Written by: Alice Kilborn Riethman, ESQ, SHRM-CP
With an historically low nationwide unemployment rate hovering around 4.1%, Human Resources professionals and hiring managers are clamoring to find and retain talented, qualified employees, creating a “war for talent” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025; SHRM, 2024). Yet all the while, more than 120,000 qualified, hard-working, reliable, and often educated and credentialed active-duty military spouses report being unemployed (at 21% rate; DOD DMDC, 2022).
An increasing number of organizations and entities are working to close this gap between employers and military spouses, including the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) program (e.g., the Military Spouse Employment Partnership), the military spouse initiatives at U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation – Hiring Our Heroes, the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation (e.g., “Insight to Action: Leveraging the Potential of Military Spouse Talent”, along with our professional development resources provided through OneOp. Each and every one of these and the countless other initiatives in this area are paramount to closing the gap, and, in addition to these efforts, military spouses play a vital role by advocating for themselves and others, by becoming informed and passionate champions for their presence in the workforce.
Service providers can help educate, inspire, and encourage military spouses to become the strongest advocates for themselves and others by developing key skills around:
- Communication. Military spouse resumes may not look like those of their civilian counterparts due to gaps in employment, work outside of their area of expertise, and frequent geographic moves. See Hiring Our Heroes, “Best Practices for Building a Military Spouse Hiring Strategy”. Military spouses can cultivate this skill to confidently address the differences through their cover letters, applications, resumes, and during job interviews. Military spouses can also sharpen their skills to communicate and educate employers about both the challenges facing military spouses as well as the strengths and competencies developed through military life.
- Career Strategy. Strategic decisions to apply for remote work positions, to apply with military spouse friendly employers, and even strategically navigate volunteer opportunities can set military spouses up for success both in obtaining and retaining employment.
- PCS Strategy. A PCS move within the last 12 months increases the likelihood of unemployment for a military spouse (DOD DMDC, 2022). Although military spouses may not be able to control much surrounding PCS, they can control being strategic about communicating with employers and preparing their own career for PCS long before the first box of household goods is packed.
- Applicant Skill. Military spouses can increase their chances of employment success by utilizing the personalized support through the SECO program as well as leveraging additional resources mentioned above to sharpen their overall aptitude as applicants, including strengthening resume writing and interviewing skills.
- Subject Matter Expertise. Employers and prospects may not always be knowledgeable about military life or the legal protections for military families under state and federal law. By communicating with employers about military life as well as knowing and understanding the basics of applicable laws, military spouses can help inform employers and advocate for themselves.
- Navigating Licensure. 34% of military spouses work in jobs requiring licensure (DOD DMDC, 2022). Savy spouses can avail themselves of state and local military spouse rules streamlining licensure as well as Defense Department reimbursement of up to $1,000 in costs associated with re-licensure following a qualifying PCS. See Military OneSource “Transferring Your Licensure”.
By equipping military spouses with the tools to navigate locating, landing, and keeping a great job that is compatible with the demands of military life, military spouses are not only improving their own lives and the lives of their family members, but also the military spouses for whom they pave the way within each organization they enter.
If you are interested in learning more, tune into our upcoming webinar Military Spouse Employment: Empowering and Inspiring Self-Advocacy scheduled for April 15th, at 11:00 EST. We will review the workforce challenges faced by military spouses while covering local and national efforts to actively address connecting employers with skilled and reliable military spouses.
References
Society for Human Resource Management. (2024). 7 trends defining the ongoing war for talent. SHRM Foundation. https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/seven-trends-defining-ongoing-talent-war-shrm
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (February 2025). Civilian unemployment rate. https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-unemployment-rate.htm
U.S. Defense Department, Defense Manpower Data Center (September 2022). Active Duty Military Family File. Alexandria, VA. https://dpac.defense.gov/Portals/131/Documents/ActiveDutySpouseOverviewBriefing-Final-508.pdf
Photo Credit: Sinseeho | Adobe Stock 262768402
