By John Eckberg
The Cincinnati Enquirer

One former leatherneck whose resume is listed on RecruitMilitary.com maintains a top security clearance, once swept the presidential palace for wiretaps in Haiti, and is looking for civilian work as a security specialist.

Drew Myers, president of Recruit Military in Loveland, shows off their brand new offices. (Craig Ruttle photo)

A former Navy SEAL - one of 62 listed at the Loveland-based Web site - directed surreptitious missions in the Middle East, speaks three languages and wants to work in Alaska.

Still another officer, who also maintains top security clearance, wants a job in the Washington area that pays $80,000.

"We do business literally in every state," said RecruitMilitary president Drew Myers, a former Marine artillery and recruiting officer. His fast-growing Web-based company now has 55,000 resumes on file. Employers can pay to search their database and also post jobs.

"Our goal is to get to 70 percent of the military transitioning audience. That's about 150,000 annually," said Myers. "When companies like Kraft or Hershey or SAIC, a $1 billion defense contractor, search for a guy coming out of the military, our approach makes it effortless."

Transition to civilian life

While some of his recruits have lived lives right out of the pages of Soldier of Fortune magazine and are looking for exciting work, others just want to drive a forklift, manage a route for a uniform company or supervise hourly employees.

RecruitMilitary.com

Employees: 15. Location: Former school building behind New Hope Baptist Church in Loveland. Life lesson: RecruitMilitary.com president Drew Myers worked for a year for Perot Investments and was assigned to Salute.com. He reported directly to Ross Perot. "(Perot) started that company in his garage and when I reported to him, he was worth, what, $4.5 billion. He'd walk you to the front door when your meeting was over. How many guys worth that much bother to walk you to the front door?" Revenue: "Seven figures" was all Myers would give. He is forecasting a 33 percent growth rate and revenue of $15 million within the decade.

All military veterans who list their resumes have this much in common: They have brighter civilian possibilities thanks to the cyber-reach of RecruitMilitary.com.

While veterans once relied on help-wanted advertising and traditional job boards to make the transition back to civilian life, now the Web is giving them other options. Veterans are not charged to post their resumes - the company earns its revenue by charging companies a range of fees that crests at 25 percent of a first-year salary.

The company of 15 employees was founded in 1998 by Myers, a former Marine artillery and recruiting officer who once had a stint with Perot Investments. He reported directly to Texas billionaire Ross Perot and was vice president of business development for an online recruiting business division. The idea for the company came from Myers' work for Perot.

Rex A. Caswell, vice president of sales for LexisNexis, the Dayton, Ohio-based legal, business, news and data delivery company, says the search firm has been a boon to his business. Of 10 employees it has found in two years through RecruitMilitary.com, three have already been promoted into management.

"Candidates bring with them a philosophy of leadership, a real can-do spirit," Caswell said. "I was an enlisted man and worried that somebody with a military background would have too much structure, people who would not free-think for fear of messing up plans. But the people we've gotten find solutions and demonstrate leadership by example."

Employers need vets' skills

RecruitMilitary, which spent more than $500,000 to buy and renovate a former church school in Loveland late last year, differs from other military recruiting firms because it segregates military divisions and is wholly online. Units run online job boards for the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force, with traditional newsletters produced for officers, and transition counselors who need to help veterans find work.

RecruitMilitary.com is not alone with its online approach. Last month recruiting titan Monster.com bought Military.com, which also connects employers and people with military experience.

Christopher P. Michel, president of Military.com, a San Francisco-based firm and the nation's largest military membership organization, said companies increasingly are clamoring for veterans, particularly those with security clearances.

"From employers' perspective, they get mature, motivated, well-trained and dedicated people," he said. "Today we're seeing a tremendous demand for people with a national security background."

Companies in the defense sector, such as San Diego-based SAIC, a Fortune 500 research and engineering firm that manages government contracts in fields including homeland security and nuclear power plant consultation, need individuals with security credentials to even bid on government work.

Other multinational companies, such as Lockheed Martin Corp., may have industrial espionage divisions; while Fort Monroe, Va.-based Level-3 Communications would need personnel with security clearance because of its work on sensitive government contracts.

Two years ago, RecruitMilitary.com listed about 18,000 resumes. That was about the same time Myers bought MilitaryHeadhunters.com, which was developed by John Pacchetti, who is now chief technology officer for RecruitMilitary.com.

Since the acquisition, the number of resumes at the site has tripled. Growth has come on the other end, too, from companies that need to fill out their payrolls.

For military veterans, RecruitMilitary.com creates a path at a time when they may be discouraged or adrift about what they will do when they return to private-sector jobs, said Clermont County resident David Keszei, 37, a Marine Reserve major.

"These kids need somebody to link them to a job," Keszei said. "They need somebody to show a company that they possess attributes like leadership, integrity, creativity, and that they are able to work alone."