Hey military spouse, I’ve been there: Looking for work because you’ve moved (again!) and you can’t find jobs that will use your prior experience or take you seriously because of your military connection. It’s tough, and military spouse unemployment is a serious problem across the country. Even though civilian unemployment rates are around 3.7%, unemployment for military spouses is still at 24%.

What makes this situation even more frustrating for military spouses is that many spouses who do find work end up underemployed (below their skill level) or working a temporary gig that will go away after the next PCS move.

It doesn’t take long for military spouses to realize that the best kind of job for the military lifestyle is a remote position that can travel with you after each move. Remote work allows you to retain your job, your colleagues, and your career so you aren’t constantly starting over. That’s why when I came across Boldly I was so interested to see what they are doing and the innovation they are bringing to the way companies and employees work together.

This post is sponsored by Boldly, a remote staffing company seeking talented military spouses for long-term assignments.

Remote work in real positions

The term “remote work” is used to describe a wide variety of jobs, ranging from entrepreneurs who work from home to freelancers who are paid based on individual assignments. As someone who started my own company and works as a freelance writer, I’m aware that those jobs are not a good fit for everyone. The benefit is the flexibility to create your own hours and income. The downside is working alone, not having a steady paycheck, and relying on clients to respect their contracts.

Remote work at Boldly is different. They are a remote staffing company that employs skilled executive assistants, marketers, project managers, book-keepers and more. Successful companies like Apple, Facebook, Google, Zendesk and hundreds of others pay Boldly a monthly fee to get one of Boldly’s employees assigned to them. An executive at Apple may need an executive assistant for 20 hours a week, and they pay Boldly to assign one of their talented executive assistants to support them remotely.  These are long term assignments that often go on for years. For many companies that don’t need an employee full time or are looking for a specific set of skills, it’s more efficient to hire someone through a company like Boldly than find and then employ them directly.

This arrangement is not only good for businesses. It’s also great for Boldly’s talented employees. They get to work remotely and design their own schedule in a W2 role with benefits. They can choose the companies they want to work with, and because they only work part time for each company there’s variety and continual learning. Boldly’s employee retention rate of 96% seems to indicate that it’s working.

In my scattered employment history, I have spent some time with a temp agency that assigned me to temporary jobs, and I have also done contract work found on job platforms. Neither of these processes are very efficient, and you can waste a lot of time waiting for calls or hoping your resume will be reviewed. With Boldly, getting hired is a personal process. You apply for an actual job—a W2 employed position with benefits. The Boldly team really gets to know you so that they can suggest companies to work with that are a good fit for your interests and your availability. Even better, Boldly employees become full-fledged members of the team. Boldly promotes from within and every one of their leadership team has worked their way up. So there is long-term potential for anyone in the company.

Why Boldly wants to work with military spouses

This is a company that gets military spouses. 30% of their entire team are military spouses, and 50% of the leadership are milspouses. So you are going to be working with and supervised by other milspouses in a company that understands your situation. No more looking up your legal rights to discuss deployment with your boss, or begging for time off during a PCS move! Here are a few examples:

• When Audrey Fairbrother, Boldly’s marketing manager and Army Spouse, first got married, she moved across country. Within a few weeks her husband was deployed and Audrey was all alone in a new place, knowing nobody. Sound familiar?  Thankfully, Audrey had joined Boldly a few months before, so she had colleagues and friends at work to support her. Because of her remote role, she was able to stay with family without missing a beat. You can see my interview with Audrey here.
• In a recent interview with Military Families magazine Sandra, Boldly’s founder said, “After hiring dozens and dozens of milspouses in the last five years, we’re spellbound by their talent, grit, and wide-ranging experience.”
• Devin Drake, one of Boldly’s milspouse team members recently said in an article written about her life working at Boldly, that even though she works remotely, her sense of community has never felt more stable. “Your vibe attracts your tribe,” says Devin. “Everyone at Boldly has the same vibe; we care about working with great people who build you up. And our relationships are closer than when I worked in an office 40 hours per week!”
• Check out this quick interview with milspouse Crystal explaining why Boldly is a great fit for her:

If you are interested in working with Boldly and have more than 7 years of professional experience, check out their jobs page at
https://boldly.com/milso-jobs/. They receive a LOT of applications and because their service is premium they only hire team members with significant experience. But if you are successful this could well be the perfect job for a milspouse.