Frequent moves are part of life for many Defence families. For Sianae Mascall, those moves meant repeatedly putting her own career on hold while supporting her partner’s Australian Defence Force postings and raising a young child.
After relocating across several cities in just a few years, Sianae was looking for a way to rebuild her career in Darwin. Support from Soldier On and a connection with DCOH helped make that possible.
Sianae and her husband Christian Mascall had already built their life together in Perth before he joined the ADF about five years ago. Since then, the family has moved several times to support his training and postings.
Christian’s initial training began at the start of the COVID pandemic and stretched from an expected three months to around ten months. After completing training, he was posted to Townsville, where the couple relocated together.
The family later moved to Darwin. At one point they also spent eight months in Melbourne while Christian completed further training after transferring from the Army to the Air Force.
During this time, Sianae was navigating life with their young daughter.
‘We didn’t want to miss eight months of her growing up and learning to talk and walk,’ she says.
Before the moves, Sianae had been working with Coles in Perth and was able to transfer stores when the family relocated. But each move meant adjusting to a new workplace, different hours and limited opportunities to build longer-term career progression.
Dealing with Defence life
After returning to Darwin, she began looking for new employment that would fit around family responsibilities and the realities of Defence life. Sianae first became aware of Soldier On through a Defence community event held on base. Later, she attended a Soldier On careers workshop in Palmerston that connects veterans and Defence family members with employers.
It was there that Sianae met Ivy Abelgas, Talent Acquisition Specialist with DCOH, one of Soldier On’s corporate partners.
‘That meeting, along with the workshop itself, helped me find my current job,’ she says.
Today, Sianae works as a reservation agent at the Courtyard by Marriott Darwin, part of DCOH’s hospitality portfolio.
In her role, she assists guests with bookings and customer enquiries, helping visitors plan their stay in Darwin.
Sianae says that with her husband’s work requirements often taking him away, and sometimes out of the country for weeks at a time, being able to care for their daughter outside work hours is essential.
She says she is grateful to both DCOH and Courtyard by Marriott for their understanding and support around her schedule.
The job I’m currently in is really good because they’ve done a lot to help me be able to drop my daughter at daycare and pick her up at the end of the day,’ Sianae says.
‘That makes a big difference when you don’t always have family nearby, and your partner is routinely away.’
Sianae says that, for partners or spouses who are dealing with the transient nature of Defence life, ‘it’s definitely worth reaching out to Soldier On and going to the activities they organise’.
‘It helps connect you with people who can support you and give you information that helps with your career progression, especially if you have to change jobs because of moving around.’
Soldier On offers a range of free support services for registered veterans and their families, including employment support that can help you access career-readiness resources and tailored programs.
