CAREER CONNECTIONS October, 2018, Vol. 6, Issue 2
NMSN 2018 Impact Award Winner INTERVIEW WITH CAROL COHEN
www.nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
8 NMSN 2018 Impact Award Winner
10 Who is in Your Kitchen Cabinet?
12 5 Tips and Traps for the Entrepreneur
14 A seat at the table
16 Avoid these BRS Traps
19 The State of Your Job Search
22 When Jobs in Your Industry are Scarce
24 Joyce’s choices of the Fall/Winter Trends for 2018
27 Standing Out in a Crowd
28 Simple Stepping Stones to Success No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the Publisher.
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President’s Letter BY
Sue Hoppin
Happy Fall! It was wonderful to see so many of you a few weeks ago at our Annual Military Spouse Career Summit presented by USAA. For those who missed it, we have some great posts with major takeaways that you can find at our blog. Spoiler alert, a theme that was woven throughout the event was that of perseverance. Not a single speaker spoke about the direct path they took to their success. Instead, it was a series of starts and stops and a willingness to be open to opportunities even if they didn’t necessarily fit the mold of their “perfect job”. They all took circuitous routes to their “seat at the table” and if they had one thing in common, it was that they learned to embrace failure, dust themselves off and try again - the very personification of grit and perseverance. It was a powerful lesson to hear over and over again. If you remember, at the beginning of 2018, we announced our theme of the year as, “a seat at the table”. This overarching theme shaped our content and programs. We used our platforms to share the resources and skills you’ll need to move to the next level and shared stories of military spouse trailblazers. If you missed the features, you can still go back and check out back issues of the newsletters and magazine. We’re pleased to announce that in 2019, our theme will be “leading from the front”. It’s not enough to have a seat at the table. Once you’re there, you need to do what you can to pull up those behind you - practice servant leadership. We got a head start on next year’s theme by convening a roundtable discussion around the topic of, “Challenges to Military Spouses Starting and Running Businesses and What Congress Can do to Help”. It was a fantastic session and we were pleased to see it covered in this Military Times article. More to come on this in 2019 as we convene four more discussions on this topic to move solutions forward. It’s already shaping up to be a busy year and we hope you’ll all join us for the ride. In the meantime, finish up 2018 strong! Make a hard push to achieve those goals you set out at the beginning of the year. There’s no shame in failure, just in not trying. And save the date now to join us for our 2019 Military Spouse Career Summit October 18th and 19th. Hope to see you then!
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MEET THE
EXPERTS
CAROL BOWSER is the president
JANET FARLEY offers military
SUE HOPPIN is the founder and
of Conflict Management Strategies Inc. and is an expert in workplace conflict - what creates it and how to resolve it. While she HATES arguments, she loves maintaining sanity and increasing production by jumping into conflict to fully resolve it. “…What I really like is listening to people’s stories and working outside the legal system to repair workplace relationships…” She received her law degree from Seattle University School of Law and her Mediation Training through Pierce County Center for Dispute Resolution. Carol is a speaker, trainer, and consultant for employers on how to avoid workplace conflict.
service members and their families her own brand of straight-forward career management and job search advice. Janet is the author of the Military-to-Civilian Career Transition Guide, 2nd Edition, the Military Spouse’s Complete Guide to Career Success and she writes the JobTalk column for Stars and Stripes Newspaper. She is also the Home Front columnist for the Military Officer’s of America (MoAA) and contributing editor to BradleyMorris, Inc.,’s Civilian Job News. “… As a Marine Corps brat and Army wife... making that positive difference for military service members and their families seemed like the right direction for me…”
president of the National Military Spouse Network, a consultant on military family issues and the co-author of, “A Family’s Guide to the Military for Dummies”. Before founding the NMSN, Sue served as the first deputy director for spouse outreach for a military affiliated non-profit with a 375,000+ membership. She is a recognized subject matter expert on military spouse and family issues and has spoken to audiences nationwide ranging from installation career events to leadership training sessions and national conferences.
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Sue holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of Denver, a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Oklahoma and a post graduate certificate in non-profit management from Georgetown University.
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JOYCE NEAVE is an authority on
AMY SCHOFIELD ACWR has been
FRED WELLMAN is a retired
fashion and style. Joyce has been empowering clients for over twenty years. As the owner of That Mom Inc, and now JOYCE NEAVE style group, her work has been featured in the Washington Post, theWashington Times, Washingtonian Magazine, and Bethesda Magazine among others. Joyce has been featured on WUSA9 News highlighting her wardrobe consulting practice and providing viewers with valuable insights.
in the recruiting, career coaching, and resume writing fields for 10+ years. She has provided resume development strategies to job seekers worldwide with various backgrounds and experience levels. In April 2011, Amy launched Schofield Strategies. She has appeared in numerous media sources delivering resume tips, including GI Jobs, Business Talk Radio, Reserve and National Guard Magazine, Army Wife Talk Radio, and Blue Star Families. Schofield Strategies was the recipient of the 2013 Military Family Member Community Heartbeat Award. Amy holds an elite Academy Certified Resume Writer credential.
