Most hiring managers picture a veteran one way. Someone who just left the service. Someone in transition, looking for that first civilian job. That picture misses a huge group of skilled people you can hire right now.

National Guard and Reserve members are different. They are not transitioning out. They already have a foot in both worlds. They hold a full-time civilian job and serve part-time. They are working professionals who also wear the uniform a few days a month.

That makes them one of the most available talent pools you are not tapping. They are employed, trained, and looking for the right company. The only thing that scares some employers off is the drill schedule. This guide fixes that. We will cover the business case, how to plan around drill weekends and annual training, how to read a Guard or Reserve resume, and where to find these candidates.

One note up front. This article is about the business case and the logistics. For the legal side of reemployment rights and your duties under the law, see our full USERRA employer obligations guide. We will point back to it where the law comes up.

Who Are National Guard and Reserve Members?

The simple version: they serve part-time. The National Guard calls them citizen-soldiers. They hold down a full civilian career and serve their state and country on the side.

The standard commitment is one weekend a month and two weeks a year. That adds up to about 39 days of duty per year. The rest of the time, they are at their civilian job. Yours, if you hire them.

There are two main groups. The National Guard answers to both the state governor and the federal government. The Reserve is a federal force tied to a specific branch. Both train on the same kind of part-time schedule. According to the U.S. Army, the weekend-a-month, two-weeks-a-year model is the core of how these forces stay ready.

Here is the part that matters for you. These are not people winding down a military career. Many will serve part-time for years while building a civilian one. You are not hiring someone in transition. You are hiring a working professional who already knows how to hold two jobs and show up for both.

Why Should You Hire Guard and Reserve Members?

Start with availability. Most veteran hiring content focuses on people leaving the service. That pool moves fast and gets a lot of attention. The part-time pool is bigger and sits in plain sight. These candidates are already in the workforce and open to a better job.

Next, the skills are current. A transitioning veteran's last training might be a year old by the time they job hunt. A Guard or Reserve member trains every month. Their leadership, technical, and safety skills stay sharp because they use them on a regular cycle.

They also bring proven reliability. To stay in good standing, a Guard or Reserve member shows up for drill, passes fitness tests, and meets readiness standards year after year. That is a track record of follow-through most resumes cannot show.

And they know how to balance demands. Holding a civilian job and a military role at the same time takes planning and discipline. The person who manages that well is the same person who hits deadlines and handles a heavy week without dropping the ball.

If you want the broader dollar case for hiring veterans, our veteran recruiting strategy playbook lays it out. The Guard and Reserve angle just adds one thing on top: you do not have to wait for them to leave the service.

How Do You Plan Around Drill Weekends and Annual Training?

This is the part that makes employers nervous. It should not. The Guard and Reserve schedule is more predictable than a sick kid or a surprise jury summons. Drill dates are set far in advance. You can plan around them.

Here is how the time breaks down. Most members drill one weekend a month. For many roles that means Saturday and Sunday, so it does not even touch your workweek. Then there is annual training, which is about two weeks once a year. That is the chunk you actually need to plan for.

Get the schedule early

Ask your new hire for their drill calendar during onboarding. Guard and Reserve units publish drill dates months ahead. Most members can hand you a full year of weekend dates and a window for annual training. Put those dates in your team calendar like any other planned absence.

Treat annual training like planned leave

Two weeks once a year is the same as a long vacation. You already cover for those. Cross-train a backup, set deadlines around the window, and brief the team in advance. Annual training is usually scheduled in the same season each year, so it gets easier to plan for over time.

Plan for the rare longer absence

Sometimes a unit gets activated for a longer period. This is the part employers fear most, but it is far less common than the routine schedule. When it happens, the law protects the employee's job and gives you a known process. The cumulative service cap under 38 USC 4312 is five years per employer, and routine drills and training do not count toward it. So a typical member never gets close. For the full rules on absences and reemployment, read our USERRA obligations guide.

