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The PCS Job Search:
It’s Not Just for Adults
By: Amanda Marksmeier
My daughter stood in our kitchen, tears streaming
down her face. We’d just received PCS orders, and she was devastated. Yesterday, she was focused on
graduating from high school, acceptance to a local college, and a promotion at work. Today, a single piece of paper changed everything.
Watching her go through this process wasn’t entirely unfamiliar; but I was used to thinking about my job changing, not hers.
When we dust off our resumes during a PCS, our teens must learn to follow suit. As spouses, we have experience when it comes to leaving a job we love, searching for something new in an unfamiliar place. As parents, we can use these skills to help our kids face the PCS job search with courage.
Acceptance
It’s natural to grieve a difficult PCS move. For teens, it can be particularly challenging to leave a job they love, especially if it’s their first job.
In my daughter’s case, having a good source of motivation was vital to her accepting her new path. Since she started working at age fifteen, she had
grown accustomed to having her own money and paying a few of her own bills; she saw having a new job as essential to accommodating her wants and needs. For your teen, the motivation may be different, but motivation itself is key to getting the ball rolling.
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