Army officer turned serial and social entrepreneur. He is a graduate of West Point and the Harvard Kennedy School serving 22 years in the Army as an aviator and public affairs officer and four combat tours. He is the Founder and CEO of ScoutComms, a B Corp communications and advocacy firm focused on veterans and military families. He and his wife Crystal also co-own Ladyburg Bath and Body Apothecary, a growing handmade bath and body retail boutique with located in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Joyce styles both women and men and is a consultant for several media companies, associations, newspapers, and online magazines. Joyce and her team keep clients current with fashion trends while maintaining a classic, timeless look. Joyce Neave style group collaborates with a network of professionals providing a wide range of services including makeup artists, hair stylists, men’s grooming specialists, photographers, and our preferred tailors.
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In addition to serving as the Entrepreneur in Residence for NMSN, Fred also serves on the National Board of Directors for the National Desert Storm War Memorial and the Board of Advisors for No One Left Behind.
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MEET THE
EXPERTS
JULIE WATERS was lucky enough to choose a career that easily transfers between employers as her husband’s assignments moved them from city to city. She holds a special interest in career building for military spouses as she feels it is important to have something personal outside of our military lifestyle. Over the last 13 years, Julie Waters has held various Human Resource positions starting her career at FHC Health Systems in Norfolk, Virginia, then moving to Landrum Professional Services in Pensacola, Florida, Cambridge Health Alliance Physicians Organization in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, and the Military Officers Association of America in Alexandria, Virginia where she served as the Director of Human Resources. Julie currently resides in Spokane, Washington where she is the Human Resources and Operations Manager for a law firm. Julie was born and raised in Washington State. She graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in English and earned an MS in Human Resources Management from Troy University. She is also a certified Professional in Human Resources.
DR. KRISTA WELLS is a certified professional coach dedicated to empowering military spouses. In her private practice, she focuses on improving her clients’ health, increasing their wealth, and strengthening their relationships. In addition to her private clients, Krista offers keynote speeches, workshops for organizations and military bases, and writes for various military publications. She recently launched The Military Spouse Show podcast in an effort to expand her reach and connect with the broader military spouse community.
Interested in writing for us? Contact us at info@milspousenetwork.org 6 | NMSN Magazine
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NMSN 2018 Impact Award Winner INTERVIEW WITH CAROL COHEN
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t’s no secret that military spouses are forced to launch and then relaunch their careers with every transition the military has in store for us. Carol Fishman Cohen may not be a military spouse herself, but she does know a thing or two about what it means to relaunch your career after time away from it. Not only has she lived this scenario, she decided to do something about. Ten years ago, Carol co-founded iRelaunch; an organization that works with companies to create, implement and expand “returnto-work” programs and provides “relaunchers” with the tools and resources needed to transition effectively after those pesky ‘career breaks’. She’s also written a book called “Back on the Career Track” which is fill of relevant information for those looking to re-enter the workforce. That’s why NMSN is proud to announce that Carol will be recognized as the recipient of the 2018 NMSN impact Award, which recognizes those who have made significant contributions in the arena of military spouse employment. “I’ve always felt closely connected to military spouses returning to work,” said Carol. “I deeply admire the return 8 | NMSN Magazine
to work success stories I have been so privileged to know about and witness in the military spouse community.” We were honored to have a chat with Carol before she heads out to the D.C. Annual Military Spouse Career Summit, and wanted to share her nuggets of wisdom. 1. Tell us about iRelaunch. “iRelaunch is the pioneering leader in the career re-entry space, and has been since our founding over ten years ago. We work with over 50 global companies on career re-entry programs of all kinds; involving mid-career internships or hiring returning professionals directly into full time roles, and also career re-entry event-based programs. We have over 60,000 returning professionals in our community and have delivered over 350 career reentry programs and presentations since inception. 2. What made you want to start iRelaunch? “First, I lived it. Then I wrote a book about it. I co-founded iRelaunch to cause an institutional shift in the way companies engage with professionals returning to work after a career break. I am a financial analyst by trade and worked in corporate finance for an nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org
investment bank in the late 80’s. I was on maternity leave with my first child in February 1990 when the bank collapsed, so I didn’t have a company to return to and my career break began at that time. We had three more kids in close succession and I was out of the full-time workforce for 11 years. Way back in 2001 before anyone was talking about relaunching, I returned to work at another investment firm. I remember feeling isolated and without a game plan. I didn’t know a single other person who had returned to work after a career break. No one was talking about it, there was no media attention, no employer or university programming. Vivian Steir Rabin, a relauncher with five kids who returned to work in executive search after a seven year career break and I got a book contract to write the book we wish we had when we were relaunching our careers. Our book, Back on the Career Track was published in 2007 and became known as the “Bible of Career Reentry.” When we were doing research for the book we started getting asked to work with universities and employers creating return to work programs way back before the recession in OCTOBER 2018
the 2004-2006 time-frame. We co-founded iRelaunch in response to those requests and it later became something much bigger. 3. How does iRelaunch relate to military spouses? As you well know, career continuity is a huge issue for military spouses. Frequent moves and unpredictable deployment schedules leave the primary family management, childcare and eldercare duties to the spouse left at home, making the career break an inevitable reality for many. They must find roles that rely on transferable skills or are remote opportunities, or pursue entrepreneurial options that can move with them. We also see military spouses putting off their true career relaunch until their service member’s active duty ends.
