"The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you're made of, not the circumstances." -Unknown
What would you say is the biggest ADVANTAGE of pursuing your own career while supporting your service member?
"Pursuing my own career while supporting my spouse is really important to me. I’m a kind of person who need a sense of meaning. Yes I a mom and yes I help out around the house, but that doesn’t fulfill my needs to provide for my family. I get to fulfill my creative needs with my photography as well as pay bills and have spending money that I don’t have to ask for." - Brittany T."It allows me to stay busy and keep my individuality. It also helps bring in another income to help us pay bills and save for the future." - Anonymous
"The ability to have my own life and be passionate about what I do." - Shelby A.
"Doing something satisfying for myself." - Chelsea C.
"You have something for YOU. You don’t feel as though you’re sacrificing everything you want for the sake of their dream. You find purpose, you keep busy, you feel good about having accomplishments. Most milspouses love a good challenge (as if our lifestyle isn’t challenge enough) and it keeps us focused on something other than the chaotic ups and downs of our life. In a sense, it’s something we can control, something we can depend on even when the military is something we can’t always have expectations for with the ever changing schedules, the surprise training trips, the “looks like we are deploying a couple months earlier”, the things we can’t prepare ourselves for. At least we can prepare ourselves and thrive in something of our own while they’re gone. I also believe for myself it’s that he makes me so proud and I want to make him proud too, I want to show him I use my time while he’s away for the good of those around me and that I’m ALSO doing something I love." - Hannah A.
"Pursuing your own career gives you a sense of pride and independence in something that you are doing for yourself. You can do something you love or enjoy and earn an income doing so. I have always been very independent and have always worked usually more than one job. Marrying into the military, a PCS shortly after, and having to wait on licenses to be transferred to our new location made me unable to work for several months. This was new for me and in so many ways I felt lost and guilty that I was not “contributing” to our family. Going back to work has helped resolve those feelings and given me a sense of independence. A job is something for you to be proud of. You can have your independence, self pride, and do what you love all while supporting your service member. This helps to make sure you don’t lose yourself and your own interests along this crazy ride with military life." - Ciara B.
Military life has it's perks! What's one attribute or skill that you believe sets you ABOVE other potential, non-military applicants?
"Resilience and flexibility. The inconsistencies of military life have made me confident in a crisis." -Becky H.
"Strength." - Brenda C.
"Adaptability." - Kara M.
"I am adaptable.. in any place, environment, circumstance, I can adapt." - Samantha R.
"Resilience." - Tara C.
"You become very adaptive and accepting of situations. It is what it is, accept it and move on." - Kayla G.
"My ability to adapt to unseen circumstances and being able to "go with the flow" and not freaking out over change." - Anonymous
"Adaptability. Our life is being able to just roll with the constant unplanned and last minute changes. We go with it and make it work." - Ciara B.
"Very flexible, honest, and reliable." - Jennifer K. Hmm...I'm seeing a pattern here! 😉
"Multitasking. Being able to juggle not only your career but your spouses too." - Shelby A.
"I can function under high pressure situations and can plan." - Anonymous
"I have become a quick learner and problem solver!" - Anonymous
"In the seven months I’ve been a Navy wife, I’ve experienced many different cultures that I can teach the children I care for about." - Brooke L.
"Experience in different clinics with different patient populations." - Anonymous
While I was typing up this post, I got an email that another one of my documents for my state licensure at our new duty station was being denied and I had to complete additional paperwork. Immediately I was angry! I have been working on getting these licenses for almost 12 weeks now and it's delaying the job applications process. On my way to take care of the documents, I remembered this post and all the positive outlooks the above military spouses provided for this series. It was a humbling reminder to take a deep breath and handle it with a smile on my face. This is a part of the PCS process and it does me no good to be bitter about it.
Continuing to pursue your career goals as a military spouse isn't easy but it's a blessing in disguise. It helps us become unique employees with a strong toolbox of skills other applicants likely don't have. Adaptability, strength, problem solving skills, resilience, flexibility, the list goes on....we are LEADERS. Any company would be lucky to have a military spouse as a employee and it's our job to show them why! When you find yourself in yet another interview, focus on all the attributes and skills you DO bring to the table instead of what you don't.
Continuing to pursue your career goals as a military spouse isn't easy but it's a blessing in disguise. It helps us become unique employees with a strong toolbox of skills other applicants likely don't have. Adaptability, strength, problem solving skills, resilience, flexibility, the list goes on....we are LEADERS. Any company would be lucky to have a military spouse as a employee and it's our job to show them why! When you find yourself in yet another interview, focus on all the attributes and skills you DO bring to the table instead of what you don't.
- xoxo -
