98 U.S. VETERANS MAGAZINE WWW.USVETERANSMAGAZINE.COM
MILITARY SPOUSES
I
f you ever run an internet search for the phrase military spouse resume, youll be swimming in articles offering tips for a winning military spouse resume. Now, if you are a janitors spouse, or a CPAs spouse, youll probably come up short. To my knowledge, military spouses are the only group receiving specific resume guidance just because of their spouses career. Ever read one of those articles promising the tips for a winning military spouse resume? The advice is not remotely exclusive to military spouses. We arent the only population with resume gaps, we aren't the first to include volunteer work on a
How to Make Your MilSpouse Resume Shine
By KristiStolzenberg
professional resume and we certainly arent the only ones changing jobs every few years (though we might have the best excuse). But somewhere between the white gloves and military spouse employment revolution, someone cast the military spouse resume as complicated. We were told not to disclose our status as military spouses because it could lead to hiring discrimination. Flash forward to 2022. We now have a federal military spouse hiring preference, employment partnerships, spouse license reciprocity legislation and - cherry on top - COVID-19 showed all the skeptics that personal and professional lives can actually coexist. We can now safely say there is no need to mask your status as a military spouse on your resume. The great John Steinbeck once said, Now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good. Good in this case means allowing ourselves to be strong candidates on paper based on all our accomplishments whether or not they give away your military spouse status, especially in those occasional employment gaps. Lets get into it:
The Resume Gap:
I said it before, but its worth repeating. We dont own the resume gap. Anyone who has ever left the office to be a stay-at-home parent or start a business or to wanderlust across the globe has a resume gap. Anyone who has ever been laid off has a resume gap. It is not unique to military spouses. Dont let it intimidate you into not pursuing a fulfilling career or into taking a job that isnt rewarding just to avoid the gap. No matter the why behind the gap, find an experience to fill the void - it doesn't have to be a huge time commitment either. Volunteer somewhere that can be connected back to your lane of expertise. Take a class. Sit on a board for something.
The Spouse Club or Base Organization:
Should you include the spouse club on your resume? It depends. Did you hold a leadership position in the club? Did you manage people or finances or plan major events? Were there any major accomplishments during your term? And do they apply to what youre applying for? If yes, then include it!
The absolute most important rule of resume writing is tailoring it for the job you want.
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