VRA – or Veterans’ Recruitment Appointment – is a LAW that allows the government to hire eligible Veterans into jobs without competition (with no USAjobs announcement)
Recently, in the Facebook group, someone posted a question:
“Just had a conversation with someone who says they avoid VRA because of the perception of improper hiring practices. #struggleisreal. Anyone else heard of this?”
Great question! Here are my thoughts…
Using VRA to hire a Veteran is super-fast, convenient, and 100% legal.
The manager can pluck a VRA-eligible Veteran off the street… and into a job.
The manager can pluck a VRA-eligible Veteran from a job fair… and into a job.
The manager can pluck a VRA-eligible Veteran from inside their own organization… and into a new job.
The manager can pluck a VRA-eligible Veteran out of the unemployment office and… into a job.
NO USAJOBS needed!
Woo hoo! That’s great! It saves TONS of time. It allows the manager to quickly hire a Veteran. It doesn’t require HR to spend time creating a USAjobs announcement. It saves HR MORE time because they don’t have to sift through hundreds of resumes.
NOTE: VRA is not a PERSON. VRA is not a JOB. VRA is a LAW. And Veterans are either eligible for it or they are NOT eligible for it.
You are eligible for VRA if you meet ONE of the following criteria:
- are in receipt of a campaign badge for service during a war or in a campaign or expedition; OR
- are a disabled veteran, OR
- are in receipt of an Armed Forces Service Medal for participation in a military operation, OR
- are a recently separated veteran (within the last 3 years), AND
- separated under honorable conditions (this means an honorable or general discharge).
Of course, you must still be QUALIFIED for the job by having the relevant experience or education.
But, get this:
- Managers LOVE VRA because they can rapidly hire a Veteran into a job.
- Human Resources LOVE VRA because it saves them the time of opening a job on USAjobs, and screening hundreds of resumes.
- The Veteran who gets hired under VRA loves it because they got to skip over USAjobs and didn’t have to compete against other applicants.
See! VRA is useful, convenient, and saves everyone tons of time!
Well, it’s great for everyone involved, but…
Let’s talk about one HUGE drawback to giving a Veteran a non-competitive VRA appointment: the perception of unfairness and illegality. Sadly, not everyone ends up being happy.
We are talking about everyone else’s perception of the Veteran ‘walk into the job’. They often (incorrectly) conclude that it must be illegal, that it’s a shady practice and its unfair.
You know what I am talking about — it happens in our group all the time. People write things like:
“That’s the old boy network.”
“It’s all about who you know.”
“Must be nepotism.”
“It’s frustrating that someone else can be given a job while I’m stuck being forced to apply through USAjobs.”
“Giving someone a job without going through USAjobs is illegal.”
“The manager is discriminating against everyone else by not giving them a chance to apply.”
“The hiring system is broken.”
“That’s totally illegal.”
“Plucking someone off the street and into a job is a dishonest hiring practice.”
“The government is being shady by giving someone a job like that.”
“It’s unfair.”
Dealing with complaints
Now, we all agree Veterans are motivated to correct injustice, especially when it involves themselves. Very passionate to fight for a cause they believe in!
So, when Vets see someone else get a job that was not advertised on USAjobs (because they were hired directly through VRA), the Vets get confused, jump to conclusions – or simply don’t know about VRA — and they feel an injustice has occurred. They seek to fight that injustice and they make some complaints.
- They make a complaint to the HR Specialist who processed the action. So, the HR Specialist explains and educates them why it was 100% legal.
- They make a complaint to the Staffing Supervisor who oversees the HR specialist. So, the Staffing Supervisor explains and educates them why it was 100% legal.
- They make a complaint to the HR Officer who oversees the HR Office. So, the HR Specialist explains and educates the HR Officer why it was 100% legal.
- They make a complaint to the Director/Commanding Officer who oversees the HR Officer. So, the HR Specialist explains and educates Director/Commanding Officer why it was 100% legal.
- They make a complaint to their Congressmen/women. So, the HR Specialist explains and educates the Congressman why it was 100% legal.
- They make a complaint to the media. So, the HR Specialist explains and educates the media why it was 100% legal.
- They make a complaint to the EEO Office. So, the HR Specialist explains and educates the EEO Office why it was 100% legal.
- They make a complaint to Veterans advocacy groups. So, the HR Specialist explains and educates the veterans advocacy groups why it was 100% legal.
At that point, HR has to explain the (100% LEGAL) VRA hiring process nearly 8 different times. Hours upon hours spent explaining the same thing over and over… and over….
It’s exhausting, boring, and repetitive.
Therefore, to save all the time that would otherwise be spent explaining and educating everyone on VRA and its advantages — and to avoid anyone getting the perception of someone else getting an unfair opportunity – it’s easier and creates fewer headaches to simply announce the job on USAjobs and NOT use VRA.
Dealing with all the complaints just isn’t worth it.
Final thoughts
I used VRA in this example because that is exactly what the question was asking. The same thing applies to Schedule A, 30% or more disabled Veteran hiring authority, and any other non-competitive hiring authority.
Make sure to visit the FILES section of our Facebook group for tons of valuable resources. Click HERE.To join our Vets 2 Fed Gov Jobs FB group, click HERE.