NMSN Magazine Spring 2023

Sue Hoppin

President’s Letter

When we talk about the changing nature of work, we can’t discount the work that military spouses are doing on many different fronts to ensure that our community can keep pace with our civilian peers. Military spouses are invested and we’re driving the change. Advocacy within our community has increased significantly.

Just within our own NMSN community, we have addressed issues such as expanding DETOs (Domestic Employee Teleworking Overseas agreements), transition resources for military spouses, entrepreneurship, achieving employment readiness, removing gender/access barriers and advocacy (just to name a few….). We just completed our annual Day of Advocacy and, as always, I am awed by the dedication of the military spouses who joined us to advocate on behalf of our entire community. This handful of volunteers takes on the responsibility of taking our stories directly to legislators and sharing exactly why change is needed before sharing common sense solutions that would move the needle on military spouse employment. It was both fun and inspiring to spend time with them, hearing them share their stories and answering questions from interested members and staffers. Watching advocacy in action never gets old.

But advocacy alone won’t solve our problems. Cracking the code on the military spouse unemployment rate won’t be easy because we know there is no “onesize-fits-all” solution. It will require collaborative analysis of meaningful data, strategic programmatic planning and design thinking innovation. It will call on us to challenge and evolve, not only policies and perspectives but the lexicon we use within the military culture.

While we all bring different viewpoints and experiences to the conversation, it’s important to keep an open mind. Our contributors this month caution us against speaking on military spouse employment issues as if our community is a monolith. We need to allow for different ages, lived experiences and priorities to guide the conversations that impact their lives. For some that might mean an increased focus on improving access to affordable child care, while for others it might be striving to find the elusive work/life balance.

NMSN has evolved over the years, but one thing has been constant, talented military spouses. We know the importance of bringing our military spouse thought leaders together to inform the conversations that lead to top-level change. The future of work is changing right in front of us, and military spouses are proactively embracing this change. We are hopeful that the policies and systems that support them will keep pace.

Founder & President

National Military Spouse Network

FINDING MEANING(FUL EMPLOYMENT) AS A MILITARY SPOUSE

BY JENNIFER BARNHILL, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF NMSN’S CAREER CONNECTIONS

Whether we embrace the label of “military spouse” or run from it, military spouses are shaped in many ways by their spouse’s job. We move a lot. We pivot to new careers, doctors, homes and ideas on a routine basis. We have to reinvent ourselves on a continuous loop, so it is no wonder we are preoccupied with finding “meaningful” employment. But is this just another way military spouses are searching for meaning and belonging in a lifestyle that asks us to constantly come second?

In other words, if they are worried about the Homefront they won’t be ready to fight on other fronts. Similarly a military spouse with an unmet basic need may take a job that is below their skill level to put food on the table. If your job doesn’t pay you enough you are going to be worried about eating tomorrow, not if the job brings you personal fulfillment. We do what we must to survive.

We know that military spouse employment has remained statistically unchanged for over a decade, despite robust efforts to correct it. Alongside this unemployment, we have also seen military family food insecurity skyrocket. While one could argue that food insecurity has always been a problem and that people are only now feeling better about coming forward with their needs, I call B.S.

There is an idea created by Abraham Maslow in 1943 called the “hierarchy of needs”. It is often represented in a pyramid diagram and sectioned off like the food pyramid, with the things we are supposed to have on the bottom. And the bottom of both pyramids are quite literally filled with fruits and vegetables, the things that fuel our bodies and keep us alive. Maslow’s idea is people seek to satisfy basic necessities (food, housing, basic stability, etc.) before moving on to needs related to self-esteem or self-actualization. A service member who has an unmet financial need may prioritize their need for job and economic security above the ethical obligation to serve their country.

Military spouse employment is seen as a luxury. But increasingly two incomes are required to live in high cost areas of our country, where many military families find themselves. This does not even consider how two incomes prepare a military family for retirement from both the military and their careers. Yet the way the DoD financially prioritizes military spouse employment efforts makes it seem like having a career is a spouse’s way of achieving a higher level of meaning and fulfillment. But the reality is military families are just trying to build the base of their pyramid.

Are Military Spouses Drawn to Meaningful Careers?

In 2019 I was working in project management, making money that was 100% gobbled up by child care costs. I was not fulfilled in my career, but was fulfilled in that I was using my brain and proving to myself and others that I was more than a mommy or a military spouse. Not everyone needs to feel this way, but I did.

And one day I observed a problem within my military spouse group that I set out to solve. I was tempted to establish a nonprofit, but quickly learned that military family nonprofits are like hydras. In this case, pursuing the goal of forming a new nonprofit would have actually contributed to the underlying problem I was trying to solve, the professionalization of military spouse volunteerism.

I wanted to dig deeper so I started reporting on the military family community. So many established organizations had been founded by military spouses who, like me, saw a problem and wanted to fix it. They observed programming and service gaps and wanted to close them. For many I spoke to, they were in a position to help because the military lifestyle had already disrupted their careers.

Although I did not research how many of these advocates were from more senior ranking military families, I would suspect that they are. American volunteerism has a long history with the aristocracy because time is money. And volunteering is a luxury not afforded to those who are struggling to build the bottom of their pyramid.

Redefining a “Meaningful” Career

My family is lucky we have lived in the same location since December 2018. And in this time I have been allowed to grow in my career without disruption. (Although I still have a day job that pays the bills.) We have not had to refurnish a new house, put down new rental deposits after losing

them in the last location, or pay to ship a car across the country. And our children are able to stay in one school without having to make new friends at the lunch table after a move. We are living what I assume to be something resembling a civilian life for this short time. But we are going to move in a year and I know, there will be costs.

