On A Mission
During high school, I was very active in our JROTC program including the color guard, drill team and our “trailblazers.” At the time, this program gave me the structure I needed as a “troubled” youth and taught me discipline and responsibility. The more involved I became, the more disciplined which ultimately led me to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. I became the first female Battalion Commander not only at my high school but also in the County. During my leadership, we passed our bi-annual inspection and was named honor unit with distinction. We were also very active in color and drill competitions.
Even though I did not serve in the armed forces, I learned about the dedication and commitment that it takes to be a soldier and how retired veterans are a natural fit for corrections. The ability to remain calm under pressure, willingness to perform potentially dangerous work as well as obvious interest in law enforcement, crime prevention and commitment to our country are all intrinsic characteristics of military personnel.
It was not until I started working in corrections that I saw this seamless connection and understood that even though I did not serve my country in the military, CCA serves our country daily through our commitment of integrity and high quality services (to name only a few of our Guiding Principles). Each time I speak with one of our veterans at CCA or a military veteran considering a career with CCA, you can see the excitement in their eyes and the connection to be able to continue to serve even after retirement.
Recognizing that corrections' is a natural career fit for military servicepersons, we are consistently seeking new opportunities to reach out to these candidates. Most recently, a Micro site has been developed on www.recruitmilitary.com. This micro site allows potential employees to both see and apply for positions available with CCA directly from the site. With more than 1,000 visits from the site in the first month, CCA can now reach more military personnel and it will allow for a convenient way of applying, encouraging more of our vets to consider a career in corrections.
Other new recruitment military campaigns include:
• Army Reserve - ALL CCA vacancies are now listed on the US Army Reserve website! Through CCA's partnership with Direct Employers, we will now have access to more than 1 million Army reservists. In addition to posting positions on partner websites, Direct Employers sends CCA's vacancies to all state employment offices as well as Job Central and Vet Central websites.
• GI Jobs – CCA has continued a partnership with placement of recruitment adds in GI Jobs magazine and was recently named a Top Military-Friendly employer by the magazine.
• Transition Center – A list of all transitions centers is being developed for continual communication and advertisement opportunities in the future.
• Job Fairs – In addition to the individual facilities attending job fairs in their area, we will also attend a job fairly quarterly for a more national focus.
• Intranet – The staffing department continually provides updates to the HR Managers utilizing the intranet for communicating available job fairs, tips for recruiting military personnel and other valuable information.
Wendy Gardner
Senior Director, Staffing & Recruiting