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The job hunt: How military spouses can rise above the crowd

In this dismal job market, military spouses around the world are pounding the pavement — often because they had to relocate with their service member to a new duty station. But spouses also have been the victims of layoffs as employers are forced to cut costs.

With nationwide unemployment at more than 9 percent, military spouses often have to work harder, for longer, to find work.

Here are some tips to help you cut through the crowd of applicants in this job market:

• Research a company before you contact them. If you’re going to a job fair, find out about the companies that will be there. Target your resume to those companies and their employment needs, said George Willbrandt, supervisor of veteran services for the Nebraska Department of Labor’s Workforce Development office.

• Start your job search as soon as possible after your service member gets permanent change-of-station orders. Even in a place like Omaha, Neb., where the unemployment rate of 4.7 percent is lower than the national average, you may need six to nine months to find a job, Willbrandt said.

• Tell every military spouse, veteran and retiree you know. “Companies love to hire people who come in through referrals from current employees,” said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray and Christmas, a Chicago-based firm that helps employers assist laid-off workers in finding new jobs.

• Be open to looking outside the industry you’ve been working in, Challenger said. For example, if you’ve been a bookkeeper for a retailer, why not look for a job as a bookkeeper for a doctor?

• Take on part-time jobs or projects, Challenger said. Think of them as auditions that could turn into full-time jobs as the economy starts to recover.

• Update your resume twice a year, says Deborah Kloeppel, of the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network. Don’t wait until you’re laid off, or have to relocate with your service member. “Your resume should be a joyful experience,” she said. Let a professional at a military base’s family employment program take a look at your resume.

• Role play with someone before a job interview. They’re not therapy sessions, so don’t tell potential employers your life story. They don’t need to know about deployments and child care, Kloeppel said. “That all needs to be worked out ahead anyway,” she said.

• Check links to job boards with openings from companies that seek military spouses at www.milspouse.org.

• The Army Spouse Employment Partnership with employers is available to military spouses of all services.

• Check out the spouse employment resources available through the National Military Family Association and the Military Officers Association.

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