For many military spouses, working is not a luxury. It is a necessity for both our financial and mental health. While some of us are drawn to stereotypically “meaningful” jobs where we serve others, I personally think we are simply trying to find meaning within a lifestyle that constantly threatens our ability to climb the pyramid.

Certainly landing a “meaningful” job or career is always preferable to accepting a job that pays the bills, but that is not always possible. We need to move away from talking about meaningful employment as a pathway to achieving higher levels of fulfillment.

Jennifer Barnhill is a freelance writer with a focus on military family advocacy, Navy spouse and mother of three. Her reporting has been featured in Military.com , The War Horse, We Are the Mighty, Military Spouse Magazine, Military Families Magazine and TheMilitaryWallet.com . She is the Lead Researcher of Partners in PROMISE and serves on both the National Military Spouse Network Day of Advocacy and The League of Wives Memorial Project Committees

How Do Different Generations of Mil Spouses Define a Successful Career?

BY JANET FARLEY, ED.M.

Career success.

We all want it, but what exactly does that look like? Does the answer vary between generations in the workforce?

What are the pain points felt by spouses as they reach for it?

Four military spouses belonging to three different generations share their workforce experiences with us as we seek the answers.

Millennials

Rhea Gayle Lewis , 27, has a clear idea of what career success means to her.

“For me, it means financial security,” said Lewis, a young millennial, very nearly in Gen-Z and Army spouse since she was 20 years old. Throughout her family’s relocations, Lewis has worked where she could, when she could, while working on her college degree.

“In Korea, I was hired to work as a Child and Youth Services (CYS) program assistant, but then the pandemic happened right after I was hired, and my hours were cut,” said Lewis. “When I did work, I didn’t get to be with the age group I had been hired to work with.”

Like other millennials, Lewis seeks meaning in her career and she tends to be results-oriented, having crafted a definite plan for her future but not before reevaluating her career choices against the military lifestyle.

“I originally wanted to be an interior designer, but I didn’t think I could easily find employment through all our military moves in that career field,” said Lewis. Like many military spouses before her, she proactively sought a more flexible career path. “I know I can make a good salary and hopefully find steady work as an accountant.”

“After my husband transitions out of the military, in another 10-12 years or so, I want to open my own accounting business back home in Hawaii,” she said. “We’re going to need to have enough money to really do that by then. Hawaii is an expensive place to live.”

Lewis is well on her way to realizing her goals. She expects to graduate from the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in May of 2023 and become a certified public accountant (CPA) within the next year. But it wasn’t easy to get to this point. She had to transfer college credits from Kansas to Korea and then to Colorado. It was long and challenging. And some credits didn’t transfer along the way, costing her family time and money.

“I need to complete two more classes before I am eligible to take the CPA exam and I’m not sure when I can take them,” said Lewis. “We’re moving again this summer.”

Rhea Gayle Lewis

“Elder” Millennials

Aerielle Ludwig , 39 is an Army spouse, wellestablished in her education and career development profession, and has two young children. She jokingly refers to herself as an elder millennial, in a nod to comedian lliza Shlesinger, who famously coined the term.

She doesn’t hesitate to explain her vision of career success.

“It means being in a role I am happy in and being compensated to a degree where I could fully support myself if I had to,” said Ludwig. Ludwig recently re-entered the federal workforce as an Education Services Specialist, GS-11, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington after working from home as a job coach and resume writer for the past six years.

“Working from home was just what I had to do with two younger children, the high cost of child care and my husband’s work schedule,” said Ludwig. “Ironically, I’ve been hired into the exact same position I was forced out of ten years ago because we had to PCS to Germany. When I think of how much retirement savings I have lost over these past ten years, it makes me physically sick.”

Loss of long-term income isn’t the only thing Ludwig has issues with, either.

“I see the support that civilian spouses have the ability to give each other and I wish I had that as a military spouse,” said Ludwig. “In the mornings, one parent will drop the kids off, and

in the afternoon, the other one will pick them up. I know that because I am there both times. I do it all because my spouse is either deployed or working.”

One thing both millennials have in common is their desire to find “meaningful” work. They each place great value on their work performance. One difference is that “elder” millennials have had to learn and evolve with emerging technology while younger millennials did not. On that note, their experiences are quite different despite being from the same generation.

Gen-X

Angela O’Hanlon , 46, is a Gen X’er and has been an Army spouse for 25 years, getting married at 21. Like many military spouses, her career is an eclectic one. Like many Gen Xers, she has high personal standards for her professional life.

“I want to enjoy what I do. I want to wake up and want to go to work,” said O’Hanlon. “When I was younger it was all about the money. I could put up with the B.S. then. At this point in my life, my energy is spent differently,” she said.

For 13 years, she was a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) and volunteered extensively within the military community. She credits volunteerism with keeping her skills and resume up-to-date.

When she decided to return to full-time paid work, networking paid off and she was easily hired as a federal investigator. She kept that job for four years, throughout three PCS moves. O’Hanlon also worked as a substitute teacher. Now, she is a nurse recruiter for a small employment agency and her views on career success have evolved over time.

At work, she refers to herself as the grandma in the room. Aerielle Ludwig

Angela O’Hanlon

“I work with a bunch of 20-year-olds. My boss and the owner of the business are more my age, and we have a very different mindset from the younger ones,” said O’Hanlon. “I keep an open mind, though. I listen and I learn from them and their points of view.”