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4. How did you end up getting involved with the military spouse community? NMSN founder Sue Hoppin reached out to me back in 2008 when she was serving as the Deputy Director for Spouse Outreach at the Military Officers Association of America. She was tasked with running MOAA’s upcoming Joint Warfighting Convention Military Spouse Symposium asked me to participate on a panel. Shortly after meeting Sue and participating in that panel, I wrote an article for the Work and Family Researchers Network called “The Special Case of Military Spouses Returning to Work After a Career Break”. We stayed connected and ultimately, she asked me to speak at the first NMSN Summit
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and also to be on the NMSN expert panel. Since then, we’ve continued to seek out and feature military spouse return to work stories on our website and even have a military spouse on our communication’s team! Sue herself is a military spouse who took a twelve year career break and has a very inspiring return to work success story. Not only is she an expert on military spouse issues, she is also the perfect person to have established an organization that caters [to professional military spouses] like NMSN! 5. What would be the best piece of advice you would give to a military spouse considering a career relaunch? When I think about some of the most successful military spouse relaunch success stories, they all began with volunteer work. One volunteered with Army Emergency Relief and then ended up doing paid tax preparation work there. Her tax preparation skills were transferable wherever she moved. Another volunteered with the Air Force Officer Spouses Club for two years and amassed quantifiable achievements that she put on her resume side by side with her paid experience as evidence of her skillset. Sue Hoppin herself volunteered for Family Services at the Air Force base at which she was stationed while her husband was constantly deploying and she was caring for her young son. This volunteer work led her to recognize her passion for working with spouses and ultimately to her position with MOAA. So my advice is, as first step, to pursue volunteer work in line with your career goals or that would allow you to explore a particular career goal. NMSN Magazine
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Who is in Your Kitchen Cabinet? BY JULIE WATERS
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ou read that right, I said Who, not What. I am not talking about the goofy stuff that the movers packed during your last PCS (full garbage cans anyone?). I am talking about the smart people in your life. Who are your trusted advisers? Who do you call to talk to when you have a big decision to make? And why is it so important to listen closely to their feedback to move your
career or your life on to the next step? The history of cabinet government goes way back to 11th century England where a group of prominent men offered advice to the monarch. The Kitchen Cabinet term came about during Andrew Jackson’s presidential term as a description for the collection of unofficial advisers he consulted at the same time he was consulting
his government cabinet, or the Parlor Cabinet. Whether official or not, we all need to have trusted people we can turn to when we need help with a decision. If you are an entrepreneur, having a Kitchen Cabinet will help with that feeling of being alone when it comes to running your business. While the ultimate decision is yours to make, sharing problems and solutions with like-minded people will certainly help. You can’t possibly think of every good answer, so your cabinet members can help you fill in the blanks, particularly when it comes to your weak spots. Though you may not call it a cabinet, if you are working in the corporate world, it is likely that you already have a team of trusted co-workers, even if they are not in your chain of command that you go to for their expertise. Those people that you respect and admire because of their knowledge, work ethic, or way of looking at the industry will contribute to your department with a simple conversation. Imagine what you can do if you were to formalize those meetings! Particularly when it comes to collaborating on a companywide project. For your personal life, it is likely that you already have an informal network of friends that you have come to rely on. As a military
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spouse and all the moves that go with that moniker, you have built many relationships with so many different types of people. How can you use those relationships to better your current situation? You may have different groups talking about different topics. Talking to some other small business owners about marketing, while talking to a group of parents about financial aid for college. These are your networks and you use them in very different, very specific ways. Aside from all of the “fixes” that a cabinet may help provide, being around others, particularly the smart people in your life, will help you to become more well-rounded, better informed and thinking at a higher level in general. However remember that good listening skills will immensely enhance what is gained from your groups. So who would be in your Kitchen Cabinet? What can each person bring to the table to help you accomplish your goals? Maybe your goal is simply to have a conversation - problems and solutions will grow organically as that conversation moves along. And starting this talk will not only be helpful to you. While you may be setting up a cabinet for your benefit, others will certainly gain from it as well. Very much like networking, you are there to help others, contribute ideas for other people’s issues. Julie was lucky enough to choose a career that easily transfers between employers as her husband’s assignments moved them from city to city. She holds a special interest in career building for military spouses as she feels it is important to have something personal outside of our military lifestyle. OCTOBER 2018
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5 Tips and Traps for the Entrepreneur BY CAROL BOWSER
W
ho hasn’t at one time thought about starting their own business? For military spouses who need income and flexibility it certainly is an attractive option. As a business owner and military spouse, here are some tips that I want to pass on to you. 1. 1. Know the difference between getting paid to do something you enjoy and running a business. I can’t tell you the number of people who have told me “I would love to get paid to (fill in the blank of a favorite activity here).” There is a difference between getting paid to do something and running a business. Here is the secret-you actually spend a great deal of time NOT doing what you love. Businesses like children and pets require a great deal of care and feeding.
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You should expect to spend 1/4 of your time on business administration functions like bookkeeping, paying taxes, updating contacts, responding to emails, fighting with your computer, meeting with your Accountant, Attorney, Business Coach, Banker, Insurance Agent, State Department of Labor and Industries, State Department of Revenue, calls to Tech Support (the list goes on), 1/4 of the time doing networking, marketing, sales and other business development activities. 1/4 of your time getting better at your craft & getter better at running your business, leaving 1/4 of your time to actually do the work that pays the bills. The equation varies from week to week and sometimes day to day. The fact remains that as a business owner you are constantly trying to get and keep customers while keeping your business healthy.
