[Expert advice]

All experience is good experience when job-hunting. Military-affiliated children have a plethora of life experience that can be marketed to internships and jobs during and after college. For higher ed professionals, keep in mind how your military-affiliated students have developed skills and knowledge in their fields through their military dependent experiences, and how they can apply these credentials in job materials and interviews

Leadership

Military dependents frequently benefit from the leadership shown by parents and authority figures within the military. When parents can show resilience and strength through tough times, military children learn from their actions and carry those lessons into their adult lives.

Not only do military children develop leadership skills from their authority figures, but they also build their own leadership styles and skills themselves. Military children often must take the lead in their lives. Moving around many more times than the average American child, military dependents may have lived in 6-9 places by the time they are 18 years old. Changing schools many times throughout their adolescence, they must create ways to form friendships wherever they may go. To accomplish this, military dependents build courage to starting conversation in places there may not be a familiar face. Having the confidence to initiate connection signals, great leadership skills, and the ability to pilot their own journey without significant oversight, military-affiliated job applicants can emphasize these skills in their application materials.

Service to Others

Going hand in hand with leadership, military culture instills a sense of community and service to others. Military servicemembers often have little location and job choice in their career trajectory. Military dependents have even less choice in these factors and are often told of the next place they will move three months prior to beginning a new life there. However, the family must make the decision to follow orders with service to the country in mind. Furthermore, a number of military children understand sacrifice much earlier than their peers, as over two million military children have a veteran parent with a disability and over 25,000 military children have lost a parent in military-service related death. Working for the betterment of a community and service to others can translate to a workplace setting outside of the military, which military children can highlight when applying to jobs.

Appreciation for Diversity

The military is one of the most diverse organizations in the United States. Individuals enlisting and commissioning into the military come from a variety of backgrounds, and these differences make for a stronger military, and military family community. Many of those coming from a military family take an appreciation for diverse ideas, cultures, and people. Additionally, military children often discover new cultures each time they move. Even cross country, life in Texas heavily differs from life in California. Military children learn how to quickly adjust their lives to differing climates and cultures throughout the U.S. and overseas and around people who may have grown up very differently than themselves. This experience can and should be highlighted through diversity statements and other application materials.

Adaptability

Military dependents are probably best known for their adaptability. Moving around often (sometimes out of the country), adjusting to life with their military servicemember parent on deployment, and watching their military friends leave for new places, military children have dealt with change from a young age. The ability to cope with constant change is a skill that takes many years to develop, and military culture aids in this lesson early for military dependents.</p>

Sometimes changing environments poses great challenges for student milestones and requirements. Graduation requirements can change drastically across school districts, causing students to take more classes than non-military dependents. A new school may not offer the same sport or club that a military dependent grew to love at their old school. Students must be able to quickly refashion skills to succeed in other domains. Military dependents have an advantage in fast-paced working environments due to their capacity to readjust their abilities for success. Featuring this history with adaptability and willingness to adapt to changing working landscapes (especially in the field of higher education where change occurs every semester) can be an important asset to include in job application materials. 

Networking

As mentioned prior, military dependents must have a great ability for making friends as their parents are constantly reassigned to new locations. This trait often carries over to the workplace. Networking is a highly sought-after characteristic, especially as a young professional without many connections within the workplace. Increasingly relevant in all fields, networking allows individuals to connect with others for advice, opportunities, resources, and support. Not only will military dependents be excellent at networking, but they will also be able to be a good person to network with, as they understand the importance and function of social support to create strong personal and professional connections. Military children should be encourage to highlight their networking skills and utilize them while searching for an open role.

General Job-Hunting Tips

There are many opportunities for the military-affiliated community to find internships and jobs. Students can look at school newsletters and web pages dedicated to helping military-affiliated individuals find jobs post-graduation. Additionally, building relationships with mentors at school can be helpful to find jobs related to a given field. Pointing students towards career fairs, keeping in mind their military experience, can help them stand out among their peers.

 One of the most fun aspects of being a military dependent is finding a mutual connection to a person or place through military experience! Individuals never know who they will come across, and it is important for military dependents to remember their worldly and valuable experience when applying for jobs and networking with others.

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