And like many other Gen-Xers—and military spouses—O’Hanlon is good at adapting to an ever-changing environment and the points of view that come along with it. “There is no judgment around anyone’s age in our office. Everyone brings something new to the table,” said O’Hanlon. For now, O’Hanlon calls her career successful. She loves her job and her colleagues of all ages. “I’m going to cry when I have to leave this job,” she said.

Gen-Z

Jaia Barrett, the youngest of those interviewed, is 25 years old and considered an "elder" member of Gen Z who married her service member spouse when she was 21. She is currently unemployed and lives in Tennessee with her parents while her spouse of four years is deployed.

Gen Zers, 25 years and younger, are the digital natives among us. They are often characterized as being highly adaptive to change, in search of job security and like flexibility, clear directions and transparency.

Barrett’s idea of a successful career aligns with much of that.

“My number one idea of career success is a livable wage. I also want a healthy work culture, someplace where I’m happy to be, and where I’m valued as an employee,” Barrett said.

“Stability would be nice,” she added, almost wistfully. So far in her young mil spouse life, Barrett hasn’t found any of those things.

“I feel like the Army ruined my career. I didn’t Google ‘Will marrying this man make me unemployable?’ I probably should have,” she said.

Before PCSing to Colorado, Barrett attended a college in Texas, studied economics and worked for a large chain grocery store as a service lead manager, earning $60K per year. In anticipation of her first PCS move, she began proactively interviewing for jobs.

“I interviewed with one ‘military-friendly’ global financial services firm and it was going well for a while. The employer, however, started running me around my resume and kept asking me why I wanted to move to Colorado,” she said.

“I finally confessed to being a military spouse and that was it. It was like the interview immediately ended and he changed the topic of the conversation to how beautiful the local zoo was instead. It was demoralizing,” said Barrett.

“I would love to know what being a ‘military spouse-friendly’ employer actually means,” said Barrett who seems to have drawn a proverbial line in the sand. Barrett was eventually hired in a corporate management position in a different company but found the work environment to be toxic and left.

Obstacles to Career Success Across Generations

Not so long ago, resources to assist military spouses in finding meaningful employment were scarce. Today, that just isn’t the case.

In fact, there are so many resources available today from the DoD, private industry and non-profit

organizations, that many spouses report being overwhelmed with all the choices and are uncertain of where to seek assistance as a result. But an excess of resources is not the only frequently noted pain point. Others include:

• “military-friendly” hiring efforts do not always translate to “military-friendly” employment

• lack of consistency between the services in the use of federal hiring preferences and authorities

• outdated services or limited job search classes offered by some installation employment readiness programs

• lack of spouse outreach to attend transition assistance workshops

• employer assumptions that spouses have lower education and experience levels

• poor customer service and/or lack of followthrough around assistance

• insufficient study materials to prepare for an industry certification

• unlivable wages in the community

• lack of affordable/available child care

Still, having too many less-than-perfect options is a massive improvement over having none at all.

Spouses, however, would be well advised to carefully research programs and initiatives, particularly those offered outside of the DoD, to ensure they are providing quality, results-focused assistance before using them.

Answered Questions

To revisit and answer the questions we started with….

Career success looks different to everyone. It may even look different to the same person at different stages of their own life. It can also vary between generations in the workforce and even within the same generation.

Pain points felt by military spouses on their journey to achieving career success may also vary. Some of them are way too familiar such as the affordability and availability of child care, low wages and rampant underemployment. New pain points have

emerged with newer efforts such as the doubt around the true intentions of some so-called military-friendly employers.

Based on the lived experiences of these four military spouses, career disruptions can be organizationally systemic in nature or they could just be the result of someone having a bad day in the universe.

Success is most often found in the moments that follow these disruptions.

Farley, Ed.M. is an NMSN Employment Expert, a lecturer at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs and a career coach. Connect with her at www.linkedIn.com/in/ janetfarley

Janet

Seasonal Style Brief

24/7 DRESSING

Workwear is not specifically just for the office anymore. It has morphed and is now acceptable and functional, being worn to brunch or to concerts. This means that a short sleeve sweater can go from the conference room to happy hour. This allows us to stretch our wallets further as well as get more wear out of pieces. The simplest way to do this is to elevate basic essential pieces such as buttondown tops, tanks, dresses and blazers.

COASTAL GRANDMOTHER

To recreate this core fashion trend you do not need to have grandchildren! It is an all-ages vibe. The aesthetic is best described as more of a lifestyle. Picture yourself on the beach in spring reading the latest beach bestseller and finding the joy of stolen quiet moments. You are at a luxurious coastal property wearing loose breathable fabrics in muted shades.

BUSINESS & COMFORT

The goal here for the warmer months is to dress with refinement and polish incorporating easy care and wear styles like wrinklefree blouses and pants. Modernize with untraditional bright colors to inspire cheerfulness within a traditional structured silhouette. Choose pieces that are in a soft knit with stretch as opposed to the former fussy and more formal lace, silk and unbreathable fabrics.

RESORT READY

According to Forbes, 80% of adult Americans vacation in the summer months . Begin your packing list this summer with the Coastal Grandmother aesthetic that incorporates resort wear. Big investments include one-and-done linen jumpsuits and dresses. A dark wide-leg palazzo pant and an everyday tank top are great foundational pieces for a daytime outfit that transitions into the night. Grab a straw bag and wedge sandals (these are as sophisticated with a pant as they are with chino shorts) and you're resort ready, even if you're at home.

TONAL TUNING

Monochromatic looks are as chic as they are easy to put together for spring and summer. To appear an expert, stay in the same color hue (solid color) using various shades and tones. Add interest with texture and accessories. Stick with seasonal lighter shades and solid block colors (easy on prints).

