NMSN Spring 2016

CAREER CONNECTIONS March 16, 2016, Vol. 3, Issue 1

© So Your Life Images by Trish Alegre-Smith

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Contact us for more information on advertising with NMSN. info@milspousenetwork.org

© So Your Life Images by Trish Alegre-Smith

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t was so great to catch up with some of our members at the 2015 NMSN Military Spouse Career Summit. As always, it was wonderful to hear about how everyone’s professional lives progressed over the last year and learn about the different ways their businesses had grown.

Bonus was getting to do all this while taking advantage of being together for two days of networking and learning. It was a treat for all of us to hear from sisters Katherine Berman and Sophie LaMontagne who together co-founded the wildly successful, Georgetown Cupcakes. They generously shared their lessons learned for not only building a business, but also for scaling a business. They certainly set the bar high, but ALL the speakers were so inspirational and the sessions were some of the best yet. If you missed the summit, you can still catch the wrap up by MJ Boice. We hope you’ll join us for the 2016 event in October!

It’s difficult to believe that we’re almost into the second quarter of 2016 already. By now, many of you have already received your assignments for the next stage of your life and have already nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

started prepping for moving your businesses or getting ready to start that next job search.

Fortunately, with the advent of social media and societal trends catching up with a mobile workforce, it’s easier than ever to prep yourself for success. When you find out you’re getting ready to move, you should: • • • •

Update your résumé Update your LinkedIn profile Start researching your new duty location Make sure you have enough networking cards • Start networking online for the new location The rest of this issue is dedicated to portable careers and successfully transitioning from installation to installation. Each of the articles has been carefully curated to help you make that next move. We hope you’ll find the advice helpful. Best of luck!

Sue

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TA B L E O F

CONTENTS

Career Goal

Planning 3 4 6 10 14 16 19 22

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Get a Job.

Really.

PRESIDENT’S LETTER Sue Hoppin Table of CONTENTS Meet the EXPERTS

2016 Tips CAREER GOAL PLANNING Amy Schofield GETTING IT WRITE ON YOUR RÉSUMÉ Janet Farley GET A JOB. REALLY. Janet Farley GETTING YOUR RÉSUMÉ PAST THE ALL-IMPORTANT APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEM Amy Schofield nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

Summit

Wrap Up 24 28 34 37 40 42

To Speak or Not to Speak?

HOW TO CREATE A PORTABLE CAREER Rachel Brenke SUMMIT WRAP UP MJ Boice THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF SALARY NEGOTIATION Julie Waters SCALING YOUR BUSINESS Matt Zemon TO SPEAK OR NOT TO SPEAK? Carol Bowser USING YOUTUBE TUTORIALS TO UPDATE IN TECH! Carol Fishman Cohen

No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the Publisher. nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

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MEET THE

EXPERTS

CAROL BOWSER

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rganizations 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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RAY CROWELL

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ay Crowell is fueling the veteran & spouse-led startup renaissance in DC, providing a peer-learning environment for entrepreneurs to Discover, Grow, Innovate, and Connect.

He leads a team of supportive mentors, industry experts, strategic partners, and dedicated founders over at Bunker Labs DC. Ray is obsessed with engaging military veterans and their spouses to start, innovate, and scale the next generation of high-growth companies.

ment of Air Force executive and government contractor, he joined the Patriot Boot Camp team as advisor and devoted roadie. Ray recently launched Ascent 7 Ventures, which will be debuting its first App (managing carpool pick-up for charter schools) very very soon. He has a BA, MA, a stack of executive development program certs in business and public policy, and was a Harvard Kennedy School Fellow at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy.

Ray unleashed his entrepreneurial spirit while on active duty (USAF), accelerating chapter-driven non-profits. Following a stretch as a Depart-

Ray lives in Alexandria with his active-duty (USAF) wife and their almost-thoroughbred rescue puppy.

nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

JANET FARLEY

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anet Farley serves as a NMSN subject matter expert and she is the author of The Military Spouse’s Employment Guide: Smart Job Choices for Mobile Lifestyles (Impact Publications, 2012). For more military spouse employment tips and thoughts, follow her @Smartjobchoices on Twitter.

nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

CAROL FISHMAN COHEN

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arol Fishman Cohen is a globally recognized expert on career-reentry strategy.

She is co-author of Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stayat-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work and co-founder of iRelaunch (www.iRelaunch.com), the leading and most comprehensive career reentry resource for employers, individuals, universities, and professional organizations. Carol is a past presenter at the NMSN Military Spouse Career Summit and the MOAA Spouse Symposium. iRelaunch programs and presentations have reached 15,000 people since 2006. Contact info@irelaunch.com.

JOYCE NEAVE

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oyce 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/.

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MEET THE

EXPERTS

GRETA PERRY

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reta Perry, owner of Kickify, �Pumping Up Your Web Presence,� has branded herself both on and off-line with her positive energy, intuitive use of technology, and networking successes. She is available for consulting or speaking for businesses and brands of all sizes.

Greta is never far from the internet and can be contacted at Greta@kickify.com, Facebook, Twitter @kissmygumbo @kickify @freetweetadvice, LinkedIn, Google + or www.kickify.com.

FRED WELLMAN

F

red Wellman is a retired 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 locations in Fredericksburg and Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.

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.

Interested in writing for us?

Contact us at info@milspousenetwork.org 8

nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

AMY SCHOFIELD

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my Schofield, ACWR has been in the recruiting, career coaching, and résumé writing fields for 10+ years. She has provided résumé development and job search strategies to job seekers of various backgrounds and experience levels from around the world.

Amy is the founder of Schofield Strategies, LLC TM. She has appeared in numerous media sources delivering résumé tips, including GI Jobs, Business Talk Radio, Reserve and National Guard Magazine, National Military Spouse Network, 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 Résumé Writer credential.

nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

JULIE WATERS

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ulie 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.

Over the last 13 years, Julie 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 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.

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We may be nearing the start of the second quarter, but it’s never too late to get started on those 2016 goals.

