Finding a job can be difficult for military spouses as they move frequently, but through the Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership, more companies are offering to recruit them.
Melissa Burdette, an Army wife, knows first hand how hard it can be for military spouses to find jobs. Melissa said when her husband was transferred to Fort Hood, he was deployed right away, and she needed to find a job.
Burdette said between all the moves, her credits and certifications didn’t transfer either, making it very complicated to get a degree. She also used to be a stay-at-home mother to her daughter for quite a while, so she didn’t have any recent experience.
Burdette said many spouses are in a similar condition, and it’s challenging to get a job paying more than minimum wage.“As a military spouse, you move within three years, so it’s harder to find a job and people don’t want to kind of invest in you if you’re leaving within three years,” Burdette said.
Burdette said she was able to find a job, and she has been working with Triple-Impact Connections for a year now. President and chair Bob Olds, who served in the military himself, said he’s worked for years to push more companies to hire military spouses.
“Triple Impact was formed to find jobs for military spouses, everything about us is geared towards the military spouse,” Olds said. “Now we’re an equal opportunity employer and we do hire other people. But the military spouse has priority.”
Burdette said the difficulty of getting a job is something other military spouses understand quite well.
“I still have friends right now that are struggling to find jobs, especially within their degree,” Burdette said. “They went to school, and they’re trying to find a job within their field, and they just get turned down job after job.”
Triple Impact Connections is part of the Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership. There are now 500 companies in the partnership, after 86 new companies joined in December.