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5. 5. It can’t be ALL about YOU (Part 2- Finding Mentors) The greatest indicator of creating a successful business? The owner has a mentor. Someone or a group of someone who has been there and to whom you can turn to for advice. You can create a Master Minds Group of your own or seek out someone who you learn from.
2. 2. Life Work Balance is a Myth. A woman who I greatly admire once said “I am an entrepreneur-I work part time. Pick any 20 hours in a day, and I am working.” Self-employment can give you “more emotional freedom and less spare time” according to one of the women business owners profiled in How to Run Your Business Like a Girl: Successful Strategies from Entrepreneurial Women Who Made It Happen. Some days the teeter-totter is weighted toward work. Some days it is heavy with personal obligations. The key is to recognize that things should balance out in the aggregate. 3. 3. It really is All About the $$$ (Getting It, Keeping It, Spending It) If you aren’t making enough money to cover expenses and pay yourself a wage, you have a hobby, not a business. If you don’t believe me ask the IRS. If an endeavor does not generate income it can be treated as a hobby instead of a business thereby prohibiting you from deducting the expenses on your tax return. For more explanation on this check out Business or Hobby The Answer Has Implications for Deductions IRS Fact Sheet 2007
Entrepreneurship can be incredibly rewarding. It is an ongoing learning experience with the potential for tremendous rewards. Below are some resources I found helpful in my journey. They do tend to be female focused by the lessons the books provide transcend gender. Give Your Elevator Speech A Lift. Lorraine Howell. How to Run Your Business Like a Girl: Successful Strategies from Entrepreneurial Women Who Make It Happen. Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin Why Women Earn Less: How to Make What You’re Really Worth. Mikelann Valterra Kiss My Tiara: How to Rule the World As A SmartMouth Goddess. Susan Jane Gilman. Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers. Lois Frankel. Elizabeth I CEO: Strategic Lessons From the Leader Who Built An Empire. Alan Alexrod. Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide. Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever E- Myth Revised: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What To Do About It. Michael Gerber. What Customers Love: A Field Guide To Growing Your Business. Harry Beckwith. Selling the Invisible. Harry Beckwith.
4. 4. It can’t be ALL about YOU. (Part 1-Getting Help to Run the Business)
Everyday Negotiation: Navigating the Hidden Agenda’s in Bargaining. Deborah Kolb and Judith Williams.
Running a business can be tough. Don’t fall into the trap thinking you can do it all. Successful business owners rely on other professionals such as accountants, bankers, attorneys, financial planners, payroll specialists, and human resource professionals. It is important to develop relationships with professionals before you really need them. If you have a relationship with a business attorney before a pressing issue comes up, it will really reduce your stress level.
Organizations hire Conflict Management Strategies, Inc. to increase productivity by easing workplace conflict and tension, to train employees in conflict resolution skills, to evaluate internal conflict resolution processes, to coach key employees to higher levels of performance and to facilitate tangible change within the working environment.
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A seat at the table Incorporating boardroom basics into your own BY JOYCE NEAVE
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t’s time to join in and have your voice heard, but what effect does your wardrobe have on your voice? How do you dress according to your particular style and still look professional?
Begin by knowing your office dress code, see what your boss wears, see what the head of HR wears. Some work places are more traditional, while others are very relaxed. Look around. Dressing for a meeting can be confusing and often times distracting from what is really important, which is what you bring to the table. Here are a few suggestions to help you maintain your style when taking your seat in the boardroom‌
Incorporating your style as you take a seat at the table.
Joyce Neave is an authority on fashion and style. As founder, Joyce has been empowering clients for over twenty years. As the owner of That Mom Inc., and now JOYCE NEAVE style group, her work has been featured in the Washington Post, the Washington Times, Washingtonian Magazine, and Bethesda Magazine among others. Joyce has been featured on WUSA9 News highlighting her wardrobe consulting practice and providing viewers with valuable insights. Learn more about the services provided by JOYCE NEAVE style group at: http://www.joyceneave.com/ 14 | NMSN Magazine
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A more casual board meeting.
Suiting can be what you like, it doesn’t always have to be a stiff blazer.
