Happy Military Spouses Appreciation Day!
I wanted take some time to :
- Recognize the many military spouses who helped to lay the foundation for Long Capture, and who continue making a huge impact in the company every day.
- And also raise more awareness, particularly for other small business owners, to this immense talent pool that tends to get neglected.
The best way I can think to do this is by sharing the story of my Chief Operating Officer.
Her story is not unlike many others.
However, when she started moving around the country with her active-duty husband, she struggled to find jobs that could compliment her immense professional skill set.
I was fortunate to pull her onto my team as a virtual assistant in the early days of my company. It did not take long to recognize that she was incredibly overqualified for the role.
Naturally, I promoted her very quickly, and she has since been a key contributor to Long Capture’s success. She was also a main driver for us to create an environment that allows other military spouses with professional aspirations and interests to grow and develop in their career.
This arena is important to address because there are so many military spouses in this very same position that My COO faced — they have a lot of personal drive, and a wealth of academic and professional experience, that can make meaningful contributions to organizations at the highest levels. And yet, they haven’t had the chance to grow on a career path, since they had to move every few years.
In the worse cases, they’ve actually faced discrimination in the workplace because of their status as military spouses.
The Impact of Remote Work
Because Long Capture has always operated as a remote company, we’ve been able to tap into this incredible talent pool, giving its members the chance to grow with our company, no matter where their families’ service to our country takes them.
As a result, their families are able to enjoy greater stability for often difficult transitions to new duty stations, and we get the benefit of the diverse set of experiences and resilience that they learn through military life.
We’ve seen a huge shift in the workplace over the past few years. For the first time, many companies learned of both the possibility and the value of normalizing remote work.
And with this shift, we really want to promote this often neglected network of highly skilled and professional workers and encourage you to consider pursuing military spouses for your next open position.
How Can Your Company be an Opportunity for Military Spouses?
Look to Hire from Outlets that Support Military Spouses
- FlexJobs – offers military spouse-friendly jobs that are remote and have flexible work schedules. They also have a blog where they provide military spouses with tips.
- Facebook Groups, such as VirtForce. VirtForce lists virtual employment opportunities for military spouses from verified military-friendly employers. They also provide many resources, such as resume boot camps and training opportunities.
- Vets2Industry – participate in free, online networking events.
- LinkedIn Groups, such as Hiring Our Heroes Military Spouse Program, and Vets2Industry – Veteran Job Board
- Creating connections with military installations and their transition/family centers. For example, we have an Air Force contact who has built a list of military spouses that she forwards our open positions to.
- Partner with Hiring Our Heroes
- Become a partner employer with the Military Spouse Employment Partnership, a DoD-led initiative that connects military spouses with hundreds of partner employers who have committed to recruiting, hiring, promoting, and retaining military spouses. I’m currently working through this process, so we aren’t a partner yet.
Make Sure Your Company’s Culture Aligns with the Lifestyle
Our HR department disclosed that the best military spouse recruitment strategy really starts with the company’s culture. Consider offering benefits that military spouses value, such as:
- Remote work
- flexible work schedules
- tuition reimbursement
- unlimited PTO
- a generous cross-state move policy
All of these things can go a long way in helping recruitment efforts. It is important for a company to understand the unique challenges they face. If you want to value military spouses in the work-place, a lot of it starts with company culture.
In addition- if you are a military spouse looking for career opportunities, feel free to check out our careers page.
