Written by: Kayla Reed-Fitzke, PhD, LMFT and Josie E. Beets, JD
Finding an employer that understands and can be flexible in response to the unique needs of military spouses can be hard to find. Military spouses face many challenges in obtaining and maintaining full- and part-time employment. The realities of military family life, like relocation and unanticipated caregiving, aren’t exactly synonymous with “stability” or “long-term commitment”, qualities employers usually look for. Some employers may even use these military life realities as a bias against hiring military spouses.
But wait, what about federal employers (i.e., Department of Defense)? Surely, they should “get it”!
The federal government is committed to helping military spouses find rewarding careers. However, according to the 2021 Active Duty Spouse Survey, private industry outpaces the government in the hiring of military spouses; private companies employed approximately half of all full- and part-time military civilian spouses (Office of People Analytics, 2023). Government, including state, local, and federal, was the second leading sector employing full-time spouses ~34%, and the third leading sector of part-time military spouses ~13% (Office of People Analytics, 2023).
Advantages for Military Spouses
Federal employers have tools in their toolbox to make hiring military spouses easier.
- Military Spouse Non-competitive Appointing Authority – Noncompetitive appointment of certain military spouses allows federal agencies to hire qualified eligible military spouses without going through the traditional competitive process. Spouses must be qualified for the job and meet other hiring requirements to be considered for employment. Spouses are eligible if they are:
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- A spouse of an active-duty service member
- A spouse of a service member who is 100% disabled due to a service-connected injury
- A widow or widower of a service member killed while on active duty
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- Military Spouse Preference Program – Through this program, qualified spouses receive hiring preference for Department of Defense civil service positions within the commuting distance of their duty station. The program can be used only once per PCS (or military move). Spouses of active-duty service members and Coast Guard members who are accompanying their sponsor on PCS orders are eligible for the Military Spouse Preference Program.
Military spouses are also eligible for other hiring paths.
- Direct Hiring Authorities (DHA) are used to fill vacancies for a critical hiring need or a severe shortage of candidates. It allows agencies to hire candidates without going through the traditional competitive process and is limited to certain career fields that vary by agency. For example, the Defense Department has DHAs for the following fields: acquisition career fields, cybersecurity, IT management, certain medical occupations, and Veterinary medicine. While DHAs are not specific to military spouses, the DOD has a pilot DHA for spouses in certain overseas locations until December 2026.
- Noncompetitive appointment of certain former overseas employees and family members allows agencies to appoint individuals to a competitive service position who have completed 52 weeks of creditable overseas services. This is a great option for spouses returning from an overseas assignment and eligibility lasts for 3 years following the date of returning from overseas to the U.S.
Military spouses who want to learn more about applying for and landing a job with the federal government can sign up for the free federal employment career coaching package from the Defense Department’s Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) program anytime by calling Military OneSource at 800-342-9647 or by live chat at myseco.militaryonesource.mil.
References:
Office of People Analytics. Defense Personnel Analytics Center. (2023). 2021 Active Duty Spouse Survey. (Report No. 2023-045). Retrieved from: https://dpac.defense.gov/Portals/131/Documents/ActiveDutySpouseOverviewBriefing-Final-508.pdf
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