.png)
On Veterans Day, I think about the people I served alongside and the different paths we take after military service. In my work with employers at Sunny Day Fund, I keep coming back to one question. What happens after a veteran accepts their first civilian job?
Last month, Sid Pailla and I joined Mika Cross and Hannah Jenarine to talk about financial stress at work and what employers can do to help. The conversation was part of The Together Project.
What One Manager Did in the First Two Weeks
Mika Cross
Early in my work at Strategy@Work, I partnered with a midsize company that was committed to hiring veterans. We recruited former Army logistics managers for operations roles. In their first two weeks, their manager asked them a question I wish more managers would ask. “What did you do in uniform that you’d like to use in this role?”
They described planning convoy movements across three time zones and handling financial operations. They also talked about how much they enjoyed leading people and working across teams. Their manager saw how that experience could help with a stalled vendor rollout and gave the new hires a role in getting it moving again.
HR walked them through their benefits and flexible scheduling options and asked what would help them do their best work. By day 90, the rollout was back on track. That early conversation gave the new hires a say in how they could contribute and the manager a better idea of where to put their skills to work.
The First 90 Days on the Job
Days 1 to 30
Explain who depends on the team’s work and what success in the role looks like. Give the new hire room to decide how to get there. Pair them with a peer who can explain who makes decisions, how the team gives feedback, and what counts as urgent. The U.S. Department of Labor recommends a mentor, ideally a veteran, in its Employer Guide to Hiring Veterans.
Before the start date, tell people when their first paycheck will arrive and when health coverage begins. Set aside time with HR to explain workplace benefits and flexible scheduling, and help employees find the right contacts for questions about how their military or VA benefits fit with what the company offers. For help planning around changes in pay and expenses, you can share Military OneSource’s budgeting guide.
About half of veterans surveyed said they had at least three months of income set aside for emergencies, according to the VA’s 2023 post-separation survey.
If you offer workplace savings, show people how to get started and revisit it after their first paycheck, when they have a better sense of what they can set aside. At Sunny Day Fund, we help employers offer emergency savings through payroll.
Days 31 to 60
Ask at the 30-day check-in which skills they want to use and what they want to learn. Use what you hear to introduce them to colleagues outside their team. A mentor can help them understand how things get done, and a sponsor can recommend them for assignments where they can use those skills. If your company has an employee resource group for veterans, offer to make a personal introduction. Keep checking in on how the transition is going and follow through when someone asks for support.
Days 61 to 90
Share the criteria for the first review, when it will happen, and who will provide input. Give examples of what meeting and exceeding expectations look like, and consider how people prepare and follow through alongside project results. Use the 90-day check-in as an after-action review. Talk through what worked and where they needed more support, then agree on a project or skill they would like to focus on next.
If you lead a team, ask a veteran you work with what would have made their first month easier. Use what you hear to make one change before your next hire starts.
The call to serve a mission can carry into civilian work. In Mika’s words, “Our job as employers is to give it a new address.”
To everyone who has served and to the families who have supported them, thank you.
About Mika Cross
Mika Cross served as an enlisted soldier and a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army and worked on veterans’ employment at the U.S. Department of Labor. She leads the veteran-owned workforce consultancy Strategy@Work.