WANT A CHALLENGE?

Want a challenge? Pick a color and head to your closet. Then find a top, bottom and shoe in your chosen color using various tones, tints and shades (darker and lighter versions of the same color). For even more of a challenge, add a necklace, belt or hat in the color family. For instance, try a fuchsia top & red bottoms or lavender top & navy bottoms!

Erin Hodgkinson is a vCommerce fashion stylist for HSN. She dresses the hosts and models on the live show.

Workforce Changes – The Great Recalibration and Its Impact on You

BY JJ MONTANARO, CFP®

Change is constant. That’s always been the case, but in recent years, spurred by the pandemic, career paths, organizational structures, expectations and even the thinking around the physical location of work have all been transforming at a rapid-fire pace. The most recent trend sees employers pushing for employees to return to the office. With all that is in flux, it seems like a good time to step back and focus on a few fundamental, and evergreen, money considerations related to selecting your next job, career or career path. Here are five:

• Work generates money, and money, opportunities. The money part may seem obvious since work is the engine that provides everything from food, clothing and shelter, to education, vacations and even our ability to support worthy causes. However, it’s not just the money. Workplace benefits like life and health insurance, disability coverage, spending accounts, paid time off and more tailored benefits, like adoption and fertility treatments, vary by employer. So, beyond just money, evaluate the entire total rewards package a particular opportunity offers.

• Work impacts both sides of the budget. Earlier this year, my team returned to the office for a very old school five days a week. This got me thinking (and feeling!) how the expenses associated with work could be a very real factor in your next work-related decision. For me, transportation (more gas), auto insurance (more miles) and even food expenditures (fewer lean cuisines) have all risen as I’ve shifted back to the office. I don’t spend a lot on haircuts, but I could see how personal care, dry cleaning and similar expenses could fluctuate depending on the type of position you are evaluating. All that, and child care to boot – make sure you count all the costs.

• Work allows you to prep for your financial future. At some point, most of us will leave the workforce. And even if it’s not our choice, it may be a necessity. Leveraging 401(k), 403(b) and other employer-provided retirement plans can help position you for that next phase of life. And unlike in the military, these types of plans may vary significantly from employer to employer. Do you have a retirement plan? What are the eligibility rules? Is there a match or profit-sharing program? Questions like these can help you differentiate opportunities.

• Work can help with the pivot to civilian life. Your family will likely make the leap to civilian life decades before you leave the workforce. Having crunched the numbers with a lot of folks facing that challenge, I can say definitively that a military spouse’s employment can be the difference between a struggle and a seamless transition.

• The rules are changing, but challenges remain. Perks for military spouse employers, increased licensure portability and even tax credits for military spouse hiring are all relatively recent developments. That being said, choosing an approach or opportunity that fits your military lifestyle is always an important consideration.

I’ve always been a proponent of focusing one’s efforts on things within your power. Do that, and regardless of how the employment or financial landscape shifts, you will be best positioned to make the most of it.

Joseph “JJ” Montanaro is a financial planner with USAA’s Military Affairs’ Advocacy Group and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional (CFP®). He is a native of Kansas City and graduated from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.Montanaro has more than twenty years of experience as a financial planner. He served in the US Army for six years on active duty and retired as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve. JJ’s financial advice has appeared in numerous outlets including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the New York Times. He writes monthly personal finance columns for Military Spouse Magazine and American Legion Magazine and hosts the USAA Money Drill podcast.

Debunking 3 Military Spouse Employment Myths

BY MARLA BAUTISTA

Myths about military spouse employment are unfortunately too common and need to be debunked to ensure military spouses have the same employment opportunities as their civilian peers. Whether it’s thinking obtaining tenure as a military spouse is impossible; volunteering will not lead to employment; or getting a federal job is easy, there are myths about military spouse employment that just won’t go away and must be addressed. Let’s debunk the three most common myths about military spouse employment, shall we?

Myth #1: Obtaining Tenure as a Military Spouse Is Impossible

Military spouses face unique career challenges due to the frequent relocations required by their partner's job. One way to help mitigate these challenges is to pursue tenure. Tenure is a permanent position that provides employees with lasting job security, typically after a probationary period and protects them from arbitrary dismissal. Tenure can provide employment and economic stability during times of transition and can help military spouses advance in their careers.

Here are some ways military spouses can work toward gaining tenure with their employer:

1. Understand the tenure policies: Tenure policies may vary depending on the industry and the organization. It is important to know the tenure requirements and the probationary period. Employers may also have specific policies related to military spouses, such as granting additional leave or flexible work options.

2. Demonstrate exceptional performance: Military spouses need to show their commitment to the job and make a positive impact on the organization. You can do this by exceeding expectations, taking on additional responsibilities and demonstrating your skills and expertise.

3. Seek out opportunities for professional development: Take advantage of any training, education or certification opportunities offered by your employer. This will help to demonstrate your commitment to the organization and improve your skills and knowledge.

4. Advocate for themselves: Do not be afraid to advocate for yourself and your needs. Communicate with your employer about your unique

challenges, such as frequent relocations and work together to find solutions. Employers may be willing to offer flexible work arrangements or other accommodations to support military spouses.

5. Build strong relationships: Building strong relationships with colleagues and supervisors can be beneficial in gaining tenure. Strong relationships can also provide a support system during times of transition, such as relocation to a new duty station. While tenure is not a possibility for every career path it is not off-limits for military spouses. Creative ways around the traditional hurdles include living geographically separated for a time and requesting a duty station that keeps you in one spot for longer. Understand what compromises you may need to make and create a family plan to see them through.

