It’s no secret that trying to find a job as a military spouse isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Then again, in the current economy it’s not exactly a cake walk for anyone to get hired.
College degrees (see these STEM colleges for women) no long help guarantee job placement after graduation. Companies are downsizing on personnel as technology steps up to replace jobs. And some of the biggest successes in the news are CEO’s like Mark Zuckerberg (a guy famous for quitting college when he came up with a bright idea that made him billions.)
When you start to think about things that way it’s a bit hard to see statistics that say that as high as 80% of military spouses feel like they can’t get hired because of their status as military spouses. It makes me wonder if there is more to it than just being military affiliated. Especially since in the past few years so many companies have made a pledge to be veteran and spouse friendly. Could the problem be qualifications?
That maybe they aren’t applying for the right jobs? That they aren’t going into interviews as prepared as their non-military affiliated counterparts? If that’s the case it might be time to look at the problem in a different light. At the 2016 Military Spouse Town Hall event Susan Reynolds said something that really stuck with me: The first part of finding a solution to a problem is to figure out what the problem really is. For military spouses that are having trouble finding employment the following tips might help ease a little of the frustration and narrow down where the problem really is.
1. Research the S*** out of Military Friendly Companies
It’s imperative that you know what you’re applying for. Research the company and find out if the company you are interested in is considered a Military Friendly Employer. You are going to have a much easier time finding a job that understands the military life when they already identify as Military Friendly. Companies like Starbucks and Capital One have programs in place to make sure that military families don’t have to give up their jobs every time new orders pop up.
Use this knowledge to your advantage and search for the companies that really want you to be a part of their community. Some of these companies actually look for veterans and military spouses to identify themselves so don’t let your fear of being turned away stop you from being honest. It might actually be the thing that gets you hired over another candidate.