Job searches can easily take four to nine months, or longer. If you’re like most military spouses in the middle of a PCS, you won’t start your job search until you have moved and unpacked. And at that point, you’re just starting to put your resume together. If you begin looking for a job that way, you can easily add two months or longer to the search. Plus, your confidence level is higher while you are still employed, a fact that can impact how you interview.

Army spouse, Linda Beougher, advises that you start your job search before you move, and use your current network to find job leads. When Linda and her husband arrived at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. — after their cross-country trip from Fort Lee, Va. — she found an exciting message waiting for her. A Kansas City bank wanted to interview her for a current opening in investments. One week later, before they even received their household goods shipment, Linda started work. How did she do that? “In my [previous] job in Richmond, I traded funds all over the United States. So I asked everyone I traded with who they might know in the Kansas area and specifically who I should talk to and who I should send my resume to.” Networking resulted in the right contact. Linda’s follow-through on that lead resulted in the interview.

Some other suggestions on starting before the move:
• Update your resume and gather letters of recommendation. Put together a portfolio of successful projects and performance appraisals. This is much easier to do before you move. (By the way, nurse and Coast Guard spouse Elaine Wilhelm-Hass recommends that you keep a running list of all employers’ contact information. “One place checked my references 10  jobs back,” she says.)

• Get to know the Family Member Employment Program Specialist (FMEPS) at the base or post where you are located, as well as your new FMEPS.  These folks have a wealth of knowledge about the area and they can help you prepare your resume — as well as offer you leads for jobs in your new area.

• Order the Chamber of Commerce information packet (free) and a membership directory for information on the companies in the area, the types of business, and number of employees, as well as contact information.

• Start a subscription to local business publications that interest you (or read these online). You’ll find information on contracts, problems, and new projects. (This is part of the research you should do for any interview anyway).

• Look for job search references specific to the area you’re moving to. For example, if you’re moving to the Seattle area there is “How to Find a Good Job in Seattle” (Seventh Edition), by Linda Carlson. The Job Bank books are similar, with 20 different titles such as “The Denver Job Bank” and “The Carolina Job Bank.” Check with your reference librarian for titles specific to your new home. Many companies now have their job openings on their websites.

• Make use of the great new websites specific to military spouses. The Military Spouse Career Center, at www.military.com/spouse, includes listings specific for military spouses from 108 employers including Ann Taylor, Bell South, and Procter and Gamble.  At www.MilitarySpouseJobSearch.org, at least twenty-one large companies offer positions (including Lockheed Martin, Merck and Co., Sprint, Dell, and others). At www.msccn.org (Military Spouse Corporate Career Network), you’ll find job listings from companies such as Boeing and Trammel Crowe. At www.MilSpouse.org, you can search for jobs as well as find out information about specific career fields, from requirements to industry outlook. All of these are free to you and searchable by location and specialty.

• If you belong to a professional association, call the chapter in the new city. Ask to receive their newsletters and meeting announcements ahead of the move to start collecting names to contact. Ask if they have a job bank you can tap into.

• If you are a college graduate, contact your alumni association and ask if there is a chapter in the new city. Or use your alumni directory to identify individuals in the city. Alumni like to help each other.

Additionally, tell everyone you know where you are moving to and ask them if they know people there. It doesn’t have to be someone in a hiring position or even someone who works in your line of work. You just need contacts. Those contacts may just know the person you need to talk with. (Plus, you just might make new friends in the new location in the process.) A Department of Labor survey showed that 48 percent of jobs are found through friends or relatives and 24 percent are found through direct contact with an employer. Networking and following up with leads is key.

Excerpted with permission from Help! I’m a Military Spouse — I Want a Life Too! How to Craft a Life for You as You Move with the Military by Kathie Hightower & Holly Scherer.