For Employers
Great talent doesn't always come with a conventional CV.
Because fair opportunity isn't about lowering standards.
It's about recognising talent wherever you find it. Military spouses and partners bring skills, experience, resilience and adaptability into the workplace.
Repeated relocations, deployment responsibilities & unconventional career histories can mean their potential is overlooked before they've even had the opportunity to demonstrate it.
At Beyond the CV, we're not asking employers to offer preferential treatment, create jobs they don't need or compromise their business.
We're asking them to look beyond the gaps, the postcode changes and the traditional career path.
“We're not asking you to lower the bar. We're asking you to stop moving it.”
Why Military Spouses & Partners?
Military spouses and partners are not a single type of employee. They are professionals, graduates, parents, business owners, career changers and people with years of experience across countless industries.
Some have qualifications they haven't been able to use. Others have developed valuable skills through employment, volunteering, education and managing the realities of military family life.
What they often share isn't a lack of ambition or ability. It's a career history that doesn't always follow a conventional path.
And that's where employers have an opportunity to look a little closer.
Adaptability & Problem-Solving
Military life can involve repeated relocations, changing circumstances and unexpected challenges. Many spouses and partners develop valuable experience in adapting, organising and finding practical solutions.
Experience Beyond Employment
Qualifications, volunteering, community involvement, caring responsibilities and independent learning can all contribute to someone's capabilities, even when they don't appear in a traditional employment history.
Potential Beyond the CV
Career breaks, changes of industry or short periods in employment don't automatically reflect someone's commitment or ability. Looking at transferable skills can help employers discover applicants they might otherwise miss.
Understanding Military Life
You don't have to have lived military life to be an employer who understands it. But recognising some of the challenges military spouses and partners may face can make a real difference to how you recruit, support and retain employees.
A posting can mean relocating hundreds of miles, sometimes overseas, and leaving behind a job, professional network or training opportunity. Deployments and periods of separation can mean one person managing the household, childcare and family responsibilities alone for extended periods.
And even when a military family remains in one location, uncertainty about future postings can make committing to a traditional career path more complicated.
None of this means military spouses and partners are less committed to their careers. It means their circumstances may require a different kind of understanding.
And often, small changes in how an employer approaches recruitment or flexible working can make a significant difference.
What Can Employers Actually Do?
You don't need to completely redesign your business, introduce expensive policies or offer every employee a fully remote position to make a difference. Sometimes the smallest changes can have the greatest impact.
At Beyond the CV, we recognise that every employer is different. What works for a large organisation may not be practical for a small independent business.
We're not asking you to do everything. We're asking you to consider what you can do.
Here are some practical ways employers can help remove unnecessary barriers to employment for military spouses and partners.
Look Beyond Employment Gaps
A career break doesn't mean a skills gap. Ask about experience, qualifications and what an applicant can bring to your business.
Be Honest About Flexibility
If a role can genuinely offer remote or flexible working, say so. If it can't, be upfront. Clarity helps everyone.
Recognise Transferable Skills
A candidate may have the skills you need without following a traditional career path. Consider potential alongside experience.
Try To Understand Military Life
Postings, deployments and separation can affect family routines. A little understanding can make a real difference.
Make Recruitment Accessible
Consider online interviews, flexible interview times and recruitment processes that don't unnecessarily exclude applicants.
Support Career Development
Offer training and progression where possible. Military spouses and partners deserve the same opportunities to grow as anyone else.
The Business Case:
Good for People. Good for Business.
Supporting military spouses and partners isn't about charity. It's about recognising talent, removing unnecessary barriers and making sound business decisions.
Employers who look beyond conventional career histories may discover experienced, capable and motivated applicants they might otherwise have overlooked. Where a role allows for flexibility, businesses can also benefit from recruiting beyond their immediate geographical area, accessing a wider pool of talent and retaining valued employees when their circumstances change.
Of course, not every business can offer remote working. Not every position can accommodate flexible hours. And no employer should be expected to create a job that doesn't make commercial sense. But where flexibility is possible, it can be an opportunity for the employer just as much as the employee.
And we know this because we're doing it ourselves.
Practising What We Preach: JB Property Law
Beyond the CV was born from a single remote vacancy at Joanne Bowmer's legal business, JB Property Law.
There was no way Joanne could employ everyone. Like any business owner, she had to make decisions based on the needs and financial realities of her business. But she didn't forget those applicants.
As JB Property Law grew, Joanne was able to create additional employment opportunities, including a role for Macey, one of the original applicants.
Macey joined the team as an Administrative Assistant, bringing her abilities and potential into a business that genuinely needed her support.
For Macey, it was an opportunity to build a career alongside military family life.
For Joanne, it was an opportunity to strengthen her team and support the continued growth of her business.
Neither was doing the other a favour. Both had something valuable to offer.
JB Property Law is a growing, profitable legal business. Its approach to flexible employment is part of how it operates, not a charitable exercise.
We're not suggesting every employer can replicate that model. But Joanne and Macey are living proof that, when the circumstances are right, flexibility and commercial success can go hand in hand.
Fair opportunity and good business are not mutually exclusive.
Free Employer Resources
Good intentions are a starting point. Practical action makes the difference.
We know employers are busy. We also know that many businesses want to support the Armed Forces community but aren't always sure where to begin. That's why Beyond the CV is developing free, practical resources to help employers better understand military family life, recognise transferable skills and consider ways to make recruitment and employment more accessible.
No membership fees. No expensive training programmes. No expectation that every business can offer the same arrangements.
Just straightforward guidance to help you make informed decisions that work for your organisation and the people you employ.
You don't have to change everything to make a difference.
Let's Have a Conversation
You don't need to have all the answers. You just need to be willing to have the conversation.
Beyond the CV was founded by Joanne Bowmer and Amy Lovely, military spouses who believe military spouses and partners deserve to be recognised for their abilities, ambitions and potential.
We also recognise that employers have businesses to run, teams to manage and commercial realities to consider. That's why we're not here to tell you how to run your organisation. We're here to help you understand a community of talented people who may be missing out on opportunities, and explore what might work for your business.
Joanne and Amy are happy to speak with employers, business owners, managers, recruitment teams and HR professionals, completely free of charge.
Whether you'd like an informal conversation over a virtual cuppa, a discussion with your HR team, or a session with your wider workforce, we'd love to hear from you. We can talk about military family life, the challenges spouses and partners can face in employment, transferable skills, recruitment practices and practical ways to support your existing employees.
There's no charge, no membership requirement and no obligation to sign up to anything.
And you don't need to be a large organisation. Whether you employ two people or two thousand, your willingness to listen matters. Because changing how military spouses and partners are seen in the workplace starts with conversations. And we're more than happy to start one.
