Experience proves hiring veterans is good business

Erick Ajax: Hiring veterans is good business. We know from experience.
By Erick Ajax
Special to the Pioneer Press
Posted: 09/16/2012

In July, my company found two great hires at a veterans job fair. That brings the total number of U.S. military veterans at E.J. Ajax & Sons to nine. It's a small number in the overall scheme of things; in 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 234,000 new veterans were looking for work. But at E.J. Ajax, a small, third-generation metal-stamping company in Fridley, veterans now represent more than 10 percent of our workforce.

As a company that exports nearly a third of our production to China, Mexico, India, Europe and the Caribbean, we rely on skilled workers to provide the productivity and quality that give us a competitive edge. In our experience, veterans have qualities that make them exceptional candidates for entry-level manufacturing positions.

WORK ETHIC

"The Marine Corps taught me discipline. It made me grow up," said Brad McKnight, an Iraq war veteran who has been with our company for six years and is now our quality manager.

"Punctuality is real big. You're guaranteed that a veteran will be there on time," said Jose Chavarría, who was a newly retired Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant when he joined our company in 2011. "The saying in the military is, 'If you're not 15 minutes early, you're 5 minutes late,'" he added. During the job interview, he was surprised to be asked whether he'd be OK with working extra hours on occasion. "That's what I'm used to," he said.

As one of our newest hires, five-year Army veteran Gilbert Sanchez said, "In the military, you have to be there at the right time, in the right uniform, with the right attitude."
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