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Sponsored Content
Avoid these BRS Traps BY JJ MONTANARO, CFP® WITH USAA
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he new Blended Retirement System is now up and running. Although skepticism often accompanies change, in my mind, BRS holds some serious promise. The possibility of more military members benefiting, more servicemembers saving for their future, more interest in personal finances and more information and education (yes, some of it mandatory!) could all be positive effects of BRS. However, there are some potential traps you want to sidestep. Here are 5 that come immediately to mind: 1. L etting Uncle Sam choose your tax treatment. The Thrift Savings Plan offers both Roth and Traditional options. The default option – your option if you do nothing – is the pretax traditional option. While this approach will reduce your taxable income today, many young servicemembers just kicking off their working career may be better served by contributing to
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the Roth TSP. The Roth option offers the potential to build a tax-free stream of income in retirement, but you’ll have to visit myPay (or your service’s pay system) and choose to have your investments directed to the Roth TSP. And remember, government contributions to your TSP will always be to the traditional TSP. 2. L etting Uncle Sam elect how much you contribute. Those that join the military in 2018 or later, will be automatically signed up to contribute 3% into the TSP. I love this “auto-enrollment” feature because it’s going to create more participation. However, I would have preferred the default contribution be at least 5%. At this level, the participant would get the maximum government contribution of 5%. Don’t settle by just putting 3% into the TSP, shoot for at least 5% and better yet, 10% or more. And remember, no matter where you start today, you can increase
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your contribution over time. Periodic pay raises and promotions are a great time to boost what you’re contributing. 3. Q uestioning Uncle Sam’s wisdom. I like the new default TSP investment rolled out with BRS. Until now, the default investment election – again, your election if you did nothing – was the G fund. While safe and stable, the G fund is probably not appropriate for many servicemembers saving for retirement 40+ years in the future. For those who join the service in 2018 or later or are firsttime TSP participants, the default option is changing to the age-appropriate Lifecycle fund; for someone born in 1983 or later, it will be the L 2050 fund. 4. O pting for the lump sum option. If I had to guess, I’d say the DoD was not overly excited about Congress’ requirement to offer a lump sum option as part of the BRS. That lack of enthusiasm translated into what I consider a poor value for servicemembers who elect to take the lump sum. In my opinion, without diving into a lot of detail, if you choose to take the lump sum you will be underpaid for what you’re giving up. 5. Q uit daydreaming during training. Don’t blow off financial training. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit my mind has wandered during more than a few sessions of mandatory training – both here at USAA and during my time in the military. My hope is that won’t be the case for you and the required financial training will push the needle on financial readiness across the military. Take advantage.
Views and opinions expressed by members are for informational purposes only and should not be deemed as an endorsement by USAA. This material is for informational purposes and is not investment advice, an indicator of future performance, a solicitation, an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation for any security. It should not be used as a primary basis for making investment decisions. Consider your own financial circumstances and goals carefully before investing. Investing in securities products involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM in the United States, which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. OCTOBER 2018
The law concerning tax and retirement plans is complex, penalties are severe, and the laws of your state may differ. Consult your tax and legal advisers regarding your specific situation. The information contained is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for obtaining professional financial advice. Please thoroughly research and seek professional advice before acting on any information you may have found in this article. This article in no way attempts to provide financial advice that relates to all personal circumstances. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM in the United States, which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. USAA means United Services Automobile Association and its affiliates.
Joseph “JJ” Montanaro is a financial planner with USAA’s Military Affairs’ Advocacy Group and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional (CFP®). He is a native of Kansas City and graduated from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. Montanaro has more than twenty years of experience as a financial planner. He served in the US Army for six years on active duty and retired as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve. JJ’s financial advice has appeared in numerous outlets including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the New York Times. He writes monthly personal finance columns for Military Spouse Magazine and American Legion Magazine and hosts the USAA Money Drill podcast.
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Find a new job
IN YOUR NEW TOWN. MILITARY SPOUSE JOB FINDER TOOL Our job finder tool helps you navigate career changes and challenges that come with a PCS. Get access to résumé builders, job openings in your new city, and more. Nobody does more for those who serve.
Visit USAA.COM/MILITARYLIFE or call 800-531-8521
Membership eligibility and product restrictions apply and are subject to change. USAA means United Services Automobile Association and its affiliates. © 2018 USAA. 248948-0218 18 | NMSN Magazine
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The State of Your Job Search Resources You Can Use Today BY JANET FARLEY, ED.M.
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erious jobseekers understand the facts.
Serious jobseekers that are also military spouses understand the facts, too.
Forgive me for stating the obvious but the odds of job search success, on the surface, seem stacked against us. It’s no wonder the milspouse unemployment rate is at a whopping 26% making the national rate looks positively hopeful at 7.9%.
The business of finding a job is a job in itself AND we get lots of practice at it.
Big Picture Efforts Help Ease the Struggle
The business of finding a job is a job in itself.
T:11”
As military families, we move 14% more often than our civilian counterparts making upward career progression problematic at best.1 Frequent relocations aren’t the only obstacles in our way either. Others include any number of spinoff issues that arise from family separations due to deployments and/or TDYs, childcare challenges and lackluster local economic conditions.
Job search success leading to meaningful employment of the short- or long-term nature may seem dismal at best but there is some good news to acknowledge. Spousal employment and educational opportunities have greatly improved over the past few years. Much long overdue attention has been focused on our professional plight. The big picture push from the White House
on down, has been to increase meaningful employment and educational opportunities for you. Here is a sampling of such resources and initiatives, how they can help you today and my tips for using them: • The DOD has created, what it terms as, a “comprehensive, holistic, spouse-centered program” designed to address the unique combination of work-life interests and priorities of today’s military spouses. It calls this program SECO: Spouse Education and Career Opportunities. Click on the link and you’ll see links to articles covering such topics as policy and legislation, federal employment, home business opportunities, military spouse preference, tips for transferring your occupation license or certification and resume writing advice. There are also links to even more links. How this can help you today: Start by reading the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities Overview. It will tell you everything you need to know now about how SECO can help you. Reader beware… there is s a lot of information here. On one hand, that can be
Annual Report to Congress on Plans for the Department of Defense for the Support of Military Family Readiness, FY 2011, page 14. 1
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another. I’m just saying. • Rolled into SECO, is the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) Program which offers military spouses connections to all Federal employers and to nearly 100 Fortune 500 Plus employers. Touted as “leveling the playing the field” for milspouses, the program has enjoyed success. Over 13,500 spouses have been hired into positions as a result of the service and over 152,000 jobs have been posted on the website. You can also connect with MSEP on Facebook.
