Why Johnson & Johnson Is All-In For the Veteran Jobs Mission

Leadership under pressure. Commitment to service. Proven domain expertise. What U.S. military veterans bring to the table is a unique mix of skills and values, and it’s the reason they're so valuable to our team.

It's also why we continue to be all-in on the Veteran Jobs Mission (VJM), a coalition of largely Fortune 500 companies that recently marked its 10-year anniversary by announcing its most ambitious goal yet: hiring two million veterans and 200,000 military spouses by 2031.

Find out why we're so committed to that mission, what we're doing at Johnson & Johnson to bring it to life and how you can join us on the front lines of healthcare.

Founded in 2011 as the “100,000 Jobs Mission,” the VJM began as 11 companies committed to hiring military talent across the private sector. The initial goal? Hiring 100,000 veterans by 2020. To do so, we knew we'd all have to pull together in order to effectively address the full range of needs of veterans and military spouses.

And that’s exactly what we did, hitting our goal seven years ahead of schedule.

Since then, the coalition has grown to include 300 companies across virtually every industry, with more than 830,000 veterans hired to date. Yet we also know that we can do more, which is why we’re upping the ante—and setting out to hire two million veterans, together with 200,000 military spouses, over the next decade.

But that’s not all. In fact, we’re also broadening the scope of our work in meaningful and timely ways. For example:

• Increasing the number of companies in the VJM to amplify its impact
• Shifting our focus from hiring to the long-term career journeys of veterans and military spouses
• Connecting the demands of mass remote work—such as the challenges associated with managing hybrid or remote teams—to strengths, skill sets and experiences that are characteristic of the military-connected community
• Highlighting how the increasingly advanced technical training that veterans receive prepares them for in-demand software, cybersecurity and IT roles
• Calling attention to opportunities for veterans to serve as leaders and bridge-builders in organizational diversity, equity and inclusion efforts
• Combatting underemployment, which remains a lingering issue for veterans in general and military spouses particularly
• Regularly convening to share tools and resources that will help us continue to develop and refine our understanding of industry-leading best practices
• Actively partnering with veteran service organizations

You could see this expanded mission clearly reflected in the agenda of the VJM’s 10^th-anniversary event, where the workshops and panels included “An Untapped Resource: Hiring, Retaining and Developing Military Spouse Talent,” “Deepening Your Ranks: Integrating Veteran and Military Spouse-Owned Businesses Across Supply Chains” and “Resiliency in Crisis: The Value of National Guard and Reservist Employees,” among many others.

Alongside our work with the VJM, we're redoubling our efforts internally at Johnson & Johnson to hire and retain the best and the brightest among the military-connected community. From logistics to supply chain management, cybersecurity to sales, the talents of service members will be central to the success of our mission of changing the future of health for good. And our involvement with the VJM is only one piece of that.

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John Perez, Head of Military and Veteran Affairs at Johnson & Johnson, speaks at the VJM's 10^th anniversary celebration.

How else are we welcoming members of the military-connected community onto our team these days? A brief sampling:

• The Johnson & Johnson SkillBridge Program is our military-connected talent pipeline program specifically for separating United States Armed Forces active-duty military service members.
• The Janssen Veteran Sales Pathway is a comprehensive initiative providing end-to-end support for transitioning military veterans interested in pharmaceutical sales roles.
• Our partners, which include Hiring Our Heroes, Heroes MAKE America, Hire Heroes USA and MedTechVets, put us in touch with military-connected candidates.
• Our leadership development programs, the Military Veteran Leadership Development Program (MVLDP) and the Experienced Military Veteran Leadership Development Program (EMVLDP), are our flagship programs for high-potential veterans at Johnson & Johnson.

Eager to apply the value-driven experiences, leadership and skills you built while serving your country in order to serve the needs of people around the world? To be mentored and supported through the Johnson & Johnson Veterans Leadership Council, our award-winning employee resource group for the military-connected community?

Check out all of the roles we're hiring for right now.

Plus, before you go, be sure to join our global talent community, too. It's a great way to stay in touch, learn more about life at our company and even get updates about jobs that interest you in the future.

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