Why Can't I Find a Military Spouse Job?

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Job fair for military spouses and veterans
(Michelle Gigante/U.S. Air Force photo)

Can you relate to this situation? One military spouse says, "I have been unemployed for five months thanks to moving to a new duty station. I have applied for hundreds of jobs and attended job fairs, but I've had only two interviews so far. I have experience and a degree, so I can't figure out what is going on. I thought I was targeting my resume, but based on not finding good leads, I think something must be missing." 

If you're working on targeting your resume, you're on the right track. That being said, if you're applying for hundreds of positions without phone calls, a resume review may help. CareerSpark and the Department of Defense's Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) have resume building tools that you can use.

Related: Does your resume pass the 6-second test? Get a FREE assessment.

Once you've used one of those tools to put together a base resume, I suggest you get it reviewed by peers as well as by the pros. Check out your installation's office for employment readiness to see if they offer a resume workshop or have an individual counselor that can review your resume and offer tips. You can find more information on Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard base career help on Military.com.

Another way to find your best position is networking. Your local Hiring our Heroes chapter (if there isn't one in your area check out our virtual chapter) should be able to help with making connections in your industry.  If we don't have a chapter in your area, look for other in-person opportunities for making connections, like joining an organization related to your profession or look to your local Chamber of Commerce for networking events and young professionals' groups.

Without seeing your individual resume, it's hard to make personal suggestions, but I hope these things will help.

Related: The Military Spouse Employment Manual

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