a good thing. On the other, it can be overwhelming. Janet’s Tip: Take advantage of the SECO specialty consultants by calling 1.800.342.9647. Free of charge to you, they can assist in matching you with different types of jobs by identifying your career interests, aptitudes, skills, knowledge levels, personality type and core values. • It’s not a new program but it may be new to you. My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) Program continues to offer up to $4,000 in financial assistance for education, training or occupational licenses/credentials needed to have a portable career. The catch here? To take advantage of this program, you have to be a spouse of service members on active duty in pay grades E-1 to E-5, W-1 to W-2, and O-1 to O-2 who can start and 20 | NMSN Magazine
complete their coursework while their military sponsor is on Title 10 military orders. This includes spouses married to members of the National Guard and Reserve Components in these same pay grades. How this can help you today: Go to My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) Program and create your account today. It really doesn’t get much easier than that. Janet’s Tip: If you are eligible and it could help you, use it! Strangely enough, in FY 2012, only about half of the registered spouses actually used the financial assistance benefit. What’s up with that? Looking into my opinionated crystal ball….funding could disappear or be reduced in the future if spouses don’t take full advantage of this terrific program. Money not used in one place is often diverted to nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org
How this can help you today: MSEP can connect you with job opportunities from the federal government and from within private industry, 182,666 active jobs as of November 2012. You can search the jobs without registering for a free account. To apply for jobs, however, you need to do so and login to apply for jobs. The MSEP Career Portal also links you back to sound job search advice content on Military OneSource. Janet’s Tip: Troll the Facebook page for hot job leads that may not appear on the MSEP Career Portal site. • When a person leaves his or her job involuntarily, unemployment compensation is a potential monetary benefit that can accessed by the newly unemployed. In the past, military spouses accompanying their active duty service member on a PCS move were not viewed as “involuntarily” leaving a job. That is changing. Today, 39 states and the District of Columbia now provide OCTOBER 2018
unemployment compensation eligibility for trailing spouses. How this can help you today: If you are gainfully employed and expecting a PCS move in the future, find out if you may be eligible for unemployment compensation when the time comes. See the map on USA4Military Families for need to know details and links to specific state employment offices. Janet’s Tip: Periodically refer back to the map on USA4Military Families for new updates. Once a nurse, a teacher or any other job requiring a license or certification, always a nurse, teacher or other credentialed professional. Right? Only if you can manage to obtain the necessary state credentials in time before you have to move again. Recognizing this issue, twenty-six states have implemented modified professional licensing
requirements to assist spouses in securing employment following a PCS move. See the 50 State Licensing Chart, compliments of the National Military Family Association to see where your state stands on this issue. How this can help you today: If you work in a field that requires state specific licenses or certifications, the chart link can help you troubleshoot your future job search strategies. Janet’s Tip: Think ahead. If you have the luxury of guessing where your next duty station could be. If so, research the state requirements ahead of time. Start doing what you can in advance, using MyCAA benefits if you can to meet the requirements. Clearly, there are a number of big picture pushes going on for professionally minded spouses. They might provide you with the perfect answers to all the obstacles you personally face;
however, appreciate them. Use whatever nugget of gold you can prospect out of them and apply it to your own efforts. And of course, continue to connect with the National Military Spouse Network where you can always find trusted expert career advice, hear inspirational stories and learn about employment opportunities. Other MilSpouse Employment Resources: • One-Stop Career Centers • On-installation Family Support Centers (Employment Readiness) • State job banks • On-installation Education Centers • Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN) • EMentor Program • Department of Labor • USA Jobs • Office of Personnel Management • Marine Corps Community Services Civilian Careers • USAF NAF Jobs • Navy NAF Human Resources • Joining Forces
Janet Farley, Ed.M. is the author of The Military Spouse’s Employment Guide: Smart Job Choices for Mobile Lifestyles (Impact Pubs, 2012) and Quick Military Transition Guide: Seven Steps to Landing a Civilian Job (Jist, Inc., 2012). Follow her on Twitter @smartjobchoices and @ mil2civguide. Visit her webpage at www.janetfarley.com. OCTOBER 2018
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the same path of job searching, finding nothing, and continuing to get frustrated. For the sake of your career, and sanity, let’s explore options 1 and 2 more in depth: Option 1 – Seek out other types of opportunities within same career field: If you are dead set on staying in your career field, but cannot find a paid position, think about some things that you can do to make yourself more competitive for a future opportunity within your career field. Volunteering is the first thing that comes to mind for many. If you go this route, make sure you seek out volunteering opportunities that are relevant to your field. During one of our moves where I could not find a paid position within my career field (human resources), I decided to volunteer for a nonprofit organization that focused on re-employment strategies. After volunteering at this organization for a couple of months, they decided to hire me as a paid member of their team.
