Meet Matt Neri.
After four years in the Marine Corps, a college degree, and steady full-time work, Matt was ready for something more. Not because he lacked ambition. Not because he lacked skills. But because the civilian job market wasn't built to see him clearly—and the companies that could have benefited most from someone like him had no strategy to find him.
Matt eventually landed his dream role as a Financial Advisor with Northwestern Mutual—a position he describes as "hopefully the last job I'll ever want or need." He's exactly the kind of disciplined, mission-driven professional that companies say they're desperately searching for.
But here's the uncomfortable truth: if you're relying on traditional hiring channels, you never would have found him.
The Gap Isn't Talent. It's Strategy.
Every week, HR leaders and hiring managers tell us the same thing: We can't find qualified candidates. And yet the United States has approximately 18 million veterans, with nearly 200,000 service members transitioning to civilian life each year. That's one of the largest, most prepared, most underutilized talent pipelines in the entire workforce.
These are people trained in logistics, operations, leadership under pressure, supply chain coordination, and transportation—the exact roles companies are struggling to fill right now. Many of the top occupations employing veterans today, including freight and material handling and commercial trucking, are also among the highest-demand roles projected for the coming decade.
So why aren't employers connecting with this talent?
Because military experience doesn't always translate neatly into a keyword search. It doesn't always show up in the right LinkedIn filter. Veterans like Matt are navigating an unfamiliar civilian landscape, figuring out how to tell their story in a language the corporate world can understand.
That's not a talent problem. That's an access problem. And it's one your competitors are starting to solve.
What It Actually Cost Matt—and What It Could Cost You
When Matt connected with Semper Forward, he wasn't starting from zero. He had the credentials, the service record, and the drive. What he needed was a translator, someone to help bridge his military experience to the right civilian opportunity (and access to the right people).
"I was at a point in my career where connections mattered more than experience," Matt shared. "Semper Forward was able to help me make those connections."
Within days, he was introduced to multiple companies across multiple industries. He received resume guidance, role clarity, and direct introductions—not a list of job postings, but real relationships. The kind of access that changes careers.
Now imagine how many Matts are out there right now that your organization is simply not positioned to reach.
This is where it gets costly for companies and the overall economy. According to McKinsey, improving employment outcomes for transitioning veterans could contribute nearly $15 billion to the U.S. economy over the next decade. That's $15 billion left on the table because the wrong people are looking in the wrong places, using the wrong tools.
Your company could be part of capturing that value…or part of losing it.
The Companies Winning This Aren't Just Saying They Support Veterans
There's no shortage of employers who put a flag on their careers page or check a box at a hiring fair. But the organizations building genuine competitive advantage through veteran talent are doing something different: they've built an intentional strategy to access, attract, and translate military talent into business results.
That means getting visible within the military community—on base, through virtual events, through trusted networks—before a veteran ever lands on a job board. It means having a partner who understands how to bridge the gap between a service member's experience and your company's needs. It means not waiting for the right candidate to find you.
That’s exactly why Semper Forward is here.
We connect employers directly to a curated pipeline of transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses—before they hit the open market. We help you build visibility within the military community, translate military experience into real business value, and develop a hiring strategy that actually works.
We've done it for Matt. We've done it for dozens of companies across transportation, financial services, logistics, and beyond.
The Question Isn't Whether the Talent Exists
It does. It's out there, mission-ready and looking for the right opportunity.
The question is whether your organization is positioned to find it—or whether you'll keep wondering why great candidates aren't walking through your door.
The companies that move now will build the pipelines. The companies that wait will keep competing for the same shrinking pool of candidates everyone else is chasing.
Don't be the company that missed Matt.
Ready to build a veteran talent strategy that works? Connect with Semper Forward, a Division of Fastport, at semperforward.com/for-companies.