger colleagues while also learning from them.
Conley o;ers these tips on how HR professionals can
optimize modern elders:
; Tap into their wisdom. Older workers can provide
emotional intelligence, which can grow over time and involves soft skills like listening, empathy and cooperation.
; Encourage a growth mindset. Help them realize that
being curious and open to learning is to their own bene;t.
; Support reverse mentoring. Many young people can
teach older workers the technical skills companies need
from employees today.
PREDICTING BUSINESS
SUCCESS: USING
SMARTER ANALYTICS
TO DRIVE RESULTS
By Scott Mondore,
Hannah Spell, Matt Betts
and Shane Douthitt
When used correctly, predictive analytics can drastically
improve an HR department’s operations. The authors,
consultants at Strategic Management Decisions, provide
readers with guidelines and principles for using business-focused metrics, including these:
; There are no magic metrics that work for everyone.
You may hear great things about data analytics systems
that other companies are using, but plenty of di;erenti-ating factors—such as your industry or company size—
may a;ect whether they will work for you.
; Every element on the score card must be directly linked
to business outcomes. Don’t waste time analyzing something that has no impact on business results.
; HR e;ciency metrics are of little interest to the
C-suite. Be sure to track external metrics that professionals in your company outside of HR will value.
Always consider what the C-suite cares about.
¬;For more book reviews, go to shrm.org/bookblog