Most professional employees seek advancement and promotion, either as a way to fully utilize the skills and experience they have accumulated, or to identify new opportunities to grow and develop their professional capabilities.  As a Military Spouse, you can be at a distinct disadvantage in achieving promotion within a specific company because of the actual or perceived short tenure you have with that organization. The best way to overcome this, is to view advancement and promotion as a wider career goal, not just a goal associated with the job you are currently in.  

The rewards of career advancement and promotion are many.  They include new projects, new challenges, enhanced employment opportunities and potential increases in salary and benefits. Understanding the four basic components of career advancement and promotion can help you work towards achieving it.

1. Identify Goals

Know what you want. Getting ahead involves knowing what you want, but motivation for money or challenge alone is seldom enough to secure advancement. Alongside your desire to progress, it is also important to research the type of positions that exist within your current organization and in your wider occupational field. Use the In Gear Career Communities of Practice as a way to network with experienced professionals and gain advice about the advancement opportunities available to you through both traditional and alternative career paths.  Identify what it is that you would like to do in the future, and then set your sights on clear, realistic objectives.

Research and create objectives. “Moving up the ladder,” requires an appreciation of what each step involves and how many rungs you want to climb. As a Military Spouse you must recognize that your career path is unlikely to be linear as your location or timing may limit the opportunities available to you. Imagine four adjacent ladders representing your opportunities for advancing in your career. Don’t be afraid to step across to a separate ladder. Although the move may be lateral rather than forward, you are likely to utilize different skills and gain more connections than you will if you remain unemployed while waiting for an ideal position. Your upward advancement can later build on either your original career path or on the extra skills and connections you gained in the lateral step.

2. Develop a Plan

Once established in a position, develop a career plan that sets realistic expectations while simultaneously highlighting key milestones on your path to success.  In mapping out your workplace goals, collaborate closely with your organization’s leadership to clearly identify what it takes to achieve those goals. Benchmarks or milestones can be used to highlight your progress and to measure your readiness for promotion or advancement into new roles.

Remember to calibrate your plan as conditions change.  Life has a way of making even the most well-laid plans obsolete.  A sudden budget cut could limit the scope of a project.  An internal reorganization could cause dramatic shifts in the roles and responsibilities of management and staff, or an unexpected PCS could mean leaving a position sooner than you anticipated.  Such changes can present new opportunities or new obstacles.  Remember, as circumstances change, your advancement goals and plan for achieving them may need to be adjusted accordingly.

3. Communicate Your Ambitions and Successes

You do not succeed alone.  Developing goals and making a plan to achieve them is not something an individual can—or should—do in isolation.  Once you have a position, the key to advancement and promotion is communicating with your management to let them know your ambitions and to have them help you develop a plan for achieving these. Many employees take a year or two before they are candid with their supervisor about their ambitions and goals. As a Military Spouse, you know you may only be in a position for two years before you PCS. Have this conversation and develop your plan early to give you the maximum amount of time to achieve those advancement-related goals.

The responsibility to communicate is yours.  As you move forward on your plan for success, you must also take responsibility for communicating your accomplishments to those who will be able to offer you advancement or promotion.  Never assume that anyone is tracking your progress or that you will automatically be rewarded for your good work.  Regular, positive communications with management and coworkers will help you develop the champions above. You also need your subordinates or coworkers to be aware of and recognize your accomplishments. These people may advocate for your promotion or be asked for their impressions of your performance and abilities. Your supervisors, colleagues, and subordinates are also the people you will rely on for references when you are applying for your next position.

4. Leverage Your Experience

Experience is the basis for success.  Whether starting a new role or seeking to advance in an existing one, make the most of your current or previous experience to demonstrate that you are ready for the next level.  As a Military Spouse you have some unique advantages in communicating and proving your ability to perform:

• Adaptability. You have successfully acclimated and performed in more than one position, for more than one company, and in more than one location. You know how to walk into a new position and quickly identify priorities, make the extra effort to learn, and establish your credibility.

• Diversity. Most employers value an employee that can bring diversity and a well-rounded approach to the company. A Military Spouse has worked in a diverse range of environments, but may also have worked in a variety of cultural or foreign settings. Military Spouses with a non-linear career path have usually worked in a wider variety of positions within their occupational field and as a result, develop an entire understanding of the business cycle.

• Team player.  You are a proven commodity as a supervisor, colleague, and subordinate within a number of different workplaces. The ability to quickly integrate and establish an effective working relationship with a new team and new clients is invaluable.

• Personal Characteristics. Depending on the type of company you are working or interviewing with, you may feel comfortable utilizing your military spouse lifestyle as proof of your ability to multitask, assume responsibility, adapt, and manage change.

If you hold an existing position, identify opportunities to perform the skills necessary for the next position you seek to acquire.  For example, if you wish to be a manager, start offering to perform managerial roles for your current team.  If you are eager to take on new kinds of tasks—utilizing new software, for example—start to train yourself in the skills necessary to perform those tasks and begin demonstrating your new abilities. 

Whether you are looking for a new job or to get out of the one you currently hold, seek creative ways to identify new applications for past experience.  Never think that you might not be qualified for a new position without first considering how something you have previously done might be relevant for something you aspire to do.  “A successful Fortune 500 exec told me years ago that if you’re going for a job where you meet every single qualification, the job is too low for you. Each job you go for needs to be just a bit of a stretch, or you’re not growing,” says Lauren Wittenberg Weiner, a successful company director.

Remember, no one remembers your resume after you have your job.  If something comes up in a current job where your past experience may be relevant, communicate why and develop a plan for applying it.  Building on previous experience in new, creative ways helps maximize your track record and highlight your suitability for advancement.