When Jobs in Your Industry are Scarce BY AMY SCHOFIELD, ACRW AND ACPW
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oes this scenario sound familiar? You moved to a new location a few months ago. You have been searching for a job in your field since you moved there. You have not found a single job that aligns with your career goals or professional career level due to the scarcity of jobs within your industry in that location. You get frustrated. I personally have been in the exact same scenario on more than one occasion. At the time, I decided I had three options: 1) Seek out other types of opportunities within my career field (yes, most of which are unpaid) but would show hiring managers that I am passionate about that career field and also staying relevant while I am searching for a paid position; 2) Branch out and search for positions in another industry where I could use my transferable skills but also learn something new; or 3) Remain on 22 | NMSN Magazine
But volunteering is not the only way to make yourself more competitive when you cannot find a job in your field. Other options include signing up for a class, starting a blog or writing articles, or becoming a guest speaker. Taking professional development courses, whether it is solely one course or a series of classes that lead to a certification, is a great way to increase your skillset and stay competitive. Have you noticed a lot of job postings that require a PMP certification, but you don’t have one? Well, now may be the best time for you to start on that certification. Starting a blog or writing articles will help show your expertise within your career field – and may even lead to paid writing opportunities. Becoming a guest speaker will help build your credibility and your confidence. Each of these options look great on your resume as well as help you to get out there and network while you are continuing your search for paid employment. Option 2 – Branch out and search for positions in another industry: This option may be more difficult for you to think about doing, especially if you have been focused on one particular industry for your entire career. However, branching out into a different industry may be beneficial to you and might lead you to find something you are even more passionate about. My first career field was in government affairs, which aligned directly with my college degree – perfect, I
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thought! But, when I moved to a location that did not have many jobs within that industry, coupled with a devastating hurricane that hit the area the weekend right after I moved there, I realized I had to expand my job search to other career fields if I wanted to find paid employment. This is where focusing on your transferrable skillset comes into play. Just because all of my experience was in the government affairs field did not mean I was only qualified for positions within that particular industry. Instead, I updated my resume to reflect skills and accomplishments that I had gained in that industry but tailored them to other skills needed within industries that were prevalent in my new location; one of which was human resources. At the time, I never held a position within a human resources department, but the hiring manager was so thrilled with my skillset and other accomplishments, that they hired me to fulfill one of their positions. And‌ come to find out, I thoroughly enjoyed the position within my new industry and I completely set out on a new career path leading me to where I am now and loving my job.
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I know how the frustration can set in of being in a new place and not being able to find a job in your industry. Hopefully my experiences can help you get out of that frustration zone and lead you on the path to finding the right opening for you.
Amy Schofield is an Academy Certified Resume Writer and an Academy Certified Profile Writer with 10+ years of experience in the recruiting, career coaching, and resume writing fields. She is the founder of Schofield Strategies, LLC TM, an organization that provides resume development and job search strategies to job seekers of various backgrounds and experience levels from around the world. As an active-duty military spouse, she is passionate about helping transitioning veterans and military spouses reach their career goals. Her work is featured in numerous online and print media, including GI Jobs, Reserve and National Guard Magazine, Army Wife Talk Radio, NextGen Milspouse, and Blue Star Families. She is a contributor to Modernize Your Job Search Letters: Get Noticed‌ Get Hired. Schofield Strategies was the recipient of the 2013 Military Family Member Community Heartbeat Award.
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Joyce’s choices of the Fall/Winter Trends for 2018 ANIMAL PRINT Try adding a splash of animal print with what you already have…under a black suit or with a pair of jeans and a blazer.
or go bold
and also try snakeskin, tiger print, and fun colors too!
STRONG BLAZERS
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LUXURY COLORS
LEATHER
Kitten Heels and Sock booties These combine both trends
Western boots To sum up this season… it’s the modern 90’s! Be careful the proportions are oversized, if you aren’t careful you get swallowed up in fabric. Remember…not every trend was meant to be embraced. Have Fun!
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Standing Out in a Crowd How others can find you in the crowd of the “mega-convention” BY TRISH ALEGRE-SMITH
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was one of 10,000+ people in attendance and this was my first conference of the year. It was hard enough to find my room in the 700,000 square feet of the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center let alone figure out how I was going to connect with other attendees—and stand out somehow. Compare this to the annual National Military Spouse Network Milspouse Summit that caps attendance at around 100 attendees to keep things intimate and approachable and this task seemed daunting if not impossible. So what was my plan? Step 1: Connect on social media ahead of time. With so many attending and less than a week for the convention I needed to re-think my approach to “meeting” people. First action was to follow and start using the convention hashtags (#imagingusa and #imagingusa2018) on social media—posting what I was doing to prepare for the trip and engaging with others who were using the same hashtags. Second action was to follow convention speakers and vendors on social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) who I wanted to see while I was there. Step 2: Decide what I wanted to accomplish. This convention was my most expensive professional conference of the year when travel and lodging costs were included. Every dollar and minute spent mattered. What did I want to get out of this experience? Not only did I want to meet peers in my industry but connect with others that would continue to inspire me and push me to grow. I also wanted to meet vendors and take the time to personally thank those who helped me when I first started my business. Finally, I wanted to explore potential collaborations with other attendees with similar goals.
days in Air Force ROTC! And it still applies when it comes to large conventions like these. I took advantage of pre-convention classes and workshops to “get ahead of the wave” that was coming when the convention officially kicked off. Guess who also shows up early? Speakers and vendors—making it more likely I’d meet them before everyone else. Step 4: Be myself. For those who have met me I’m not a “look-at-me” kind of person—I’m closer to being described as an “introverted extrovert.” This presented a unique challenge as I traveled solo and didn’t really know anyone there. It also presented an opportunity. I had no obligations and no other choice but to get to know the new people that I met—especially if we were in the same classes and hotel and mutually wanted to avoid meals at a “table for one.” It felt more natural for me to connect like this and made conversations flow easier. It didn’t feel like “networking” as much as getting to know potential friends. At the end of the week I accomplished everything that I wanted to do—and it wasn’t as hard or as scary as I thought it would be. I’m looking forward to my next conference—even though it won’t nearly be as large as this one.