Here are some tips from our experts to get you motivated!

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eed guidance on how to tackle your digital presence in 2016? The following tips are a great way to at least begin the process (you have to start somewhere). There are always new social media venues out there, but it’s always better to diversify your portfolio, while focusing on the established platforms, before venturing out to the “new shiny.” Your current goals and missions should help drive your efforts. Also, your online graphics should be good quality with high resolution to look good on desktops and mobile devices.

• Social Media Roundup: Create a document listing ALL your social media. It is likely you forgot that neglected Tumblr account or YouTube channel.

• YouTube: Still a great platform to work with.

• Snapchat: This is a tough one to establish and monitor, but depending on your audience, may be something to invest in.

• Google: Google yourself and your business and set up Google Alerts for them.

• Google Business: Claim your Google page, if you have not already. There is a new dashboard, so best to start there. https://www.google. com/business

• Periscope: The “new shiny” social media, worthy of at least checking out.

• Hootsuite, Apps & Browser Extensions: There are a lot of tools out there to streamline your social media presence.

Do what works best for you and don’t be afraid to try new things. Hootsuite is always a great one to investigate.

• LinkedIn: Review your LinkedIn profile (personal & business) to be sure everything is up to date. You can choose to hide edits or broadcast them while doing so.

• Facebook:

• Google Analytics: At the very least, your website should be connected to this. You could spend weeks studying it as there is more information in there than you will likely ever need, so be careful with your time and effort.

Review your Facebook personal page and business for correct info, especially your email.

• Pinterest: Pinterest for business and personal generates great SEO for your website. If you blog, make sure to pin all your posts.

Warning – this can be a time suck!

• Twitter & Instagram: Don’t forget to follow back worthy followers and check your profiles to connect it to your business.

• Online Reputation: You should at the very least, check this in your Google searches; claiming Yelp, BBB or Angie’s List if applicable. nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

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f social media is a chore to you, hire someone to help get you streamlined, make a plan, and/or manage it. It is not a “one size fits all,” and measurement of time for ROI is always something to consider. Social media should be FUN! Greta Perry, Digital Strategist

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“Have a better work life balance” could convert to have a firm ending time to my work day at 5:30 or have 1 date night with husband per month. “Don’t stress so much“ converts to begin each day with 5 minutes of quiet reflection or take a 10 minute walk during my lunch. “Increase my income” could be “dump non-productive, time sucking for little money client” or “revise pricing to account for inflation and increase in my level of expertise” or “project revenue and cash flow to determine amount of income needed for 5% raise per quarter in 2016.”

The momentum of all those accomplished or in process little goals can lead you to your ultimate goal of a new job in this new year.

oal setting is part of the New Year Tradition. It is also a good business practice.

Too often the goals we set are aspirational versus objectively achievable. For example: have a better work life balance, don’t stress too much and increase my income. Ok as a start, but what is the measure for how you will know if you have accomplished your goals particularly the more squishy ones?

So make it more concrete.

he key to achieving big picture goals lies in the development and accomplishment of smaller, work horse goals along the way.

For example, let’s say you want to land a new and improved job in 2016. That’s a big picture goal. To reach it, you need to accomplish little picture or “supporting role” goals in the interim. For example, you can update your résumé within the next seven days, targeting it towards a specific job or area. You can set a goal to re-connect with those in your network who might be able to help you along the way. Consider expanding your network as well. Volunteering in your community, on or off-line, can be one way to create a more robust network.

Janet Farley, Employment Expert

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ired of having too many emails cluttering your inbox? Many entrepreneurs are getting hours of time back by using services like unroll.me and SaneBox. SaneBox learns what email is important to you and filters out what isn’t. Unroll.me lets you combine all of your favorite subscriptions into one email and easily unsubscribe from those you no loner want to read. You get one email with summaries from all your subscriptions- today alone Unroll.me diverted 60 emails from my inbox!

t’s a new year so it’s a great time to reflect on last year’s accomplishments and whether you met your goals or not. It’s easy to lament the missed targets, the stagnant revenue, or other challenges but it’s also dangerous to rest on your laurels and think everything is going great so there is no need to change a thing. The fact is that markets are constantly shifting and changing. What was popular last fall might be considered “out” this year and you find yourself sitting on something that is considered “so yesterday’. This even applies to services industries as we’ve seen the shift from long term retainer contracts to a desire by companies to rely on project based work instead or bringing traditionally outsourced work in-house.

Analysis is a must at all times to succeed.

Matt Zemon, Business expert

When I was an Army officer in combat I was constantly updating my analysis of the ter-

Carol Bowser, Conflict Management Expert

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rain, the enemy, the availability of my own forces, my supplies and a host of other issues, I am doing the same in business almost as constantly. Has a new competitor popped up? Are my customers looking for something fresh that I am not offering? Is my revenue model still the right one in light of changes in the economy? Do I have the bandwidth to support more growth even if i find the new business? While the new year is the appropriate time to take a look at where you stand it shouldn’t be the only time. I often find that my big planned review is anti-climactic because I have been constantly updating my analysis throughout the year already.

Fred Wellman, Entrepreneur in Residence nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

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he first step to goal setting is to assess where you are. What are you most proud of this past year both personally and professionally? Did you take on any additional responsibility this year? How did you take initiative in your job? Have you learned any new skills? Did you earn any certifications or licenses? Did you receive any awards or recognition this year? Based on this information, look at opportunities for improvement in the upcoming year and set 2-3 goals you want to tackle. Use the S.M.A.R.T. goal system to articulate your goals. S.M.A.R.T stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Oriented.

Amy Schofield, RĂŠsumĂŠ Writer Expert 13

Career Goal

Planning * BY AMY SCHOFIELD, ACRW

A

s a military spouse, how often do your career goals change? Do you reassess your career goals at least once a year or do you establish new career goals with every PCS? Do you ever take a look at

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your goals and realize your ultimate career goal has changed? Below is a breakdown of five steps to the career goal planning process which may help lead you to obtaining your next dream job!

nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

1. Assess where you are: What are you most proud of this past year both personally and professionally? Did you take on any additional responsibility this year? Have you learned any new skills? Did you earn any certifications or licenses? Did you receive any awards or recognition? What do you like most about your current job? What would you like to change about your current job?