Build a culture that supports service

The companies that win these candidates make the schedule a non-issue. They tell the candidate up front that drill is supported. They name a manager who handles the planning. They never make the employee feel like service is a problem. Word travels fast in the Guard and Reserve community. A reputation for being military-friendly brings you more candidates.

How Do You Read a Guard or Reserve Resume?

A Guard or Reserve resume can look different from a full-time veteran's. The person has both civilian jobs and military roles on the page. Your job is to read both halves and see the full picture.

First, look at the civilian side. This tells you what they do in a normal work setting. Then look at the military side. This tells you what skills they keep sharp through service. The two together often show more range than a single-track resume.

Watch for skills that transfer straight across. A logistics role in the Guard maps to supply chain and operations work. A medic role maps to healthcare. A communications role maps to IT and networking. Do not let the military title throw you. Read the duties under it.

If a military job code stumps you, look it up. Our 88M motor transport operator career guide shows how one Army code maps to civilian work. For an Army medic, the 68W combat medic career guide does the same for healthcare roles. These pages translate the duties into terms a civilian hiring team can score.

One more tip. Guard and Reserve members may use the same code for years while changing civilian jobs. A long, steady military record next to a growing civilian career is a strong signal. It shows commitment on one side and growth on the other. For a full screening framework, see our recruiter's checklist for screening veteran applicants.

Where Do You Find Guard and Reserve Candidates?

You will not always find them on the same channels as transitioning veterans. Many are not on a base or in a transition class. They are already working. So you need to reach them where they are.

Start by making your job posts welcoming to part-time service. A simple line like "we support Guard and Reserve service" tells these candidates you get it. Most job posts say nothing about this. The ones that do stand out.

Next, work the channels that reach the whole military community, not just separating members. Our guide on where to post jobs to reach veteran candidates breaks down the boards and groups that work. Many active Guard and Reserve members use those same channels while employed.

You can also build a steady pipeline through transition programs. Even part-time members move through career events and training pipelines. Our transition programs sourcing guide shows how to plug into those channels as a hiring partner.

How Do You Onboard and Keep a Guard or Reserve Hire?

Getting the hire is half the job. Keeping them is the other half. The first 90 days set the tone. Make the service schedule part of the plan from day one.

During onboarding, get their drill calendar and put it on the team's shared calendar. Name the manager who will handle coverage during annual training. Tell the new hire, plainly, that their service is respected here. That one conversation prevents a lot of stress later.

Then treat them like any high performer. Give them a clear path to grow. The same drive that keeps them in the Guard or Reserve will push them at work if you give it somewhere to go. Our 90-day onboarding plan for veteran employees gives you a full framework.

Retention matters even more here. A military-friendly reputation is hard to build and easy to lose. If you support one Guard member well, others hear about it. If you make service a burden, that travels too. Our piece on veteran employee retention covers what makes military hires stay.

What Are the Legal Basics You Should Know?

You do not need to be a lawyer to hire Guard and Reserve members. But you should know the basics so you stay on the right side of the law and treat people fairly.

The core law is USERRA. It protects a service member's job during military duty. It also bars you from turning someone down for a job because they serve. The Department of Labor runs the program and offers free guidance for employers.

Two points matter most for hiring. You cannot refuse to hire a qualified person because of their service obligation. And when a member returns from duty, you owe them their job back under set rules. The good news is that honest, merit-based hiring already meets the standard. If you would hire the best candidate either way, you are fine.

This article is the short version on purpose. The full rules on reemployment timing, the five-year cap, and health coverage live in our USERRA employer obligations guide. Read it once and you will know what you need.

How Can BMR Help You Hire Guard and Reserve Members?

The hardest part of hiring Guard and Reserve members is not the schedule. It is finding them in the first place. They are working, so they are not all in one place looking. You need a steady source of candidates who fit.

That is where BMR comes in. We add over 1,000 new veteran profiles every month, and we have helped build more than 60,000 resumes. Many of those are Guard and Reserve members who are employed today and open to a better role. They are exactly the available, trained pool this guide is about.

If you want a pipeline of veteran talent that refreshes every month, partner with us to source veteran candidates. We will connect you with the people who already balance two jobs and do both well.