Finding Work After War: The Role of Military Experience in Civilian Hiring

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SES-0818337Meredith Kleykamp University of KansasThe project will measure whether employers exhibit discriminatory or preferential attitudes toward military veterans and whether this affects veteran treatment in the hiring process. This study explores how and why veteran outcomes differ by race/ethnicity and gender. The main goals of the project are to: 1) identify how military veterans fare in hiring, document the extent of differential hiring treatment of veterans and whether such treatment varies by race and gender using an experimental design 2) explore the mechanisms explaining employer treatment of veterans, how employers evaluate military experience, and what meaning military experience holds in the civilian hiring process using in-depth interviews with hiring agents and 3) adjudicate competing sociological explanations for differential veteran/nonveteran employment outcomes, of human capital development, selection, signaling or screening, and cultural capital development on the basis of the audit and interview data. Broader ImpactsThe research has broad reaching social impacts. First, it contributes to both the academic and practical understanding of veteran hiring practices. Findings will foster development of veteran-friendly transition and employment policies. Evidence of discriminatory hiring practices or negative sentiments toward military job seekers would suggest the need for better employer education on laws protecting military members and better evaluation of compliance with such laws. On the other hand, evidence of preferential treatment could clarify that employment transition difficulties facing veterans lie elsewhere in the hiring or job matching process. The project contributes to the recent University of Kansas-Ft. Leavenworth initiative facilitating collaboration between the University and the Army?s Command and General Staff College by providing information that can be used to aid military policymaking.