Myth #2: Volunteering Isn't Legitimate Work Experience

Many military spouses struggle to find stable employment due to frequent moves, lack of employment opportunities in certain areas and other challenges unique to the lifestyle. As a result, many may volunteer

to gain experience, network and even find a paid position. Volunteer work is indeed legitimate work experience and can lead to employment opportunities. Many military spouses have succeeded by pursuing this career avenue.

“I’ve volunteered on nonprofit boards and local nonmilitary organizations, and honestly, I think to transfer a volunteer experience into a paid opportunity successfully, you’ve got to be strategic,” said Kimberly Gold, a housing insecurity advocate, Army spouse and avid volunteer.

“Don’t just jump at every opportunity. Find something that aligns with your professional or personal goals. If you don’t know what your professional goals are yet, visit

a career counselor at your family support center, USO, or employment readiness center. They can help you discover your passion, navigate toward your dream career and find opportunities that will help you be successful.” Gold currently serves as the 2nd Vice president for the Mountain Spouses Club at Fort Carson. Previously she volunteered as a generalist volunteer with the Army Community Service and later obtained a paid position with the company. Gold has successfully turned volunteer opportunities into paid employment on more than one occasion.

Volunteering can be a great way to gain relevant experience in a particular field while building connections with potential employers. Many employers are more likely to consider those who have already done some work in the field and have demonstrated commitment to the cause. Additionally, volunteering can open the door to other professional development opportunities, such as internships. Even if a volunteer position doesn’t immediately turn into a paid position, the connections you make will be beneficial.

Volunteering provides an excellent way to keep skills sharp during unemployment and gives you something positive to add to your resume when applying for paid positions. However, it is important to have a volunteering game plan. How long do you want to take an unpaid position? How will you transition to a paid opportunity? Deciding how to step away is just as important as stepping into a role, even if it is unpaid.

Myth #3: Getting a Federal Job Is Easy

The myth that getting a federal job is easy for military spouses is simply not true. The process can be daunting and tedious for military spouses looking to find employment within the federal government. The first step in applying for a federal job is to create an account on the USAJobs website and upload your resume.

“When completing your resume for a federal employment opportunity, ensure your objective and skills align with the employer's needs,” said Andrea Unzueta, a previous federal employee and current Navy Spouse. Unzueta is no stranger to the federal application process. She worked in a police department where she was required to complete an extensive background, polygraph test, credit check and more to obtain employment. Most recently, Unzueta attended a career fair where she was interviewed and offered tentative employment. This federal employment process began in May of 2022. After months of background screenings, physical examinations and other additional testing she was not able to obtain a medical clearance needed for the position and was notified of nonemployment in October of 2022.

While many of the qualifications and experiences you list may seem relevant to the position you’re applying for, it’s important to note that some positions may require specialized training or knowledge. Generally, only

Army Wife Kimberly Gold

those with a high level of familiarity with these skills will be considered. After submitting your application, you will receive a notification regarding whether you meet the basic eligibility requirements for the position.

It is important to note that military spouse preference does not mean that you will get a chance to explain your resume or make it past this point. If you don’t have the experience you will likely not be considered.

If your application has been accepted, you will likely have to take part in an interview or be

asked to take an assessment. Depending on the position, additional requirements may need to be fulfilled, such as completing a general background check, obtaining a security clearance and providing references. These steps combined can make getting a federal job much more difficult than most military spouses anticipate. Unzueta said the federal employment process could take three months to a year. While the rewards of a federal job can be significant, military spouse employment in the federal sector requires hard work and dedication.

The myths surrounding military spouse employment can deter military spouses from seeking gainful employment. Despite being debunked time and time again, these myths just won’t go away until military spouses equip themselves with knowledge.

Working and gaining tenure as a military spouse is possible, your volunteer experience may in fact lead to a paid employment opportunity and getting a federal job may take longer than you’re willing to wait. As the military community continues to advocate for better employment prospects for military spouses, these myths should be dispelled and replaced with facts about the value that military spouses bring to the workplace. With the right knowledge and resources, military spouses can find flexible employment opportunities, reduce the rate of military spouse unemployment and increase financial security among military families.

Marla Bautista is the author of My

Thoughts

Abandoned and co-author of Brave Women, Strong Faith . She is also a freelance writer, blogger, and speaker. Her passion is giving to people in need. She does so as the co-founder of the Bautista Project Inc, a nonprofit organization providing homeless community members in Tampa, FL.

Navy Wife Andrea Unzueta and her spouse, HT2 Nahum Unzueta

Military Spouse Unemployment Begins with Child Care

BY KAYLA CORBITT

You may have heard the age-old adage, “What came first? The chicken or the egg?” Military life holds many conundrums that follow this double-edged riddle. An example of this is that military families cannot qualify for child care fee assistance unless both parents work/attend school fulltime. The challenge being they cannot afford to work without fee assistance.

“The military systemically relies upon historically gendered traditions to keep the military machine moving forward,” wrote Jennifer Barnhill , writer and advocate in an OpEd for military.com. Accessibility and affordability have been issues in the military community since the beginning of our all-volunteer force. The most extensive gendered tradition is military spouses serve by maintaining the

house and children. Outsourcing responsibilities to alleviate the physical, mental and emotional demands of household duties is possible. Still, it would require a secondary income to cover the costs of outsourcing child care. For many military families, this option feels financially unobtainable.