Step 3: Arrive early. “To be early is to be on time; to be on time is to be late.” These words echoed in my head during my OCTOBER 2018
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Simple Stepping Stones to Success BY KRISTA WELLS, PH.D.
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or a business owner and mother of four young kids, September can be hectic. I often turn from business goals to piles of laundry, packing lunches, scoring clients’ career assessments, and putting dinner into the crock pot. One morning with a client waiting in my office at 9am, my little guy “felt hot.” I quickly called a girlfriend to take him for an hour until I figured out the rest of my day; my business goals were far from my radar. However, if I totally let go of professional goals to face daily events, something eats at me. The solution is to have goals that fit realistically into a busy mom’s lifestyle. It can be pretty simple. Think about where you want to be professionally in 10 years, 5
years; what can you do this year that is a simple step toward that bigger goal. Most clients can name one skill that would move them ahead. With a clear vision of where we want to be, we devise clear creative ways to work toward that goal. I want to be a psychotherapist, so I listen to tapes in my car on psychotherapy topics when I have five minutes waiting for kids to pick up. It is often not about the goal but about who we will become if we accomplish it. As I work hard and learn new therapy techniques I grow as an individual; working on ourselves, we attract goals more easily. Think of a long-sought goal; think of simple ways to get moving in ways that make sense for your life right now.
Step One: Decluttering When clients share their main goal, I look at how their environment supports it. How does cleaning my desk have to do with an effective jobsearch strategy? What does decluttering my pantry have to do with my goal? My 30-day decluttering challenge is clients’ intro to coaching. When your environment supports you, you can accomplish more in less time. By decluttering and living within your means, you approach goal setting with an attractive spirit: more happens with less effort. By looking at your wardrobe and having only a few staple items that fit beautifully, you are in a productive mindset, compared to someone who spends all morning finding something to wear, starting their day with indecision. Stuck with a goal? Choose a place in your home or office that bothers you. As you drop clothing in a Salvation Army bin or empty those old computer files and recycle old work journals, a new client calls or a big business opportunity comes along: you have told the universe in some subtle way, “Now I’m ready!” Step Two: Journaling I began my journal with a list of 50 things I want; then went back and marked those for now, those in 3 years, those in 5. This list at the front of my journal inspires me. Goal-setting guru Brian Tracey taught me to
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rewrite my goal each evening as a daily reminder of what matters most, to better prioritize my day around my goals. Clients create large vision boards and write out their “SMART goal” (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time bound), but there is magic in rewriting your goals every day, adding focus and attracting many more opportunities. Step Three: Planning Planning your day the night before gives you a road map for your day and allows your subconscious to work on your goals even when you are sleeping, speeding up the process of goal attainment exponentially. I reflect on goals each evening but also write my daily plan and to-do list. I reflect on whether I put things on my to-do list just to check them off or if they are the most important tasks related to my personal and professional goals. If my goal is to work out three times a week and I am checking off that I went to Target to get diapers, are my priorities in line with what matters most? Perhaps diapers. com and a run would be a better plan for next week. By planning and reflecting, you can see what is going well and what are barriers to your success. Gourmet dinners may be less important than sending your resume for that stretch job you have always wanted. Step Four: Systemizing Life coach Talane Miedaner suggested blocking off 1 hour weekly strictly for organizing, systematizing , or automating; not for doing the actual work; I do this every Monday! I look in my goal journal for where I get stuck. I don’t beat myself up, but think of OCTOBER 2018
a system that will make life easier and gift it to myself. Perhaps creating a bill-paying station with a return-address stamp; perhaps adding addresses from a business networking meeting to my database, researching automated appointment-scheduling software, or planning meals for the week. I have clients who swear they are reaching their goals because they implement things like “Taco Tuesday,” giving them time for blogging, their real passion. Work smarter, not just harder.
with different content. How are you best motivated superficially and deeply? Maybe superficially your main goal is financial; place a money tree on your desk. If your goal is to run 10k, put a successful runner screen saver on your computer. Use your journal to more deeply reflect on your gratitude; proactively journal ways to keep that mo-jo flowing, honoring those meaningful dreams and never, never, never quit!
Step Five: Motivating I share ideas with clients to motivate them. Motivating them motivates me. Reach out to others; share success tips. If you feel stuck (we all do sometimes), think of positive people you know who may benefit from kudos. Getting them energized with new ideas will be contagious! No one around? Then grab that journal and jot down who your goal will serve and why you need to accomplish it now! Still stuck? List five things you accomplished in the past and what motivated you. Then replicate the same scenario nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org
Krista Wells, Ph.D. is The Military Spouse Coach a career coach, and contributing writer for several military publications such as milspouse.com, militarymoney.com, and CinCHouse. com. Krista is a motivational speaker and delivers workshops on military bases worldwide. For nformation on how to book Krista at your next spouse event please contact Krista@ militarysposuecoach.com NMSN Magazine
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