The Spoken (And Unspoken) Veterans' Hiring Preference in CA Civil Service

There are two types of veterans' hiring preferences in California state civil service: The spoken and the unspoken. I support them both.

The spoken preference is that veterans receive a score bump on California state civil service exams. What this means is that veterans oftentimes score in the three ranks, if not the top rank, for California state civil service exams. In order to get interviewed and hired for open California state civil service positions for a specific job classification that requires a civil service exam, you have to score within the top three ranks.

There is also the unspoken veterans' preference: The preference that veterans in State civil service have for other veterans. I've seen in it action myself. I have seen veterans who are in a position to determine who gets an interview among candidates who are in the top three ranks on a civil service list pull for veteran candidates.

As I said, I support them both, for a variety of reasons.

I am the daughter, niece, and cousin of several veterans. Most of my uncles on both sides of my family served in either World War II or Korea.

Second, I think that anyone who willingly or even unwillingly puts his or her life on the line for their country should enjoy all the preferences and privileges for the duration of their lives. No veteran should ever be homeless, jobless, without health care, or hungry in my book.

But, all things being equal, if you give me the choice between two equally qualified candidates and only one is a veteran, I'm probably going to choose the veteran. Why?

First, work ethic. I've never met a lazy veteran.

Second, veterans have experience working with all kinds of people and still getting the job done without regard to personal or political differences. In my experience, they don't get involved in petty workplace squabbles.

Third, veterans, in my experience, are mission-focused and make sure they understand the assignment. They endeavor to accomplish exactly what you want, how you want it, and when you want it.

The military has already done the work of teaching veterans most of the workplace skills a State civil servant needs. Why wouldn't anyone want to tap into that talent pool?

I would encourage all veterans to compare the pension formula for California state civil service to their federal pension formula, do that math, and decide whether California state civil service is for them. Your skills are HIGHLY transferable.

I also provide discounted services to veterans upon request for my California State Jobs Bootcamp in honor of all the veterans in my family.

On behalf of a grateful nation, Happy Veteran's Day!