At J.B. Hunt, supporting veteran and active military employees is a big priority for our company. We recognize the sacrifices that service men and women make, and we want to do all we can to help them find success in their civilian careers.
We sat down with Jan, a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve and manager of operations in Battleboro, Vt., to learn more about J.B. Hunt’s commitment to military employees in her experience.
Meet Jan
Jan started at J.B. Hunt four years ago as a transportation manager in Windsor Locks, Conn. Since she started at J.B. Hunt, Jan has been called to active duty and deployed to the Middle East twice, where she served for about a year each tour.
She returned from her latest deployment in January, and two weeks after her arrival back, she was asked to interview to be the manager of operations in Brattleboro, Vt. She’s currently in this role and enjoys how the skills she’s gained over her 14-year military career have translated to her civilian career with J.B. Hunt.
“Initially I was looking for a role where I knew I had upward mobility,” shared Jan. “My career path in the military was logistics. That is what is in my blood, and it doesn’t matter to me what I’m moving because everything needs to move. In the military, I move medical supplies around the world via boat, plane, ship, truck, train, whatever form of transportation is available. So, [logistics] is kind of right up my alley, if you will.”
Finding Success in Her Civilian Career
For Jan, she loves the fact that her day-to-day is always something new. She enjoys that her career in operations allows her to regularly problem solve and think outside of the box to find solutions for any issues as they arise.
“From moment to moment, things are happening that need to be addressed,” said Jan. “So, it’s right up my alley because I can think on my feet, and I can problem solve as I’m moving along. I think that’s what drew me to [Operations], and what keeps me engaged every day.”
Jan also appreciates the career growth opportunities that have been made available to her throughout her time at J.B. Hunt. In her experience, J.B. Hunt has done a good job of laying out a clear path for career progression and providing networking opportunities that have helped her grow.
“When I was speaking with my general manager, they laid out, in essence, a career path,” explained Jan. “I’ve always had mentors from the moment I became an employee at J.B. Hunt. I’ve worked for quite a few companies in my lifetime and by far this is my favorite because there’s so much room for growth.”
Feeling Supported in Her Military Career
Jan considers J.B. Hunt to be a very military-friendly company, simply because she feels like her team always has her back when she’s been called to active duty. During her deployments overseas, she received emails and care packages from her J.B. Hunt team that really made her feel valued. When she returned from the Middle East, her managers provided incredible support in helping her ease back into her civilian role.
“About two weeks into being home, I was getting bored sitting at home, so I called up the office and I talked to the manager,” said Jan. “I’m like, ‘hey, I’m ready to come back to work.’ He worked with me to give me a startup schedule. I was only coming in every other day for the first week, just to get my feet wet again, and he had absolutely no issue with me doing that. In fact, he was the one that promoted it just so I could get back into the groove of things.”
In general, she appreciates the many ways the company supports and recognizes employees with a military background. From J.B. Hunt’s Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG), to allowing her to organize Veterans Day events, Jan is grateful for the commitment J.B. Hunt makes to supporting the military.
“J.B. Hunt, they hands down take care of veterans, take care of military people in general with VERG,” said Jan. “I also was the presenter for Wreaths Across America, the key exchange, twice. It just makes me proud. I even received a coin from J.B. Hunt, one of the veterans’ coins. I’ve earned quite a few in my military career, but it’s probably one of my favorites.”
Start Your Civilian Career with J.B. Hunt
“There are quite a few military occupational specialties that would fit into the J.B. Hunt culture,” shared Jan. “Anyone that deals with logistics, anyone that deals with supply, anyone that was a mechanic on any sort of equipment, or even working with personnel, there are so many career skills passed in the military that can easily be moved into J.B. Hunt.”
If you’re looking to work for a military friendly employer, search jobs to join our team.