In this episode of the Honeit recruiting podcast, we speak with Aspen Whitlock and Drew McDanald from Tango Alpha 3 – a veteran recruiting firm based in Tennessee and Texas. Aspen and Drew share tips and best practices for connecting veterans to employers post-deployment. Tango Alpha focuses on technical roles with secret and top secret security clearances and bridging the gap, helping veterans transition to jobs in the private sector.
About Tango Alpha 3:
- Originated as NorCal Staffing Group and rebranded to Tango Alpha 3 to reflect their focus on veterans, talent acquisition (Tango Alpha), and the three pillars of people, process, and technology.
- A Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB).
- Specializes in IT infrastructure staffing for federal contracts, leveraging veterans with security clearances.
Veteran Recruiting Niche:
- Veterans often have the certifications, clearances, and willingness to relocate to support global IT sustainment and transformation programs.
- They’ve carved out a specialty in translating military job experience into civilian I.T. roles, overcoming a major disconnect many employers face.
Challenges Solved with Honeit:
- Recruiting veterans involves a double translation layer:
- Military experience to civilian job functions.
- Technical language for hiring managers comprehension.
- Honeit helps by capturing voice-based interview insights directly from candidates, so hiring managers can hear skills and stories firsthand.
- This improves trust, reduces candidate falloff, and accelerates feedback loops.
Benefits They’ve Seen Using Honeit:
- Speeds up submissions and decisions with audio highlights that hiring managers prefer over resumes.
- Improves internal collaboration — recruiters can sanity check candidate recordings instead of duplicate calls.
- Enables training new recruiters with structured call guides and playback.
- Acts as a business development tool by providing more transparent, authentic candidate presentations to new clients.
Veteran Transition Programs:
- Tango Alpha 3 begins engaging transitioning service members 6–12 months before separation.
- They guide veterans on certifications to pursue and prepare them for future roles.
- Early engagement improves placement success and flexibility around location.