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Employment for Vets: Why Salesforce Champions Military Talent

Happy army soldier and his wife communicating with African American healthcare worker while having consultations at the clinic.

Some skills are hard to teach in a classroom. Leading a team through change is one. Making a call with incomplete information is another. Staying focused on the mission when things get hard may be the toughest. Veterans have already built these skills under pressure, and Salesforce is investing in employment for vets for that very reason.

Why Salesforce chooses to hire military talent

Veterans bring leadership, adaptability, and resilience. Those traits carry directly into how Salesforce serves customers and grows its business.

As Bobby McDonald, AVP, Sales, puts it:

Military talent is a win for Salesforce because veterans bring leadership, adaptability, and resilience that you can’t easily teach. They’re used to making decisions with incomplete information, leading teams through change, and staying mission-focused when things get hard. That mindset translates directly to how we serve our customers and grow our business.

Bobby McDonald, AVP, Sales

Veteran jobs that fit: customer-facing sales roles

The military trains people to work in situations that are new and unclear. That experience fits customer-facing work at Salesforce, where every account and every problem is different. As Travis Bautista, Named Account Executive, explains:

The military teaches you to step into unfamiliar and ambiguous situations, learn quickly, build trust across different teams, and take ownership of the outcome. Those skills translate incredibly well to Salesforce, especially in a customer-facing role where every account and problem is different. The Military Fellowship Program gives veterans the opportunity to prove that those experiences aren’t just transferable to tech, they can be a real advantage.

Travis Bautista, Named Account Executive

Want more stories like this? Read how veteran mindsets drive top performance in Salesforce sales.

Employment for vets: how the Military Fellowship Program works

Strong traits don’t always carry into a new industry on their own. The Military Fellowship Program helps close that gap. It gives veterans access, hands-on experience, and a way to show how their military strengths apply to the work here.

The Salesforce Military Fellows program is a 12-week, hands-on experience. Fellows are placed with hiring teams that have headcount and intent to hire, though conversion to a full-time role isn’t guaranteed. Transitioning service members take part through the Department of War’s SkillBridge program, which offers industry training, apprenticeships, or internships during the last 180 days of military service. Veterans and military spouses can join through Hiring Our Heroes.

Megan Mullin, Manager, Sales, has been a longtime supporter of the program. Megan sees how it helps fellows connect their experience to the sales motion:

The access that these individuals have from the fellowship is a direct way to better translate the strong suits from their military careers into direct sales and selling motion. Those that use the fellowship program to their benefit perform in initiative seeking projects that result in direct examples when interviewing for a role where it becomes table stake requirements.

Megan Mullin, Manager, Sales

Fellows leave with concrete examples of their impact. Those examples matter when they interview for roles where selling skills are a baseline requirement. For a fellow’s perspective, read how one Navy veteran moved from the fellowship into a sales role.

What companies that hire veterans gain over time

Managers see the payoff over time. Megan has managed several fellows and points to the lasting value they bring:

I have had the pleasure managing a couple of folks throughout my tenure here and appreciate the resiliency that cannot be taught, the perspective that alters how we continue to innovate at this company, and am uniquely proud to see success for many years to come with these folks.

Megan Mullin, Manager, Sales

Fellows bring resilience, plus a different perspective that changes how teams think and innovate.

Why hire vets? It’s a bet on proven leaders

Hiring veterans is a bet on proven leaders who adapt quickly and stay committed to the mission. The Military Fellowship Program makes that bet work by giving veterans a bridge into Salesforce, and teams are stronger for it. As Megan says: “Thank you to the program for bridging the gap!”

Ready to find veteran jobs at Salesforce?

Salesforce Military offers free, self-paced training for veterans, service members, and military spouses. Salesforce also recently launched the Missionforce Military Fellowship for transitioning service members. It isn’t the only employer investing here. Other companies, including Capital One and USAA, run their own veteran programs. For advice from veterans who made the jump, see Built In Boston’s profiles of veterans in tech.

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Cori Lanigan

Cori Lanigan is a marketing professional with a focus on clear communication, creative problem-solving, and thoughtful storytelling. She brings experience in campaign planning, content development, and audience engagement, with a practical approach to building meaningful connections through Read More

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