None of that prepared her for what happened when her husband, Brad, got an overseas assignment, arguably when she was at the top of her professional game.

“It was a major career hit for me,” Jacey says. “My phone fell silent. I went from 250 emails a day to a Talbots ad and an invitation to a coffee morning. None of the local companies were hiring people who did not speak fluent Norwegian. I felt like I lost myself.”

When Brad’s next assignment brought the couple back to the U.S. Jacey knew picking up where she left off in her stateside career was not an option. She’d have to do what military spouses often have to do: start again.

“I did not know what to do, so I planted a bunch of career seeds at once. Some grew, and some did not,” she says. “I started researching how other people handled significant life change and shared strategies online, and the Next Door Project was born.”

“The world gives you little hints about what you should be doing,” says Jacey. “You just have to pay attention.”

The Next Door Project is a platform for Jacey’s speaking, consulting, career coaching, and writing endeavors. True to her experience, her specialty is helping people in transition to look for, create, and recognize opportunities. Jacey offers these tips for managing career transitions:

Know your local environment.

“Get local contacts and local interests. People get jobs through contacts.”

Know what you have to offer.

“Identify what you have to sell in the marketplace.”

Know what the world needs.

“Identify what the market is willing to buy. That takes some experimenting,”

Know your priorities.

“Be honest about what you really want in your heart of hearts and soul of souls. I want to have lots of time to write, and I want live where Brad lives. I’m willing to sacrifice some career stability to get those two things.”

More training or education may be helpful, but it’s not the most important thing, Jacey says.

“One of the most common mistakes we military spouses make is to keep going back to school, hoping to make ourselves more marketable. Instead, we need to work on making ourselves more local. Unless a degree is required to get a license in your field, like law, teaching, or nursing, don’t get another degree.”

Even with goals in mind, the right training, and local contacts, career transitions are difficult. Maintaining personal balance and self-confidence is a challenge, as is determining what job will be the right fit.

Jacey says one of the hardest things she had to do in her latest transition is to redefine her expectations of what the right job would look like.

“I heard about a part-time job that would let me teach new veterans how to get jobs, but I was worried that it was not a logical step up for me. I’d be a red-shoe gal in a brown-shoe world,” she says. “Then I found out how much I had to learn about the topic, how it was an epic task for veterans, a group I care about most in the world.”

It was a challenge she couldn’t refuse. She took the job and says it’s one of the best she’s ever had. Still she admits finding the next door of opportunity is never easy, even with years of experience. For reassurance and stability, she goes back to what is most important to her.

“I’d love to tell you that I am a Mrs. Miniver, totally unruffled by the slings and arrows of military life,” Jacey says. “Really, I’m a squirrel, and I am totally ruffled and freaking out all the time about work. Brad is my rock. And, to be fair, Starbucks. The habit of writing every day at Starbucks keeps me productive, no matter what.”

Jacey Eckhart is a coauthor of Stories around the Table: Laughter, Wisdom, and Strength in Military Life, author of The Homefront Club, and the creator of the Next Door Project.

The post Knocking on Doors: Jacey Eckhart on Career Transitions appeared first on Military Family Life.

These comments from experienced military spouses reveal the challenges of the readjustment process:

• Life tends to be more family oriented at overseas assignments, and it’s a tightness you don’t have in the States. I loved the fact that the (overseas) community is very close-knit, and now I miss that.
• Returning stateside is harder than we expected. Suddenly home doesn’t feel like home. It’s almost shocking to be back in America where everyone speaks your language. In public, we sometimes feel a loss of privacy, because everyone can understand our English conversations.
• Even the English vocabulary is different. Back in the States, people don’t use words like “Stateside” or “downrange” much. They usually say “here” or “deployed.”
• We missed American restaurants like Chick Fil-A when we were overseas, but what I wouldn’t do for a jagerschnitzel or a doner right now!
• The first time we went to an American restaurant, we were distracted by how many times the waitress came by our table to ask how we were doing.
• When we lived in Japan, I adjusted pretty easily to driving on the “wrong” side. Now that I’m back, I keep getting into the passenger seat of my car and wondering where the steering wheel went.
• We didn’t recognize the slower, more relaxed pace of life in Germany until we returned to the frenetic pace of life back in the US.
• At first when you move overseas, you are frustrated by having fewer choices, as in doing most of your shopping at the Exchange or commissary. You learn to live comfortably within those options, after returning stateside, it seems there are too many choices.

Any adjustment takes time, even returning to a familiar location. Just knowing that culture shock may be a factor can help families prepare and set reasonable expectations for a period of adjustment. Some challenges are major, others are minor, but all can be overcome with some preparation and patience. 

The post Returning Stateside: Feeling at Home Takes Time appeared first on Military Family Life.