2. Define your career goal: Is your current position aligned with your priorities and your core values? If so, great! If not, then think about the type of career you’d like to have. Identify two to three goals you want to tackle to ensure your career plan is on the right track. Use the S.M.A.R.T. goal system to articulate your goals; goals should be “Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Oriented.”

3. Establish steps to take to achieve your goal: Take each of your goals and write down a detailed list of steps under each of them that you will need to take to achieve that goal. The more steps you can map out, the easier it will be for you to reach your goals. The steps should be practical tasks that will lead you to achieving the goal. Give yourself milestones, including dates and numbers, so you can measure your progress.

4. Ask for help along the way: As you work your way through each step, focus on the actions you are taking, realizing that if you are taking the right actions, these should eventually lead to the results you seek. If you’re not getting the results you want, change the plan, not the overall goal.

Re-examine your steps and see if there is something you are missing. If you are working through your steps and discover you need to add additional items, update your list. nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

5. Measure your progress: Periodically assessing where you are to make sure you are on the right path to achieve your overall goal is a good thing! If you miss a step along the way, you can find yourself far from your intended destination. So, plan periodic assessments of your progress along the way.

This can be a monthly check-up or a quarterly review where you assess your plan and make any necessary changes.

Taking the time to think through and plan out your career goals will help you create the career you want for yourself. Career planning takes time and effort, but with these steps, you may achieve more in your professional life.

Amy Schofield, Academy Certified Résumé Writer and active duty military spouse, has been in the recruiting, career coaching, and résumé writing fields for 10+ years. She has provided résumé development strategies to job seekers worldwide who come from various backgrounds and experience levels. Amy is the founder of Schofield Strategies, LLC. Schofield Strategies, LLC was the recipient of the 2013 Military Family Member Community Heartbeat Award.

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Getting it Write on

Your Résumé * BY JANET FARLEY, ED.M.

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here are things in life we like to do such as: spending quality time with our families, travelling to new and exciting places and spending hours shopping when everything is on sale and everything fits us.

Then there are those things in life we don’t exactly like to do, like PCS every few years or hear a doctor say, “This won’t hurt a bit”.

Somewhere on that list of things we don’t exactly like to do has to be spending countless hours updating our résumés for new jobs.

In the name of enhancing your time management skills and in landing the job you really want, let’s discuss how to get it write on your résumé. Pun intended.

It Lives Before you launch into edit mode, accept one reality about your résumé. It lives. It is not a static document that you review every few years when it suits you.

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Your résumé is a living, breathing document that you take good care of so it can take good care of you when time is short and opportunities are present. This means you need to give it more than a passing thought on a fairly regular basis.

Best suggestion? Pick a schedule, any schedule and stick to it.

For example, make a pact with yourself to review your résumé every year on the day after your birthday. Or plan to review it every six months. Whatever you decide, be consistent and have it on your calendar as a must do item.

You owe it to yourself. Within the scope of one year, your skills have grown. You have new professional experiences that need to be captured on your résumé if you intend to remain competitive.

You’ll realize the true benefit of routine maintenance when you want to apply for a job and you don’t need to spend an insane amount of time updating your résumé. nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

Targeting Your Résumé for a Specific Job

then work to get as close to that point as you can, skill by skill.

You have found the perfect job and now all you have to do is convince the employer to give you an interview. A killer résumé, targeted specifically to that job, may well be just what you need to make that interview a reality.

Let’s say you are applying for a budget analyst job but you’ve never been a budget analyst.

You have, however, worked in job where you had some significant fiscal responsibilities.

Gather all the information you possibly can about the job you want. What skills are they seeking? Credentials? Experiences? Highlight those keywords you see in the announcement. You may even know someone on the inside who can offer you unpublished details.

Compare the job you want with the content on your existing résumé. Do you see an obvious fit or not? Look critically at your résumé as though you were the employer. Would you hire you?

Enhance the fit. Assuming you are not already a perfect match for the job on paper,

nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

Your mission, then, becomes showing how what you have done in those other jobs is akin to what you can do in relationship to the job you want.

For example, the job vacancy announcement says you have to be able to develop and coordinate budget submissions and justifications.

Maybe you didn’t do that every single day in past jobs, but you did do it or something like it annually in one of them. Expand upon that point in the appropriate work narrative.

To effectively update your résumé and target it to the job you want, repeat that process for every skill desired by the employer.

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You will either be able to directly or indirectly address the skills or not. Whatever you write in an effort to show the fit to an employer, be able to back it up 100%.

If you are targeting a job in the private sector, keep it to no more than two pages unless instructed otherwise by the employer.

Throw the thesaurus away. Don’t reach for fancy words. Use the same ones that are used in the job vacancy announcement or within that industry to show your familiarity with the career field, assuming you have it.

Highlight the skills you have to offer. Don’t get caught up in all the skills, abilities or experiences that you don’t have. Instead, sell what you do have. It’s you. If you’re not happy with what you have to offer, then that is a different situation requiring different action.

Length matters. Consider the employer before you expand your résumé past two pages. If you are targeting a job within the federal government, go into adequate detail and don’t stress over how many pages it takes.

Stress over the content. The average federal résumé is four to five pages long. If you have a ten or more page résumé, then you probably said too much.

Janet Farley is a trusted job search and workplace strategist. She is author of The Military Spouse’s Employment Guide: Smart Job Choices for Mobile Lifestyles (Impact Pubs, 2013) and Quick Military Transition Guide: Seven Steps to Landing a Civilian Job (Jist Works, Inc. 2013). Follow her on Twitter @ smartjobchoices and she blogs at Life’s Too Short to Hate Your Job.

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Get a Job.