“I was denied the fee assistance, I need to have 30 hours of paid

work a week, and I only have 29,” said a Navy spouse who contacted Operation Child Care (OCC). She was anticipating being able to finally return to work as a teacher’s aide and was initially approved for fee assistance until it was discovered she was one hour short. Without fee assistance, she reported child care for one child would cost her an entire paycheck.

“In terms of what we found; spouse unemployment has always been sort of the highlight of this survey. We found a 21% spouse unemployment rate, which the good news is it is statistically unchanged back to 2015…” said Dr. Paul Rosenfeld, Director of the Center for Retention and Readiness, regarding the 2021 Active Duty Spouse Survey (ADSS) results when he appeared on The Spouse Angle podcast

Millions of dollars in federal funding have been spent on employment events including hiring fairs, resume workshops and even business-wear fashion shows. All helpful initiatives, but

ones that dance around a core issue, child care.

Military fee assistance has been set up very similarly to that of its civilian counterpart, statesubsidized child care . States have a multitude of eligibility requirements requirements like income, employment, residence and provider stipulations. Once these items are navigated, an applicant is invited to join a waitlist for assistance. However, the military lifestyle is not comparable to civilian life. Military families do not have local support networks, often incur debt with relocation and conduct a complete reset of their lives every few years. Military spouses also are relied upon to pick up the slack during these times of transition, often unpaid. The reliance on military spouses to solve the issues placed upon them while carrying a backpack full of other responsibilities is not sustainable.

COVID-19 has moved child care from an issue faced by some military families to a crisis experienced by all. And yet, child care fee assistance is

not an entitlement for families. Arguments against making this an entitlement point to paying a service member for something the majority do not use. The same could be said of the Basic Allowance for Housing, Clothing Allowance and Basic Allowance for Subsistence. These payments assume the need to care for the service member but do not fully extend to the need to care for the service member’s family.

If we want to fix military spouse employment we need to fix child care. It’s time our child care policies reflected our community.

Kayla Corbitt

is the

Founder of Operation Child Care

Military

and a

Child Care

Advocate.

Kayla works with DoDaffiliated families and advocacy organizations to reduce the burden that the lack of child care access has on the military community. Operation Child Care supports our troops by supporting their families through advocacy, programming and support.

How Healthy is Your Network?

BY CACHET B. PRESCOTT

As a milspouse professional, my network has greatly contributed to my success. Most—if not all–of my career opportunities are due in part to the relationships I have built over time. Each PCS has provided the chance to meet and build connections with new people, extend my reach and explore both known and unknown possibilities.

In taking on more challenges over the years, though, I’ve struggled to find time and space to consistently nurture those valued connections. As I reflect on what I want the future to look like professionally, I’ve asked myself one question: how healthy is your professional network?

Why Networks Matter

No person is an island in the workplace.

No matter what your role is, we all connect with others in some way, shape or form.

From peers to supervisors, direct reports to clients or vendors, each interaction provides the chance to create bonds that enable us to effectively communicate, collaborate, elevate, calibrate, commiserate (yes, we all need a place to vent), innovate, lead, produce and ultimately, create impact in business and work.

For many professionals and executives, though, meeting people isn’t the issue. The real problem lies in their ability to give those relationships the adequate attention they deserve, which differs for each person and situation. With the constant demands of work and life, many find it difficult to find time and space to reconnect, and thus, their professional relationships suffer.

We have to remember that our relationships are an investment, what we put into them will determine what we get in return—and no, I’m not talking about

transactional or tit-for-tat relationships. When we fail to consistently make time for people and only reach out when we want or need something, this can leave a bad taste in their mouths and may sour the relationship.

Make Time for a Network Health Check

As we move through the new year, I encourage you to think about the health of your professional network. Ask yourself the following questions to be more intentional about nurturing and managing professional relationships:

• What’s your value add to your relationships? Maybe you’re an amazing listener, a bridge builder, resource or encourager or you have the gift of helping others connect the dots. Whatever your thing is, think about what you can selflessly give to your connections. Keep in mind that what you give doesn’t have to be grandiose for it to be of value to someone else.

• Who do you rely on for guidance, wisdom and direction? And when was the last time you touched base without an “ask”? Consider what you can do for them to show your continued appreciation for the value they’ve added to your life.

• Who in your current network will play a role in your future professional goals and how strong are each of those relationships? Determine what’s the best approach to strengthen, or maintain, those relationships. If you’re working toward building relationships with weaker ties, keep in mind that you have to allow people to get to know and trust you before they can eventually support and advocate for you—and that takes time.

• With whom would you like to connect? Is there a relationship within your existing network you should take the time to nurture? Can that person provide a warm introduction? Again, think about what value you can add to both your existing connection—the "introducer"—and your intended connection.

• What’s the best approach for you to prioritize (re)connection? How can you start small to build this habit? From blocking off dedicated time in your calendar to scheduling in-person or virtual chats to checking in via LinkedIn, find what works best for you and commit to a reasonable, regular cadence–weekly, monthly, quarterly—for making it happen. Make sure these commitments fit with your schedule and style to ensure you can maintain this habit.

Your Networking Challenge

Choose at least one existing connection and one desired connection to intentionally build and nurture over the next 90 days.

Cachet Prescott, PHR, SHRM-CP is passionate about the human side of business and the workplace, and her zone of genius lies in her ability to inspire and leverage the power of connection to create space for effective communication, cooperation, collaboration, innovation, calibration and elevation at work.

