The old adage about military spouses—Navy wife: toughest job in the Navy—prompts stereotypical mental images of a teary-eyed young woman standing on the pier in her flower-print dress hoping to catch a last glimpse of her husband as he sails toward the horizon. She struggles to maintain her composure as the baby in her arms begins to cry and the three-year-old tugs at her dress. She would soon return home to her life as a homemaker-cum-head of household.
Although this scene is replayed hundreds of times a month in ports throughout the United States, that image has changed considerably over the years. That "Color by DeLuxe" mental movie is less true today, as military spouses are increasingly pursuing their own careers—and nearly 10% of them are men.
Many military spouses are well-educated professionals with high expectations for their own careers. Unfortunately, the exceptionally mobile military lifestyle (read seven moves in 20 years) can wreak havoc on even the most promising career. With many military households relying on dual incomes and spouses justifiably harboring significant career aspirations, the military clearly faces the specter of lower retention rates unless those spouses can pursue a rewarding civilian career. Although there are no ways to eliminate this challenge altogether, America's work force has been changing, too—creating tremendous, novel opportunities for this talented pool.
The Internet brought much more than just e-mail and Web sites, it has fundamentally changed the way the world goes to work. It has enabled telecommuting on a vast scale, and its impact is seen by small companies and multinationals alike. Companies are increasingly virtual, allowing employees to contribute from anywhere in the world. Corporations are also realizing that by allowing their employees greater flexibility they can obtain a higher quality team member than they might otherwise have been able to recruit and can retain them longer.
The Internet allows real-time communication and contribution from anywhere in the world, and it is literally the backbone for millions of jobs. Don't believe for a second that these jobs are unique to companies with digital business models. This underlying driver behind globalization and out-sourcing can work to the advantage of military spouses. It is also especially important in countries where the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) prohibits servicemembers and their spouses from obtaining jobs in the local economy. For the enterprising spouse, a plethora of career fields are tailor-made for home-office careers: writing, mortgage banking, accounting, legal, online teaching, customer service, and software engineering are but a few. If you expand the list to more traditional portable careers, you can include among them real estate, retail, teaching, medical/dental, sales, government jobs, and entrepreneurship.
Some companies, in fact, have specifically targeted military spouses as a highly valuable, yet untapped, talent pool. They've learned what we already know-that military spouses are well-educated, hard-working, diverse, and loyal and represent a source of competitive advantage for companies willing to give them a chance. Selfproclaimed spouse-friendly employers include: Apple Computer, Ann Taylor, CSC, Dell, Kaiser Permanente, Merck, Sprint, and TSA, among many others.
For the military spouse job-seeker, a proliferation of resources are helping to make finding that portable career easier. The Department of Defense has recently launched a career portal for military spouses (on the www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil site). Both the Department of Labor and the Army have also recently launched career resource sites for military spouses. The DoD site, for example, allows spouses to network and gives them access to more than 400,000 jobs throughout the world.
It is also important for employed spouses getting ready to relocate to consider alternatives to resigning from their current company. Employers are increasingly willing to restructure employees' work to be conducive to working remotely. Another alternative is to request an intercompany transfer to another office/region. There is certainly very little downside in asking. Another benefit to making the transition is paving the way for other military spouses. Your trail-blazing success will help build demand for military spouses within your company—and beyond.
Although military spouses face many challenges, prospects for a meaningful career have never been brighter. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, we'll all be asking our spouses for career advice.
Mr. Michel is president of Military.com, a company focused on connecting service members, veterans, and their families to the benefits earned while in the service. He is a former naval officer.