Miranda Jones: PenFed’s Ranking Recruiter

PenFed Credit Union Military Recruiting Lead Miranda Jones knows military life.

Not only does the Williamsburg, Va., native come from a long line of soldiers, she was one. After joining the Army when she was just 17, Jones spent six years in the military, which sent her everywhere from Texas, North Carolina, Missouri and Virginia to South Korea, Germany, Kosovo and Iraq.

Like many soldiers, Jones decided she wanted to try civilian life. And like many soldiers who have left the military, she had a few “what now” moments when it came to finding a new job.

As uncomfortable as those moments may have been, they helped fuel Jones’ rise at PenFed ($24.8 billion in assets, McLean, Va.). Today she works on a team of military employment programs, where she’s on the front lines of recruiting and networking with military-affiliated job seekers.

In a Q&A session with CU Times, Jones shared her story, what she’s learned about recruiting and tips for what other credit unions can do to attract top talent.

CU Times: What’s it like for soldiers who are looking for civilian jobs for the first time?

Jones: It’s exciting, but it’s a bit scary. We’re faced with a few different barriers; they’re experiential barriers, they’re industry barriers, as well as sometimes educational barriers, and I experienced all of those. I was going from the military service to public education. I didn’t have a completed degree at the time, and I was starting as an entry-level individual, which respectfully, I had had six and seven years of experience already. So again, I was grateful for the opportunity, and I was excited for it.

Here we are in 2020, and so many of the service members and military spouses – they’re still going through those same challenges, which is another thing that I love about being on PenFed’s military employment team. I know exactly where these folks have been, and I feel like it just adds a little something extra special when I’m able to network and support and lead the transitioning military community.

CU Times: How many people would you say you’ve brought into PenFed?

Jones: I would say that probably at least 10 people a month I am directly speaking to or coaching through the job process of interviewing and application.

CU Times: What are one or two ways recruiting efforts have improved at PenFed, and what do you still want to accomplish there?

Jones: Well, by growing our team with adding me to it, we’ve essentially been able to double our efforts, attend twice as many events, and be at twice as many meetings or program launches. We’re very affiliated with the military employment initiative community, whether that’s on bases or at the chambers of commerce. We’re highly involved and we’re going to continue to grow that as well.

CU Times: A lot of credit unions want to hire great talent, but recruiting seems like a lot of trial and error – you have to meet a lot of people before you find a qualified candidate. What do you do to find qualified candidates quickly?

Jones: I have conversations with them. I don’t rely heavily on a written resume. I like to have this conversation either face-to-face or over the phone. You get a really great idea of what their personality is, what drives them and what their motivation is, as well as review their experience, abilities and education. But it’s about getting to the root of who that person is and what they want to do, and how they might benefit an organization like PenFed.

I do start out every conversation, with respect to service members who are retiring after 20 years, letting them know [about] my transition after six years. I want them to know that I understand them. I can empathize and sympathize, and I am going to keep it real, and I’m going to keep it honest when I speak to them, and I expect that they do the same. That’s my opening speech, because I want it to be a really open and transparent discussion.

CU Times: How do you persuade folks to consider working for a credit union when they have other options?

Jones: What can attract folks to PenFed is our service orientation and our mission. And that that goes beyond the boardroom, of course. That is working with colleagues who understand you and support you, and respect the whole of the employee. So they’re not just worried about you from eight to four or nine to five.

PenFed has a lot of wellness programs and mindfulness programs. We have a gym facility. We are encouraged to take walks and have collaborative meetings instead of just answering emails. I think one of the things PenFed can do to attract top talent with respect to the overall competition is that this is not just a job. This is not just your income. How is working for an organization such as ours going to overall promote that work-life balance? And that is something I understand entirely because in the military, the operational tempo is so high that there’s not a ton of balance. You might be eating dinner at seven o’clock at night with your family, but you don’t know when that phone call is going to happen. And I think that making work-life harmony possible to transitioning service members and their families – that is something PenFed as a military-friendly organization can do.

CU Times: How do you manage the stress of work and schedules, as all workers must?

Jones: I pride myself in being quite a stress-free person. Part of that is my upbringing; part of that is my military experience. I believe that organization and time management really promote minimal stress.

CU Times: Do you have any personal goals for 2020?

Jones: I think it would be fantastic to run a half-marathon or two, not a full. Also, I’m increasing my education. I am working with the Onward to Opportunity program. It’s a program that is for military spouses and veterans, and it provides training. In my case, it’s going to be for a professional human resources certificate. I’ll test for that in June, and that’s just to increase my overall HR knowledge.

CU Times: If we were to look in your office right now, what would we be surprised to find?

Jones: A few weeks ago you would’ve found a dog, because my colleague was one of six “puppy raisers” for Canine Companions for Independence. And because we had a dog in the office, I still have a lint roller out in the open – just broadly available for anybody to use.

CU Times: What do you say to other 17-year-olds now who are thinking about joining the military when a lot of society is saying do something else?

Jones: Well, it’s interesting, I just listened to an interview that my grandfather did 10 years ago regarding his service in the war, and the interviewer asked him the same question: What would you tell a 17-year-old or 18-year-old who is looking into the military? So I’m going to take a direct quote from him and say, look at your life in four years. If you don’t see your life in four years, join the military. You really have nothing to lose. And I think it’s exactly why I joined after all.