This military spouse and mother of three girls is the creator and host of All Things (Un)learned, a podcast exploring unlearning as a powerful means to personal growth, transformation and well-being. She holds a Master’s in Sociology from the University of Georgia; a Master’s in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Fairfield University; and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from the University of Virginia. She brings her expertise in organizational behavior; interpersonal relations and group dynamics; interpersonal communication; leadership development; and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging to all she does. She's been featured in The Muse; Thrive Global; The Huffington Post; Introvert, Dear; DailyWorth; Fast Company; FlexJobs; International Business Times (IBT); LearnVest; Monster; Recruiter.com; Careers in Government; GI Jobs; Military Spouse Magazine and Blue Star Families

Why the Rise of Returning Professional Internships is Significant for Military Spouses

BY CAROL FISHMAN COHEN

In mid-March 2016, my local TEDxBeaconStreet Talk "How to get back to work after a career break" got elevated to the big TED platform. Fast forward to 2023; it has been viewed nearly 3.7 million times and translated into 30 languages.

My TED Talk focused on career reentry and returning

professional internships, now known as “returnships.” TED Talks are supposed to discuss a “Big Idea.” The “Big Idea” I put forth was that if employers can successfully use internships as a vehicle to engage with the population of professionals returning from a career break, they could then use internships to engage with a whole range

of non-traditional career transitioners. These transitioners include veterans transitioning to civilian roles, military spouses resuming their careers during or following their partner’s active-duty service, retirees coming out of retirement and expats repatriating in their home country.

The concept rests on the theory that some employers consider it risky to hire nontraditional career transitioners. The internship reduces the perceived risk because it allows the employer to base the hiring decision on an actual work sample instead of a series of interviews, and the employer does not have to make the permanent hiring decision until the internship period is over. Companies have launched veterans return to work programs based on their returnship program model or have broadened the candidate pool for their returnship program to include veterans and other career transitioners.

Returnship participants are paid, and they either start the program as part of a structured cohort or join the relaunch “community” at their employer one by one on more of a “rolling

admissions” basis. Depending on the company, the returnship can be as short as eight weeks or as long as one year. Hundreds or even thousands of people apply for a limited number of spots in a cohort, which can range in size from five to one hundred participants. At the end of the returnship, a participant is either asked to “convert” to a permanent employee or may not get a permanent offer. Sometimes the “returnship” is extended if management needs more time to evaluate the candidate, or if they are waiting for “headcount” to open up in a particular business area. Even if an offer is not received, these rich professional development experiences are excellent resume and interview material.

“Conversion rates”—the percentage of returning

professionals who “convert” to permanent employees—are averaging over 85% in 2023 vs over 50% in 2016.

The data show “returnship” programs are a proven way to successfully engage with professionals resuming their careers after time away. The stronger the business case for career reentry programming, the more programs will launch or expand and the better it is for employers and relaunchers, including military spouses. In fact, based on the strength of the returnship conversion numbers, some employers are hiring returning professionals as employees from day one, doing away with the returnship entirely. In 2023, roughly 80% of career reentry programs are returnship-based and 20% are “direct hire.”

In my original 2016 article for NMSN, I wrote: “A group of engineering companies piloted mid-career internship programs for returning technical professionals in 2016 through the STEM Reentry Task Force initiative with the Society of Women Engineers and iRelaunch.” The progress of the Task Force over the last seven years is an indicator of how career reentry programs have grown. Today, over 40 employers have joined the STEM Reentry Task Force and nearly 1,000 “relaunchers” have participated in Task Force employer programs.

We have seen three waves of career reentry programming:

• Wall Street and financial services drove the first wave starting in 2006,

• “Tech-fueled” employers in a range of industry sectors including, aerospace and defense, automotive and industrial equipment, drove the second wave starting in 2015, and

• Today, the third wave is being driven by the public sector.

A number of exciting “firsts” have occurred: the State of Utah launched the first state returnship program, the Boston Fed launched the first returnship program in the Federal Reserve banking system and NASA/JPL and The Aerospace Corporation launched the first FFRDC (federally funded research and development center) programs. While on your career “break”— we all know it’s not a “break,” especially if you are a military spouse—determine what kind of work you want to return to and

Carol Fishman Cohen with Army Officers following her keynote at the Manhattanville College School of Business Women's Leadership Summit, June 2016

get as specific as possible. We use the iRelaunch “Job Building Blocks Worksheet” to extract and prioritize components of past work and volunteer roles and use them to construct your post-career break career path. Identify coursework, certifications or other skills updating you will need to be a viable candidate.

Consider doing volunteer work related to your career goals or shadowing someone working in your desired field. And study up on your own; follow experts, read articles and books, understand new products and services, acronyms and controversies in your field. Immerse yourself in your chosen field and re-establish your subject matter expertise. Doing all of this will boost your confidence as you proceed with your job search.

Seek out employers with career reentry programs. Listen to military spouse and relauncher Lauren Gonzalez talk about Lockheed Martin’s Chapter Next program which is one of very few

that offers part-time options in addition to full-time.

As I suggest in the TED Talk, if the potential employer does not have a career reentry program, try suggesting that they engage with you on a short-term, nonbinding basis. An internship-like arrangement does not need to be called an internship or “reternship.” It can be a contract role, special project, temp job or maternity-leave coverage. Some hiring managers will dismiss the concept and others will have never thought of it before and will consider it.

I can’t complete this article update without discussing the impact COVID-19 had on relaunching professionals and employer career reentry programs, and the developments that are particularly relevant for military spouses. Career reentry programs went virtual and remote over much of the pandemic, similar to many work roles not requiring a physical presence. For parents with school-age kids at home, the “virtual relaunch” was a gentler relaunch for families

than pre-pandemic when going back to work meant mom or dad reported to an office on the first day of their relaunch. The virtual relaunch meant a newly working mom or dad was “around” and had the flexibility to interact with kids throughout the day. Most importantly for military spouses, the pandemic eliminated “Facetime in the office” requirements, and remote work became the norm. Employers are reversing some of these arrangements now, but there are still more remote roles than before COVID, which allows military spouses the location flexibility required for continuous employment.