Really. * BY JANET FARLEY, ED.M.

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mployment options. Professionally minded military spouses like to have them.

Whether you have scored a dream assignment flush with job possibilities or you are headed to someplace just the opposite, you need to know: • Who you can turn to for assistance in finding jobs • Where you can find available job opportunities

Who Can Help You Wherever You Go Your Network Whether you are PCS’ing to a new community and want to find out about potential opportunities in advance of your arrival or you’re simply looking for a new and improved job, your network can help.

As you well know, networking isn’t something you do just when you need a job. It’s somenationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

thing you do all the time throughout your career.

If you have been doing it well, it will pay dividends for you when you are deep in the throes of the job search process.

If you haven’t been doing it so well, up your game and enhance your network now. Here are four simple ways to make that happen: • Volunteer in your community in a position where you can meet others • Join or become more active in a professional association in your career field • Participate actively in LinkedIn groups relative to your target job • Go to an NMSN event!

Your Family Center Employment readiness program managers, through workshops and one-on-one career counseling sessions, can help you: 19

• Identify local and global employment opportunities

Federal jobs. Job opportunities of the federal variety can be found on www.usajobs.gov.

• Craft or revise private industry and federal résumés

If you haven’t already created an account for yourself on the site, do so. Carefully complete your profile and set up automatic searches for jobs in your target location.

You can store up to five different federal résumés in your USAJOBS account. Seek out and apply for jobs. Don’t use the same résumé for every job. Target each one to the job in question.

• Navigate the federal job application process • Hone your interviewing and salary negotiating skills • Research potential employers • Figure out what you want to be when you grow up • Link you to job fairs, virtual and brick and mortar • Refer you to other helpful programs, such a MySECO Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard... it doesn’t matter which service branch you call your own, the nearest family center’s employment readiness program can help you regardless of what the sign says on the door.

• If you are stationed near an Army post, go to the Army Community Service • If you are stationed near an Air Force base, go to the Airman and Family Readiness Center • If you are stationed near a Navy base, go to the Fleet and Family Support Center

Remember also, that the federal government is composed of many agencies, not just the one nearest and dearest to us, the DOD. Defense contracting jobs. Making up big business, small business and everything in between, defense contractors provide both lead and support services across many career industries in the DOD. As you might suspect, contractors come and go, some lasting more long term than others.

The employment readiness program manager at the family can help you identify contractors in the area you are targeting. Other sources to help you identify companies and stay abreast about current contracting news include:

• If you are stationed near a Marine Corps base, go to the Marine Corps Community Service Center

Defense News Top 100

• If you are stationed near a Coast Guard installation, go to Work-Life Programs Office

Defense News

Finding Jobs

American Job Center

Knowing who can help you is one important piece of the job search puzzle. Knowing where to look for job openings is another.

There are many possibilities. Some of the more common ones are discussed below.

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Defense Industry Daily

City and state jobs. To locate city and state jobs, check out these sites:

State and Local Government on the Net Application processes could vary from place to place, but generally expect to apply on line while conducting off-line networking activities at the same time. nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

Private Industry Jobs. Outside of federal, city and state business is private industry. To help you in identifying the industry that exists where you are conducting your current job search, contact the local chamber of commerce. It is their business to bring business to the community. They know who’s there and will tell you.

of a temp agency to try out employees before they hire them directly.

You can find a list of employment agencies in the phone book or by searching on-line. Stick to the “no-fee” agencies. You shouldn’t have to pay someone to put you to work. They should be paying you, remember?

Chamber of Commerce: Regional Offices and Chambers The business news pages or webpage for your community can also provide you with good intel for your job search process.

Temporary Jobs. Temp jobs don’t deserve the bad rap they often receive. Think about it.

If you are going to be stationed somewhere for a short period of time, temp employment might be the answer to your job search question.

Even if you’re going to be somewhere for the long haul, some employers use the services nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

Janet Farley offers military 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 Bradley-Morris, 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…”

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Getting Your Résumé Past the All-Important

Applicant Tracking System * BY AMY SCHOFIELD, ACRW

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he applicant tracking system (ATS) is the latest trend in hiring. It is a computerized software program/database system that scans résumés based on the requirements and qualifications necessary for available positions. An ATS allows companies to determine which applicants may be a better fit for a particular position, based on their résumé.

When there are a large number of applicants for a position, an ATS allows hiring managers to screen out low-ranking résumés, saving them valuable time. This translates to potentially bad news for jobseekers. If your résumé is not structured in a way that fits the applicant tracking system, it can enter the “résumé black hole” and a recruiter or 22

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hiring manager may not be able to find you even if you are the best fit for a position.

According to Preptel (one type of ATS company), 75 percent of résumés are not compliant with applicant tracking systems.

Therefore, knowing how an ATS operates is critical in today’s job search. Below are some tips for structuring your résumé to help get it passed an ATS: 1. Use standard font: Arial, Georgia, Tahoma, Times New Roman, Trebuchet, and Verdana are all “safe” choices.

2. Use simple formatting: Do not use tables or headers/footers as most ATS cannot read content included in a table and header/footer section.

3. Use proper capitalization and punctuation: Both of these can affect how information is analyzed within an ATS. 4. Do not include images or graphics: An ATS can only scan written text.

5. Do not use expanded text: An ATS will analyze each letter as a word, ultimately lowering your scanned résumé score.

6. Include a few, clearly defined sections: Summary, Work Experience, and Education are some examples. ATS will scan your résumé and automatically categorize these sections if they are included on your résumé. If you do not use a clearly defined section, an ATS will have a more difficult time scoring your résumé.

7. Line dates on the right side of your résumé for your dates of employment: This is crucial when listing dates for employment so that your amount of experience for each position can be calculated correctly. Listing dates on the left side of your résumé may throw off an ATS. 8. Proofread and edit your résumé: An ATS will not recognize misspelled words, so nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

make sure you thoroughly edit your résumé. Do not rely on spellcheck!

