Behind the Wings: Recruiting top talent for the military and beyond

Twenty-year military veteran and Piedmont Recruiter Rob Taylor knows firsthand the challenges that military members face when seeking employment in the civilian world. When he separated from the military, working for an organization that supports hiring veterans was important to him. As a corporate recruiter, he leans on his previous recruiting experience in the military to find top talent and takes pride in helping people reach the next step in their career.

“Not all organizations support veteran hiring and understand the world where military members come from,” shares Rob. “Working for Piedmont has shown me that the company values contributions from military veterans.” Rob reflects that members of the military often have increased knowledge in different work areas. “In the military, you don’t just have one job, you have multiple different jobs throughout your career and with each job, knowledge is gained. So many of these skills aren’t shown on a resume.”

Originally from Bakersfield, California, Rob joined the Air Force after graduating high school with aspirations to work in law enforcement. He was based in Abilene, Texas and deployed to Yemen after the bombing of the USS Cole. Prior to 9/11, he deployed to Saudi Arabia, Africa, Greenland and Turkey. After the events of 9/11, Rob served with a team in New York City to provide security support and later deployed to Kuwait where he was part of one of the first Army units leading the invasion into Iraq. The unit took over Baghdad International Airport and set up a base there for one year. After returning from the Middle East, Rob returned to Abilene to focus on criminal investigations.  After a decade, Rob became an active-duty recruiter. “I was responsible for recruiting cooks, law enforcement personnel, fitness instructors, maintenance technicians and everything in between,” shares Rob. Within a year, he excelled quickly and began recruiting pilots and flight attendants for Air Force One and Air Force Two before being promoted to recruiting manager. After twenty years of service, Rob retired from the Air Force.

Rob was not familiar with Piedmont Airlines when he saw the company was hiring for a recruiter and discussed the opportunity with two of Piedmont’s Talent Acquisition Managers. He researched the regional airline and read online reviews and what he saw was positive.  The culture and working environment seemed like a great fit for him. He was nervous re-entering the civilian workforce, but Rob says that joining a company like Piedmont who understands what veterans bring to the table and openly welcomes those who have served, made it easy. He joined as a recruiter in February 2022.

No two days are alike for Rob, and he credits his learning of how to adapt to different situations from the military. As a recruiter, he travels all over the country attending career fairs seeking top talent for Piedmont. He also reaches out to military bases and organizations to share the opportunities that Piedmont offers and speaks from his own experience.

In his spare time, Rob manages his twin boys’ baseball team and sits on the Board of Directors for his local Little League. He also serves as a Scout Master for Boy Scouts and is a member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Wounded Warriors.

Interested in working for an airline with top notch team members who live out our mission and vision every day? Click here to view our current openings.

Behind the Wings is a Piedmont feature that highlights the accomplishments of the aviation professionals who make us Piedmont Proud inside and outside the airport. Throughout the month of November, Piedmont is proud to recognize our military veteran team members and their families who contribute to the success of the airline and make a difference in their communities.