Carol Fishman Cohen, CEO of iRelaunch , partners with the world's largest corporations to build career reentry programs to hire professionals returning to work after a career break. She is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review on career reentry topics. Her seminal HBR article "The 40-Year-Old Intern" was the first to identify the emergence of internship-like experiences as a way to successfully engage with and hire returning professionals, and predicted the proliferation of these programs we see today. Her 2021 HBR article “ Return to Work Programs Come of Age” focuses on innovations, trends and best practices developed over nearly two decades of career reentry programming. Cohen’s TED Talk "How to Get Back to Work after a Career Break" has been viewed nearly 3.7 million times. Her return to work at Bain Capital after 11 years out of the full-time workforce is documented in a Harvard Business School case study and iRelaunch is the subject of a Stanford Graduate School of Business case study.

NMSN 2023 White Paper Recommendations

Recommendation 1:

Compile and streamline access to critical career information needed by military spouses. Doing so will enable spouses to make informed career decisions as they relocate from one duty station to the next. Research and compile critical information and consistent messaging around data points such as the employment eligibility of OCONUS spouses to work within host nations, the permissibility of military spouse entrepreneurs to continue their businesses at their new duty stations (on or off the military installation) and local cost of living data to aid in developing realistic salary expectations.

Recommendation 2:

Modernize military spouse employment programs, resources and delivery systems for today’s military spouses. Better integrate installation employment assistance and transition services to the network of off-installation providers, leveraging local expertise. In that vein, also work to collect larger amounts of data including more broad military spouse demographics, work attitudes and preferences to effectively inform this modernization.

Recommendation 3:

Increase the number of military spouses working in the federal government. Increased representation in the federal workforce would both fill existing federal recruitment and representation gaps with talented employees, while also improving military spouse career portability, longevity, and long-term upward mobility. These opportunities should not be exclusively linked to military orders or the service member’s separation from active duty. Additionally, this should go hand in hand with expanding the Domestic Employee Teleworking Overseas (DETO) to better facilitate career longevity and portability when spouses are forced to move overseas.

Recommendation 4:

Expand military spouse access to employment assistance support services from one year to three years after the service member’s transition from the

military. Military spouses who transition out of military life now have one year of access to virtual and on-installation employment and transition support services. Extend this access to three years after the service member transitions from active-duty life. Also, enable wider public access to employment-related content featured on DoD-funded websites.

Recommendation 5:

Create congressional career pathways for military spouses through fellowship or internship programs. Create a new pilot program or adapt an existing internship or fellowship program allowing military spouses the rich opportunity to explore political, public policy or social sciences-based careers by working and learning alongside House and Senate leadership and select Member committees.

Recommendation 6:

Develop a shared lexicon between the service branches, facilitating clearer communication within communities as well as among service providers, advocates and lawmakers. Clearer communication between stakeholders is needed and a basic online dictionary featuring definitions and context of vocabulary words commonly used in the military spouse employment space would be useful across industries. A shared lexicon could eliminate confusion and help bridge the oft-lamented military-civilian divide.

Recommendation 7:

Remove barriers to public and private partnerships. Military spouse employment challenges could be more effectively addressed among key stakeholders if public and private partnerships could occur more organically. Technological and community support services exist that can aid the DoD, from the installation level up, but accessing them is not always easy due to outdated or limiting rules, regulations and policies, fears of showing commercial favoritism and/or archaic notions of intellectual or service branch ownership. Read

What Books Are on Your Nightstand?

OUR CONTRIBUTORS SHARE THEIR CURRENT MUST-READS

Cachet

Since I'm in the throes of a coaching certification program, the book that's on my nightstand is Thank You for Your Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback

Well by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen. It's been enlightening to see the many places in a conversation where feedback can go wrong ... even with the best of intentions. We should all read this book for better self-awareness of how we show up in (and ultimately impact) the feedback dynamic.

Kayla

I don't know if you can call it reading since I am only a few chapters in and I have been reading it for a month, just in case it is called Who Cooked the Last Supper? by Rosalind Miles. It is non-fiction and focuses on women in history. In terms of fiction, I have read the entire Little Blue Truck series, multiple times. Little Blue Truck Christmas is a hit any time of the year. Little Blue Truck Springtime is hot right now. I have been surprised by the lack of response to Time for School Little Blue Truck, the pages hold many opportunities to "find" things.

Jen

As a writer if I'm not reading I'm not growing. I recently finished former SECDEF Mark AbiographyEsper'scalled Sacred Oath, all 752 pages. I'm currently reading a fiction book, which is a rare occurrence for me, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. And after that I am excited to start The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman.

Marla

Unf*ck Your Brain by Faith G. Harper. This book is sort of a self-help book for individuals with anxiety and other mental health challenges. I love Unf*ck Your Brain, because it's captivating, authentic, and offers palpable instructions to overcoming obstacles.

Sue

I'm trying to fit in more fun and time with friends, so my reading these days centers around what I'm reading for Book Club. Right now, that's Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray for one of my clubs and Kitchen Chinese: A Novel About Food, Family, and Finding Yourself by Ann Mah for the other one.

Erin

I recently finished East of Eden by John Steinbeck I make it a priority to read a classic once a year! I am heading into summer with a lighter reading option with Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield - I love reading books that are set in countries I have lived in (this one is in England).