9. Tailor your résumé to each position you apply for: If you incorporate relevant, targeted keywords and phrases for the type of position being sought, an ATS will score your résumé higher, thus flagging you as a better match.

Remember that in today’s job-searching world, having the perfectly-structured résumé is just as important as having the required skill set needed to perform the job.

Once you have mastered these techniques, you will likely see better results when submitting your résumé to positions.

Amy Schofield, Academy Certified Résumé Writer, has been in the recruiting, career coaching, and résumé writing fields for 10+ years. She has provided résumé development strategies to job seekers worldwide who come from various backgrounds and experience levels. Amy is the founder of Schofield Strategies and is the author of Résumé Writing 101 Tips and Techniques, a comprehensive guidebook for individuals who want to create their own résumé using current industry trends. Schofield Strategies was the recipient of the 2013 Military Family Member Community Heartbeat Award.

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How to Create a

Portable Career * BY RACHEL BRENKE

I

n reference to careers, “waiting on the military” is a burdensome reality to many military spouses. Gone are the days where the majority of spouses forgo the workplace.

While it is not uncommon to bypass opportunities in support of an active duty member’s advancement in career, a new chapter is open to spouses of the modern military.

This chapter is ready and waiting to be taken advantage of by spouses who desire adaptable careers that will follow them when relocating with the military.

As an entrepreneur who has relocated business repeatedly due to military demands, I understand first-hand the complexities of the process and the overwhelming nature of it all. I have real life experience in online-based and brick-and-mortar businesses. The brick-and-mortar ones had to be built from the ground up, repeatedly.

With this experience I promise you, it can be done. My goal is to give you a strong 24

basic ‘how-to’ on creating your own portable career. Be forewarned, it is challenging but also equally rewarding when you are no longer under the thumb of the military when it comes to your career.

#1 Research Within most of us, there is a desire to do something specific with our lives. Researching this desire is your first step. Realistically, not every career is going to be portable.

By doing the appropriate research ahead of time, you can determine the level of investment (time and money) to put into your potential business. It is imperative that you research competition, demand, and availability of opportunity in your field of interest.

#2 Get set up The next step is to get set up properly with the governing jurisdiction by choosing a nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

structure such as a sole proprietor, limited liability company or corporation.

#3 Market Marketing is an ongoing process and must start before officially opening to create interest in the marketplace. Through your research nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

in Step 1, you will have identified suitable marketing strategies. Now is time to implement these strategies. The easiest, lowest cost, and most effective strategies are through the use of various social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.). Blogging can also create strong search engine optimization for your online site.

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mouth referrals that will be significant assets to the future of your portable business.

Continually strive to anticipate customer requests and satisfy any issues that may arise appropriately, with the future in mind.

#6 Get returns As you continue to work, you will begin to gain returns in the form of money and fulfillment, as well as expanded networks of business and personal nature. While this list is boiled down to six very basic steps, each of these steps requires a lot of work. When you begin to feel overwhelmed, take measure of that feeling’s strength. Take the intensity of that feeling but substitute the stress with satisfaction and pride instead. That right there makes it all worth it. It is attainable if you work hard.

#4 Network As military spouses, we are in a convenient position to access the strong, built-in network that is the United States military. No matter where you move or where you visit, there is bound to be someone there that you know, or someone who knows someone you know. Take advantage of this by reaching out through your military networks to get the word out about your business and, as a result, glean opportunities for your business growth.

#5 Open up shop It is time to open up your doors to start selling your product or providing a service to your target customer. This will be the most critical and influential time to set yourself up right with customers. Through active selling, you create customer loyalty and word-of26

The work doesn’t stop there. You have to keep it going and repeat this process each time you move. The goal is to create a strong business brand in the light of portability and flexibility. Throw in a little dedication and you’ll be able to succeed at your goals while still supporting your military member.

Rachel Brenke is an author, photographer, lawyer and business consultant for photographers and bloggers. She is currently helping creative industry and blogging professionals all over the world initiate, strategize and implement strategic business and marketing plans through various mediums of consulting resources and legal direction. See more: http://www.thelawtog.com/meet-rachel-the-lawtog/ Disclaimer: I am a lawyer but I’m not your lawyer!

View my entire disclaimer here http://www. thelawtog.com/legal-disclaimer/ nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

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© So Your Life Images by Trish Alegre-Smith

Summit

Wrap Up * BY MJ BOICE

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f you weren’t able to attend NMSN’s Annual Military Spouse Career Summit in November, then you may have missed out on THE professional development event of the YEAR! 28

All professional development events should be sought out and soaked up every chance you get; but this wasn’t your average career summit. It was specific to and centered around two VERY important angles that are nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

notoriously at odds with one another: Military Spouses and our Careers.

The topics that were presented and the information the participants received were applicable to the unique employment challenges that our demographic faces. Whether you are a brand new spouse trying to find your path, a mid-career spouse who’s been around for a while, or a seasoned spouse who sees transition on the horizon; below are just a few examples of how the summit would benefit you. Keep these topics in mind when you’re thinking about joining in at next year’s Military Spouse Career Summit!

1. Take advantage of employment resources that are available to you NOW. Most installations have offices that are dedicated to helping military spouses find jobs on or off post, provide interview prep classes or even help in creating your résumé. nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

2. Speaking of résumés, keep yours UPDATED! Even if you have no plans to work at this time, you may want to have a career one day. If you volunteer, put it on your résumé.

If you finish your degree, put it on your résumé. If you’re involved in any organizations, put it on your RÉSUMÉ. It wouldn’t hurt to get a LINKEDIN account as well. Opportunity is everywhere and we never know when the perfect one will present itself (if we don’t create them ourselves!)

3. You MUST have a plan, but be prepared to take RISKS. Katherine Berman and Sophie LaMontage are the founders of Georgetown Cupcakes. You might recognize them from TLC’s hit show DC Cupcakes. These sisters took a major risk to pursue their childhood dream of opening a bakery. They left well-established careers in the fields of finance and fashion at the height of the recession in order to pursue that dream. Through their first-hand 29

© So Your Life Images by Trish Alegre-Smith

account, we learned that sometimes you have to go “all in” on your dreams in order to live your passion. Which reminds me: what’s YOUR passion?

