Commonly Overlooked Employment Advice for Milspouses
One of the chief concerns of a milspouse facing a PCS is finding employment. The list of priorities is as follows:
- Where will I live?
- Where will my kids go to school?
- How do I get to the grocery store?
- Where will I work?
Okay, so you might flop those last two questions, but food is of the utmost importance in my household (can I get an amen?).
If you have spent more than .05 seconds looking for a job, then you know the importance of a well-constructed resume and interview skills. You know that simply submitting an application isn’t enough to land your dream job. You know to give your potential employer time to review your application and resume, but not too much time, before you call to check in.
I’m not here to give you this kind of advice. I’m here to chat through another dimension of searching for employment.
The often overlooked piece of valuable advice that I received while job hunting was super simple: “Get out and meet people. It doesn’t matter who you meet. Just meet people.”
Seriously, so easy!
Fancy schmancy business courses will call this “networking.” Admittedly, there is more finesse to the idea of networking than to “just meet people,” but the principle remains the same. The reality of our job market is that employment is not easy to come by. We’re in competition with dozens of applicants for the same position, and any advantage is helpful.
The military truly is a small world. Super small. Like, scary small. You never know which of the people you meet runs the business team you are dying to join. You never know who is best friends with the director of the non-profit organization you have admired for 10 years.
Here’s some bonus advice—volunteer somewhere.
Working alongside people in the field you hope to join brings not only a sense of camaraderie, but it also allows your potential employers to see your passion for the work. What better way to help an employer imagine you working in a position than by actually serving in a volunteer capacity?
And, let’s talk about the flip side of this coin. Do you have a friend looking for a job? Do you also know someone looking to hire an employee with your friend’s skills? Connect them! Support the efforts of your fellow military spouse’s job search. She may one day be able to return the favor.
So, there you have it—the simplest piece of advice you could imagine on the topic of landing your dream job at a new duty station.
Has this method worked for you in the past? I’d love to hear about it!
