For years, the problem wasn’t a lack of talent. It was a lack of translation.
Every year, tens of thousands of service members transition out of the military with leadership experience, technical training, and the ability to operate under pressure. On paper, they should be some of the most in-demand hires in the workforce. But as Tim Best explains, the reality looks very different. “What I hear from most veterans… is they never get a chance to tell their story.”
That disconnect shows up immediately in the hiring process. Employers aren’t rejecting capability, they’re missing it. A job title like “Machinist Mate” might get overlooked by a recruiter searching for a maintenance supervisor, even though the underlying experience may be exactly what the role requires. The issue isn’t the skill set. It’s the interpretation of it.
That’s why Best pushes back on one of the most common ideas in veteran hiring. “Your MOS has usually almost nothing to do with what you’re gonna do later in life,” he says, pointing to the fact that military roles rarely map cleanly to civilian job titles. What matters isn’t the label, it’s the capability behind it, leadership, systems thinking, adaptability, and execution under pressure.
RecruitMilitary, headquartered in Norfolk, has built its entire model around solving that problem. By connecting employers with transitioning service members at scale, the company has helped facilitate hundreds of thousands of career connections. But even with that reach, the same friction persists, companies don’t always know how to read the talent in front of them, and candidates don’t always get the chance to explain it.
That’s where the next shift is happening.
Artificial intelligence is beginning to change how hiring works, not just by speeding it up, but by improving how people are understood. As Best puts it, “People are more than a two-dimensional resume conveys them to be.” Instead of relying on static resumes, newer systems break both job descriptions and candidate profiles into thousands of attributes, creating a more complete picture of what someone can actually do.
More importantly, it creates space for candidates to speak for themselves. Rather than submitting applications into a void, candidates can now engage in structured conversations that surface their experience in real time. That information gets captured and delivered to employers in a way that traditional resumes never could.
For veterans, that shift is critical. The biggest frustration hasn’t been rejection, it’s invisibility. Not being seen, not being understood, and not getting the opportunity to explain what they bring to the table.
Still, the role of technology comes with a clear boundary. “Machines shouldn’t be making hiring decisions. That’s not a good thing,” Best says. “Machines should help facilitate better hiring decisions.” The goal isn’t to replace human judgment, it’s to improve the connection between the right people at the right time.
That matters even more in a region like Hampton Roads. With one of the largest concentrations of military talent in the country, the 757 has a built-in advantage. The challenge isn’t access to talent, it’s alignment. While the region does a strong job retaining transitioning service members compared to other markets, gaps still exist in how that talent is positioned and placed.
Solving that doesn’t require more programs or more pipelines. It requires better translation.
And for the first time, that translation might finally be catching up.
Because when the system starts to understand the talent, everything changes.
About RecruitMilitary
RecruitMilitary is a national platform connecting military veterans and transitioning service members with employers, helping bridge the gap between military experience and civilian careers. To learn more about how veteran hiring is evolving, visit RecruitMilitary:
https://recruitmilitary.com
About Innovate Hampton Roads
Innovate Hampton Roads is the region’s central hub for entrepreneurship and innovation, focused on connecting, growing, and supporting the 757 business ecosystem. To explore more stories like this and what’s being built across the 757, visit Innovate Hampton Roads:
https://www.innovate757.org
Hear the full discussion with Tim Best on how hiring is changing and what it means for veterans, employers, and the future of work.
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