Navigating Personal and Professional Change
I always knew it could happen. Military families move, on average, every three years. I was lucky that my spouse had been stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, SC for over a decade and that I had experienced a meaningful and purpose-filled career. Military spouses often struggle with employment, given frequent moves, across state and country lines, and their role in taking care of their family. Studies have estimated that military spouse unemployment is around 26%.
Needless to say, when I found out that we would be moving, I was excited but also a bit panicked. Not only had I never PCSed before – military speak for a new long-term assignment—but I was also about to PCS overseas and during a pandemic. Our new PCS orders were for Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. And while I am a huge fan of to-do lists, this list was definitely one that I had never experienced before. The list included things like:
Rent or sell house and move belongings into storage
Make shipping appointments for vehicle and personal possessions
Chip, license, and vaccinate pets
Complete change of address form
Complete inventory of boxes in storage and boxes shipped to new location
Ensure all forms of identification are up-to-date
Complete COVID-19 test
But there was one item that I was most panicked about – update resume for finding job at new location. Sounds easy, right? I knew it wouldn’t be. You don’t have to be a military spouse to know that not only finding a job, but finding a job that’s right for you, and finding a job that’s right for you in the middle of a pandemic can be a challenge.
Working has always been part of my life, whether it was basketball camps and retail in high school, or the restaurant industry through undergrad, or assistantships and side gigs through graduate school. One of the first places I turned was USAjobs.gov, the federal government’s employment website as this would list opportunities for Osan Air Base. I also received support and assistance from family and friends who were past and current users of USAjobs.gov on my resume and application package. So, when the rejections started coming in – four in total with zero interviews – I was feeling discouraged. The discouragement grew as many of the non-government remote jobs were looking for synchronous engagement – no easy task when you are a full day ahead of some United States time zones.
At the same time, I couldn’t help but reflect on how fortunate (and privileged) I was. I had been in South Carolina for 8+ years, was highly educated, had developed meaningful professional relationships, and had a savings account to rely on until I could find employment. Again, I recognized that my situation was not the norm for every military spouse.
At the end of 2020, I started making official announcements that I would be leaving not just my position and the state, but the country as well. What was really uplifting were the tangible offers of support as I notified collaborators, colleagues, and partners of this news. These conversations and relationships gave me hope that I would find something personally meaningful and be able to contribute in way that had purpose.
As you can likely guess, one of these conversations was with the co-founder of 1000 Feathers, who was looking for a skill set that matched mine and wasn’t too scared to take a chance of working with someone in my unique situation. What started as a consulting gig has now turned into a permanent position that works synchronously and asynchronously across multiple time zones and two continents. And while we still get the days and times mixed up when scheduling meetings, even with a time zone chart, it’s been an honor to join the team at 1000 Feathers.
Written by: Melissa Strompolis, Director of Research
