This past week I attended the MOAA & Blue Star Families Spouse Symposium and Career Fair. It was an amazing day and I made some great contacts and hopefully some new friends. {You can see the full days schedule and participating employers here.}
There was also an employment panel moderated by my friend and fellow Blogger Stephanie, AKA Lawyer Mama (you may remember her for my post on Blogher, here). It was a great panel of hiring specialists and I gained a lot of insight into what employers are actually thinking when they interview someone. My biggest take away from the panel was that being a milspouse isn't a weakness, it is part of our strength. Be honest with the interviewer and build a relationship with them. Let's face it ,being a milspouse means our employment history is all over the map and we likely have large gaps, but use this to show your strength. Address the gaps and let them know how you will make a contribution to their organization. For instance,how your constant moving has made it easy for you to assimilate to new environments and work with a variety of people, and let them know they will always get the best from you. Also, by attempting to hide the gaps, employers may think you are hiding something worse.
Another great tip was one I have been struggling with on my own resume and have gotten mixed reviews on. Do I put my volunteering on my resume? The answer was a resounding yes, that it doesn't matter if it is paid or not, what you did was an accomplishment. And of course, keep your resume to one page!!! No one wants to read that second page and some just won't.
Something I had not thought of was writing a handwritten thank you note after the interview. I would send a thank you email, but some said that seemed lazy. That is going to depend on the type of organization and I think the age of your interviewer. Most said it was a must, but Sara Sperling from Facebook said it was not necessary and that a cute e-mail is just fine for her.
All in all, the employment panel was extremely helpful and gave me some great tips for my resume, as well as interview.s, I haven't even gotten that far yet but hopefully after a resume revamp I will!
Monique Rizer, the Deputy Director of the MOAA Spouse Program, gave a great seminar on building your brand and discovering your strengths. {A worksheet can be found here} The seminar was originally designed to help World War II veterans transition back into the work force, but is just as applicable to milspouses today. Basically we all have a unique skill set and strengths and we just need to clarify and figure out what they are. Now if you know me you know I'm not a big fan of "activities" or sharing in a classroom or seminar setting, but this was actually an exception.
We used our good experiences, something we enjoyed and are proud of, to learn about ourselves. The first was one from before you were ten years old and then two from the past 3 years. You know I love to talk and meet people and the symposium was no exception. I met a great navy wife as we were getting out of the elevator from the parking garage. I spent most of the day getting to know her and like most milspouses she was great. She was my partner for these exercises.
She took strength from her experience as a mom, she learned a lot about herself while being pregnant and delivering her daughter. She learned how strong she was and what she could do. She definitely was a responsible and strong women who learned how to communicate and integrate from her recent moves, she has had 3 in the last 2 years!
From talking about my good experiences, I choose starting my blog and passing the bar (I know, not the "best" experience but one I am incredibly proud of!). Studying for the bar taught me a lot about myself. I needed to have faith in myself that I could accomplish it, but at the same time not be too cocky. That there was a delicate balance between the two. I needed to study and learn and being too cocky does not get you there. This can be hard to do when half the people fail the California bar, but keeping faith in myself and my studying got me through. This is absolutely true when interviewing as well, you need to be energized and motivated but don't want to be too cocky, no one likes that guy.. or girl! It is important to show yourself and how you are right for the position.
My organization and constantly writing outlines and going over them not only helped me to pass the bar but also made me a better writer and gave me confidence in myself, which unfortunately was taken back my first year of practice. Hopefully, this will help me get some of it back.
In finding your good experiences you find your strengths. This will help show your value to an employer and the good examples are your proof to them of your strengths.
The luncheon in honor of 2011 Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry was amazing and inspiring. I was fortunate enough to get to meet him and was honored and humbled by his presence.
The luncheon was the highlight of the day for me. Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry has an amazing and inspiring story and if you haven't heard it yet, I urgeyou to.
The luncheon started by presenting some local sailors and soldiers with awards. Then SFC Leroy Petry 2011 Medal of Honor recipient took to the stage and had a conversation with David Hartman, former host of Good Morning America.
Evan after Army Ranger SFC Petry's injuries and experience and, 9 deployments he re-enlisted for another 6 years. He is what a true American hero looks like.
He said that any day could be your last. He thinks this when he walks out the door and he really knows how true it is. This really resonated with me.
When asked how he found the courage to grab a live grenade he replied "love", the love for his brothers and sisters. SFC Petry said he was normal, just like any American family; he was very humble and seemed like someone you could talk to.
He recognized the positive acts of other soldiers and has a plaque on his prosthetic arm of all of the men in his unit who were lost, as a reminder that they made the ultimate sacrifice.
Thanks to MOAA and Blue Star Families for a truly incredible and inspiring day!
XOXO,
Annie