4. Learn from other’s mistakes. So many other military spouses have hit brick-walls in the past. Network and actually LISTEN to those who have come before us.

5. Mother’s Guilt is a real thing, there is no debating that. Being the spouse of a service member forces us to be the primary constant; but that doesn’t mean that it has to be the only facet of our lives that defines us. At the summit, we learned that we are not the only ones to feel guilty for putting our goals at the forefront sometimes. We worry about whether or not the time we are investing in ourselves is time that we are taking away from our kids. We typically ask ourselves, “How much time do I (will I) spend with my kids?” Let’s reframe that question with “HOW am I (will I) spend time with my kids?” Did you come up with a different answer?

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6. Being a military spouse will ONLY get your foot in the door. THAT is our prize for the sacrifices we are making. Many employers will indeed give military spouses and veterans a second glance when they wouldn’t have otherwise. After that, it’s up to US to be good at what we do enough to impress them and keep that position in the long run. This can be a hard lesson to learn.

While our skills in this lifestyle ARE valuable, it can’t be the only thing to carry us.

7. “Transition”. This is a word that our entire community has heard surface over and over again. Many of us don’t give it a second thought because we have “3+, 5+, 10+ years” before we need to think about that, right? WRONG. While listening to the Transition Panel at the summit, I learned that 2.5-3 years before you and your spouse transition out of the service, this topic should move from the back-burner to the front-burner with a quickness. Whether you’re nearing retirement or the end of your first and (due to the current drawdown of nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

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© So Your Life Images by Trish Alegre-Smith

troops) only tour of duty, being prepared for transition should become second nature to all of us. USAA provides a great resource to determine the budget we would need to live on after leaving the military.

don’t ask it now, then you won’t be able to see yourself doing what you want to do and you really can’t “be what you can’t see”. Give it a shot and let us know what you come up with.

8. Think outside of the box. Can’t find a job that’s flexible enough during a deployment? Have you ever found yourself wishing that you could just ‘take your job with you’ when you PCS? Try crafting a portable career. Have you thought about blogging? Did you know you could earn money doing that? There are so many opportunities; but only if we choose to see them as such. However, in order to do any of the above you must ask yourself this very important question:

Overall, the summit gave me the fuel I needed to power through many of my own military life employment worries. I had never thought to sit down and ask myself the questions that the speakers at the summit had posed. For example, during the Career Success Toolkit networking lunch, I realized that the question “What do you WANT” was not a question I was used to being asked. To then be advised to ASK for what I wanted blew my skirt back even further. I had never even considered asking for anything before.

9. “WHAT IS IT THAT I WANT?” Everyone was asked this at the summit in a lot of different ways. This may be the hardest question you ever ask yourself, but if you

I had also never considered going to networking and hiring events with my service member as a team; ESPECIALLY since he isn’t scheduled to retire any time soon. During the Transi-

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tion Panel, we learned that the team approach (paired with managing our own expectations) is the best approach for a smoother transition.

We go through their career as a team; we should approach transition as a team. Going to hiring events before we even have to will help us stay prepared as a team.

us who were taking risks and becoming even MORE successful than ever because of their own experiences and (for some of them) because of THIS SUMMIT. I personally feel as though I still have much to learn…which is EXACTLY why I will be attending NEXT year’s Military Spouse Career Summit.

During the Business Boot Camp session, what ‘stuck’ with me the most was when we were told to “have a plan” and “pursue it RELENTLESSLY”. For some reason, these two phrases have motivated me so much that everything I have done since the summit has been somehow geared towards my goals. The advice we were given, the alternate paths we were introduced to; all led to an extreme amount of fuel to the fire.

Who’s with me?

I left the summit feeling like I had entered a new world where secrets were revealed to me that I had never thought existed. We heard REAL stories about REAL people like nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

Save the Date for the 2016 Military Spouse Career Summit!

October 21st & 22nd in Alexandria, VA. 33

The Do’s and Don’ts of Salary

Negotiation * BY JULIE WATERS

Y

AY! You got the job! Congratulations!

Suddenly the joy turns to fear. Here it comes, you are at that scary moment in the process - time to talk money. Cue the anxiety and questions that start scrolling in your mind:

Indeed.com provide calculators for various cities and different professions. They may not always be right on, but you will at least have some idea on where you should be when the time comes to start a salary negotiation.

• Do I ask a lot so they think I am worth it?

DO - Use your professional networks. You may have used some of these same networks to help you find the job that you have just been offered. Make a salary range question part of your initial conversation with others in your profession. Asking for a range or budget amount allows people to be a little more open with information.

• Are they going to low-ball me?

• If I say a number that is too low I am shooting myself in the foot?

• If I say something too high they may change their minds and ask me to leave.

Don’t stress. As we do for all other aspects of our lives, a little research and some preparation will make for a smooth conversation.

DO - Research, research, research! You can find many tools on line to help you figure out a general salary range for your profession and location. Sites like Salary.com or 34

DO - Use your own experience. Only you know what you were making before. You can gauge your value based on your new city compared to the old city, your old position compared to the new position. Of course if you have been in your profession for a while, you will already have an idea of nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

what you are worth. You may also be able to find more specialized information about salaries by searching for local surveys online. Your own job search might provide you with good information too. Some companies advertise the range to be offered for the open position.

DO - Establish your floor number. You need to know how low you can go. Unless the job is your life’s passion, it is still just a job, and another one will come along soon. If you take a job that you know will be frustrating if you aren’t getting paid what you deserve, you may come to regret that decision and perhaps resent the people at the organization.

