By Kathie Hightower and Holly Scherer
Fall 2006
Ask military spouses whether retail businesses provide favorable opportunities for mobile careers and you likely will hear two different answers. Some will tell you it's one of the worst and others will tell you it's the best possible career.
Navy spouse Danielle Hendrickson, a former assistant manager of catalogs for JC Penney, speaks for many when she says, "It's difficult because you most likely can't get the same position you left when you move to a new place."
Navy spouse Katrin Murphy has worked in the deli of a food pavilion and as a lead sales associate at the Navy Exchange. "Retail does not fit into a military lifestyle because you have to work odd hours and almost always a schedule against your spouse's schedule," she says. "I found it difficult dealing with my husband being gone at all times, and when he was home I had to work evenings and weekends."
But Army spouse Tina Lovitt offers an opposing view. She is the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) store manager in Mannheim, Germany, and has worked with AAFES for more than 20 years. "The retail aspect of working for AAFES turns out to be the perfect fit with a military lifestyle, since the AAFES motto ‘We Go Where You Go' is so true."
Marine Corps spouse Samantha Alley has held five different jobs in retail during five moves and nine years of military life. She started in sales and then moved into management. "I think it's been great," she says. "I have flexible hours and am able to get days off at almost any time. I have not had to worry about the nine-to-five Monday-to-Friday same ol' same ol'."
Why the disparate views? Like any career for military spouses, retail has advantages and disadvantages - and it takes strategic planning and flexibility to make it work.
One big advantage of retail: Jobs are always available and entry requirements are minimal. Navy spouse Mercedes Savage has worked in four different retail positions during 12 years of married life. Asked what skills are needed to enter the field, she replied, "People skills and willingness to go the extra mile."
Education can boost the chances of progressing into management. Navy spouse Tracy Owens says, "You can enter retail without any experience, but to be a manager you need to prove you have strong skills in dealing with people and selling and that you are reliable."
Lovitt points out, "It is relatively easy to enter the retail field within AAFES, as we're spread out all over the world. Getting to my current position as retail manager of a main store took several years of hard work, dedication and patience. As with any major retailer, education is very important in career progression within AAFES. Balancing work, family and school was a real feat, but not impossible."
A major disadvantage of retail can be the hours. Stores are open at nights and on weekends, and someone has to work those hours. That fact caused Murphy and Owens to pursue other work. Others have found ways to make retail work.
Alley says her jobs have been flexible. "You have to make sure you are the kind of employee that is worth it. If they really want you, they will work with you." She says she made sure she was a valuable employee her bosses did not want to lose. Then when she asked for time off due to her spouse's schedule, they worked with her.
Air Force spouse Elizabeth Schneider has held four retail jobs within AAFES. "You have to be willing to work weird hours sometimes. However, AAFES is really good about working with time off to be with deployed spouses that are coming home. There's lots of flexibility."
Odd hours can have their advantages. Navy spouse Crystal Carter worked in retail when her husband deployed. "I was able to take on more hours to fill up the free time I usually spent with my husband," she says. "And it helped that I was making extra money."
Job Or Career?
There's a difference between taking any retail job that happens to come open and making a strategic decision to look for a retail job that could evolve into a long-term career. A career takes a bit more planning.
As Hendrickson says, "Make sure you start your career with a company that is everywhere you could possibly transfer to."
The strategic approach to a retail career -- as in any mobile career -- is to consider your own interests; whether a company has locations all over the world; and what kinds of benefits, career progression and transfer assistance each company provides.
Spend a little time at one of the websites that provide help for military spouse job searches. A recent search for "retail management" at www.military.com/spouse resulted in 2,565 listings. Many companies have locations around the country and many offer outstanding benefits. Some employers are considered more "military-spouse friendly" than others.
Starbucks, for example, has more than 10,000 locations in more than 35 countries. A recent check online showed 347 open positions. The announcement for baristas and store supervisors in San Antonio, for example, noted comprehensive benefits plan for all partners working more than 20 hours per week - including medical, dental, vision; stock options; tuition reimbursement and night pay differential. Other companies offer vacation and sick leave, flex time and store discounts.
The Exchange Alternative
Military exchanges provide an obvious retail career option for military spouses. They are located at almost every military installation around the world and provide solid benefits. Plus, "Military family members are already AAFES customers; they understand troops better than anyone," says Mike Westphal, AAFES Senior Vice President of Human Resources.
Until recently, moving caused a major disruption in pursuing a career with one of the military exchanges.
As Army spouse and Ft. Hood PX manager Deb Jantek says, "Career progression started out difficult, as I had to quit each time my husband came down on orders. However, I didn't give up and I started from the bottom many times and was able to move up fairly rapidly at each location. That's why I am so excited about AAFES' new program to transfer military spouses."
Kicked off in February 2006 as a one-year test in the continental United States, the "Spouse Employment Continuity" program offers non-competitive priority placement to eligible AAFES associates who are spouses of military members required to relocate with their sponsor. Rather than competing for jobs, these employees are assigned to jobs as positions become available and before they are posted.
Westphal calls the program "a win-win for all involved. Customers receive top-notch service from a member of their own community, AAFES shares best practices from store to store through associates who move from location to location, and family members take comfort in knowing that they'll receive preferred employment opportunities when they arrive at their new duty station."
Depending on the results at the end of the test year, the program may be implemented at all AAFES locations. The Navy Exchange Service Command offers a similar program; the Marine Corps Exchange also is considering a program.
Of course, choosing retail just because it's mobile may not lead to job satisfaction. Always analyze your own interests when evaluating long-term career options.
Army spouse Faye Bagoya-Shaw is an AAFES sales area manager at Ft. Benning, Ga. She has a bachelor's degree in merchandising and has held four retail positions in four moves with the military. "I've always had a passion for retail," she says. "The ever-changing, fast-paced environment and the rewards of helping our military customers make me love my job."
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Military spouses Kathie Hightower and Holly Scherer are public speakers and co-authors of "Help! I'm a Military Spouse - I Want a Life Too: How to Craft a Life for YOU as You Move with the Military." For more information or to request a presentation at your community, go to www.militaryspousehelp.com or send a message to kathie@militaryspousehelp.com.