CRITICAL THINKING
military spouses—not just those jobs at the PX or the commissary. And I think you’ve got to prioritize them over veterans. … It’s a national security issue, and we’re not providing these opportunities, and a lot of talent is leaving the service.”
Executive Order 13473 and the DOD Priority Placement Program for military spouses allow federal agencies to make noncompetitive appointments of mili- tary spouses who meet certain criteria. However, a 2021 report by the National Military Spouse Network revealed that military spouses still face a 25 percent unemployment rate, and an additional 35 percent of spouses say they are overquali- fied for the jobs they hold. As Quinn can personally attest, military spouse employ- ment is a major driver of retention among the active-duty ranks. “I would still be in the Army today had my spouse had a porta- ble career,” he said. “Everything worked out fine, I’m happy where I am now, but I got out because my spouse decided she wasn’t going to move anymore.”
CONCLUSION For Quinn, creating a successful transi- tion from active duty is perhaps the most overlooked and misunderstood facet of military recruitment and retention. For Soldiers who struggle during transition or retirement, the loss of income, health care and stability can serve as a deterrent to others who may have otherwise consid- ered a career in the Army. As Quinn said, when a family sees their loved one facing those bleak circumstances, “no one in their family is ever going to enlist again.”
Te transition from active duty is no less important than any other part of a Soldier’s career, and Quinn said it requires the right mindset. “You can look at it and be scared, you can avoid it, or you can get excited about it,” he said. “If you can get excited about the
As his retirement date approached, Quinn kept expanding his network and sharing his insights.
BEYOND THE PROFILE
So, you’ve created your LinkedIn profile. You uploaded a professional photo of yourself, wrote a compelling summary, added your work experi- ence and education, and you even found a nice background image to add some personality to your online presence. What next? Quinn shared his top three tips for getting the most out of LinkedIn (start with his article, “The Ultimate LinkedIn Cheat Sheet”).
Make it a habit. “Every morning, I grab my cup of coffee, I sit down and scroll through LinkedIn. If I see an article that resonates with me, I drop a ‘like,’ and I throw a quick comment on there. That starts to build touch points and relationships with the people in my extended network.”
Add to the conversation. “A couple of times a week, I tell people, ‘Share something. Find an article you like, grab a photo where you’re at, just share something.’ You don’t have to write a 1,300- or 3,000-word arti- cle, it can be a few sentences on what you’re sharing. When you share that, it creates additional touch points with your network that are content- related. It feels like you’re checking in with the people in your network, so nobody goes stale.”
Reach out. “Once a week, make it a point to send out some connection requests, either to people in companies or industries or roles that interest you, so you’re consciously expanding your network, expanding those left and right limits so that you’re reaching a different audience and getting different perspectives.”
“Maybe five or 10 minutes a day, over time, will be cumulative and you’ll start to create that brand, to a point where it’s less stressful and you’ll start to have those conversations. But when it’s time to transition, you can focus on doing the things you need to. You already have a network and an idea of what you want to do, ready to go. The transition is much less stressful when you have a team of mentors, when you know what you want and are qualified to do, and really can just start activating that network to find the right opportunity for you. But when you try to jam that all into six months, it just becomes a hodgepodge. It’s overwhelming, and so few people do it well.”
—ELLEN SUMMEY
https://asc.ar my.mil
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