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DO - Evaluate the offer as a whole. Keep in mind that as a military spouse, you may not have a need for the health plan that is offered. Some organizations may offer a cash-in-lieu of health insurance option, but if they do not, you may be able to negotiate more salary because you won’t be taking the insurance. You are not likely to make the equivalent dollar amount translated to salary, but one to two hundred dollars a month would not be out of the range of most cash in lieu programs. There are also other considerations like: your commute, cost of childcare, lunches out and dry cleaning.

DON’T - Have unrealistic expectations. Maybe you were making six figures at your fancy

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office in Washington DC, but Fallon, Nevada is not going to offer you the same opportunities. It may be time to focus on expanding your knowledge base and experiences.

DON’T - Assume just because your rent tripled, your salary will too. While cost of living does have some bearing on salaries, there is not a direct correlation. BUT, you have two or three more years of experience since the last time you changed jobs, so that should help.

DON’T - Be afraid to ask. Everything is negotiable; salary is not the only thing on the table. If the vacation accrual schedule isn’t what you had hoped for, it doesn’t hurt to ask for some additional days off. Since it doesn’t directly compute to a dollar figure, the company may be more likely to say yes to that request before they would say yes to an increase in salary. But, DON’T - Demand. And don’t take the negotiations too far. One time back and forth is enough.

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In our current economic situation, there were a lot of candidates for this job and YOU are the one they picked. They want you and respect you enough to listen to a reasonable counter offer.

Julie Waters graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in English and earned an MS in Human Resources from Troy University. She is also a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR). Over the last twelve years, Julie has held various Human Resources positions since getting her start at FHC Health Systems in Norfolk, Virginia, to include serving as the Director of Human Resources at the Military Officers Association of America in Alexandria, Virginia. Julie currently resides in Spokane, Washington where she is the Human Resources and Operations Manager at a law firm. She was lucky enough to choose a career that easily transfers between employers as each military assignment introduced her to a new city and even a new part of the country. Julie holds a special interest in career building for military spouses as she feels it is important to have something personal outside of the military lifestyle. nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

Scaling Your

Business * BY MATT ZEMON

O

nce your business is up and running, keeping it healthy and growing requires different activities and skills.

In his book Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make it... and Why the Rest Don’t, Verne Harnish offers some great ideas that are worth a look.

Verne begins by pointing out that the secret to scaling your business is first asking questions about four key areas that are pivotal to growth: People, Strategy, Execution and Cash. His book offers sample questions in each area to get you thinking about the questions that are important to your own unique business.

Hiring and managing people can be challenging for entrepreneurs who tend to be focused on doing rather than delegating. So take a look at whom you have already hired and ask yourself whether the right people are doing the right things. What are the strengths of each employee and are they making the most of those strengths in their current posinationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

tions? Next, motivate people by making it is simple for them to excel and then show them your appreciation when they succeed. Take your front line seriously and hire fewer high quality people that get paid more and you will outshine your competition.

Your scaling strategy should be simple and easy to communicate with a singular focus on driving sustainable growth in both revenue and gross margins. Verne Harnish addresses two distinct parts of building your strategy: strategic thinking and execution planning.

Senior leaders should guide strategic thinking with weekly meetings. Executing the plan must involve middle management and the front line with monthly, quarterly and annual Key Performance Indicators. Keeping your eye on the ball with continuous attention to strategic objectives and a flexible approach to execution is critical to success. In his Think, Plan, Act, and Learn cycle of strategic planning, Verne offers some great tools to keep focused and agile as your grow.

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Once you have thought through the strategy, your success will depend on getting the execution right and that hinges on efficiency. A great place to start is by delivering the best phone service to everyone who touches your business. As a board member of www.liveanswer.com, I have seen what great 24/7 phone service can do for customer satisfaction and staff efficiency. It can help you outsell your competition- you never know when that marketing campaign is going to really work and no one wants to miss sales calls! By placing your phone in the hands of professionals, three things happen. First, you are forced to think through the process of exactly how you want your phone calls answered rather than leaving it in the hands of each individual employee to “figure this out”. Second, you will

While you are buying Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make it... and Why the Rest Don’t, you may also consider books by these other authors Verne recommends, including: • Nir Eyal -- author of Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products (the must-read book in Silicon Valley) • Christine Comaford -- serial entrepreneur and author of SmartTribes: How Teams Become Brilliant Together (Bill Gates calls her “super high bandwidth” and she has advised two US Presidents) • John Sviokla -- author of The Self-Made Billionaire Effect: How Extreme Pro38

• David Meerman Scott -author of The New Rules of Sales and Service: How to Use Agile Selling, Real-Time Customer Engagement, Big Data, Content and Storytelling to Grow Your Business (David has done for sales in this book what he did for marketing in his first book).

• Nick Nanton -- 3 time Emmy Award winner and author of Story Selling: Hollywood Secrets Revealed How To Sell Without Selling (with over 2200 clients in 33 countries, Nick’s firm has produced large scale events and television shows with the likes of Steve Forbes, Brian Tracy, President George H.W. Bush, Jack Canfield (Creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series), Michael E. Gerber, Tom Hopkins and many more.)

• Paul Akers -- author of 2 Second Lean: How to Grow People and Build a Fun Lean Culture at Work & at Home (this is some cool, simple, stuff - check him out on YouTube).

• John Warrillow -- author of what Verne believes will be the best biz book in 2015, The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry.

ducers Create Massive Value (John and his co-author have special access to these billionaires)

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know you have phone coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week regardless of who is on vacation or in a meeting. Finally, you can use this tool to collect valuable customer information to confirm and/or tweak your direction. Verne Harnish believes that regularly gathering and using quantitative and qualitative data is pivotal to maintaining focus.

When you know what is really happening you can make better decisions. Direct from the customer information can be powerful when it is captured methodically.

There is a definite limit to how far the best ideas and people will get you if you don’t have cash. Cash is what sustains all businesses, but especially those that are growing.

Gleaning more cash from what you sell may be the most important thing you can do to ensure long-term stability and success. You can make this a priority and know exactly where you stand at all times by developing what Mr. Harnish calls a Daily Available Cash Report. It should include what cash is available and why it changed since yesterday nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

along with assessment against both accounts receivable and accounts payable. This daily financial snapshot will keep your cash position front and center as you make decisions.

These are just a few of the highlights from Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make it... and Why the Rest Don’t, by Verne Harnish.

The book itself is well worth the read and has a lot of useful details and helpful tools for military spouse entrepreneurs.

Matt Zemon is the President & CEO of American Support, an inbound and outbound telesales provider to 5 of the top 10 cable companies in America, one of the “Top 10 places in the cable industry to work” according to CableFax magazine and one of the world’s “Most Democratic Organizations” as certified by WorldBlu. Zemon is also the COO for LiveAnswer, an on-demand call center.

Zemon is co-President of Jobs4America, a board member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Raleigh Durham and serves as an advisor for the National Military Spouse Network.

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To Speak or

Not to Speak? * BY CAROL BOWSER

S

hould speaking be a part of your business plan, or marketing portfolio or personal brand?

I talk - a lot. Sometimes to large audiences.

Sometime to one or two individuals. Sometimes over webinars. Sometimes I get paid to talk. Sometimes, I joyfully drive long distances and incur expenses to talk for free. As I said, I talk a lot, and I don’t make a secret of it.

Speaking for me is a method to market, earn revenue and forward my brand. If you are interested in making public speaking part of your repertoire, here is some food for thought.

cannot do it well.

I know many introverts who are magnificent communicators.

Second, be clear on why you are speaking. Are you looking to become a “professional” (i.e. paid) speaker

First, I believe that everyone must, must, must be able to present themselves well in group settings, whether this is: a business meeting, job interview, homeowners’ association meeting, networking event, paid speaking engagement or volunteer meeting. How you present yourself speaks to your personal brand. Even if you don’t enjoy speaking in public settings, this does not mean that you 40

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as part of your business plan? Are you looking to increase your visibility professionally or personally? Are you doing it in support of a cause that you are passionate about?

For my part, I use speaking as both an avenue to market my professional services and showcase my areas of expertise as well as a revenue source.

SIDEBAR- I never, ever, ever use the front of the room to overtly “sell”. Few things will alienate you from your audience more than subjecting them to a 30 minute sales presentation. Instead, I offer to share my knowledge and insights so that the audience can leave empowered with new knowledge or tools. As a result, I have developed a reputation of as a speaker who provides substantive content.

So should you speak or not? The answer to the question lays in what are you trying to achieve? If you do decide to speak determine if it is for marketing (free or nominal pay) versus more substantial revenue generating. If it is for marketing, be careful about selecting your audience. It is fine to “work” for free if that “work” is designed to put you in front of your target market otherwise you are wasting your time.

There are thousands of professional groups who meet monthly and have speakers every month. THOUSANDS. A quick search of “professional associations” can uncover a wealth of information. You can also ask around the local business community what groups are active. Go to the website and look for the speaker’s chair or professional development chair.

Once you have a connection, you will need to show that you have something to offer.

Having a short bio and a brief description of your presentation including key learning obnationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

Resources: National Speaker’s Association & their local affiliates. www.nsaspeaker.org The NSA provides resources on “platform skills” as well as resources on how to build a business speaking. They have helpful hints on working with speaker’s bureaus.

Toastmasters www.toastmasters.org membership organization for individuals to develop speaking skills.

Speaker Net News www.speakernetnews.com Weekly resource by and for professional speakers.

Guila Muir www.guilamuir.com fun trainer of presenters. jectives. You will need to answer the “WIIFT” (What’s In It for Them question) Remember, you are delivering something of value to the audience.

Once in front of the room have fun. Engage.

At the close, seek feedback, then leverage the feedback in the form of testimonials.

Ask for referrals and ask that your name be passed on to other groups who might need a speaker.

Finally, get out there! There’s no substitute for experience and at some point, you have to stop planning and just do.

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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Using YouTube

Tutorials to

Update in Tech! * BY CAROL FISHMAN COHEN

T

he tech update is one of the biggest hurdles of career reentry. To meet the challenge we need a FEARLESS

attitude.

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Beyond our newfound attitude, we need a working knowledge of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and basic office management software to re-integrate smoothly at most employers. nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

Great resources for tech updating include online tech courses found at sites such as Lynda.com,Coursera.org, or Udemy.com and Community Education courses. An ad in the local high school newsletter can produce a teenager eager for a part-time tech-updating job. But the most powerful tech-updating tool of all are video tutorials on YouTube. Professionals returning to work after a career break swear by it, and I use it myself, years after my return to work, when I am dealing with a new tech challenge.

You will laugh, but I did all of my pre-career-break financial modeling using Lotus 123.

Learning Excel was not that hard - a lot of the commands were similar - but I still had to master it. Since I relaunched my career in 2001, before YouTube was invented, I did not have this critical tool at my disposal. But if I was relaunching now, and needed to know “What’s the command to freeze columns on a spreadsheet?” or “How do you insert a comment into a cell?” it would be YouTube to the rescue.

YouTube is even more useful for learning PowerPoint. Initially, I had a tougher time with PowerPoint than with Excel. Had I known I could consult YouTube tutorials on importing Excel graphs and animating slide features, I might have felt less panicky. A tip for PowerPoint newbies who are already back on the job is to find slides in a deck a colleague created that display data and text the way you would like. Ask the colleague for permission to repopulate their data or text with your own and use in your presentation. nationalmilitaryspousenetwork.org

For those of us returning from career break who are struggling with that crucial tech update, thank YouTube for giving us free access to the video tutorial!

Carol Fishman Cohen is a globally recognized expert on career-reentry strategy. She is co-author of Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work and co-founder of iRelaunch (www.iRelaunch.com), the leading and most comprehensive career reentry resource for employers, individuals, universities, and professional organizations. Carol is a past presenter at the NMSN Military Spouse Career Summit and the MOAA Spouse Symposium. iRelaunch programs and presentations have reached 15,000 people since 2006.

Contact: info@irelaunch.com

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