Mom Corps YOU is an online resource helping professional women find work/life satisfaction through expert-driven content. Members have direct access to Mom Corps’ tenured career experts who deliver live, one-hour training sessions in the areas of job search, workplace flexibility, and business ownership. Members can also connect to the Mom Corps YOU community and network with other professionals who share the common goal of helping each other succeed.
In regards to education and experience, 90 percent of military spouses are underemployed, meaning many have earned above-average levels of experience or education than needed for their current position. Military spouses also earn 38 percent less than their civilian counterparts and are 30 percent more likely to be unemployed. As National Military Spouse Appreciation Day approaches on May 9, Mom Corps recognizes the need to provide the essential support military spouses need in order to remain in or re-enter the workforce.
“As a wife of a USMA West Point Graduate and Veteran U.S. Army Infantry Officer, I have encountered many of the challenges military spouses struggle with when re-entering the workforce,” says Mom Corps CEO Allison O’Kelly. “Those experiences have made this issue very near and dear to my heart, and I am so proud to partner with like-minded organizations to offer support to the wives of our servicemen who are battling finding employment with unique flexible work options.”
In order to alleviate the unique challenges for military spouses, program participants have been chosen to receive a one-year Mom Corps YOU scholarship. Here are two of their stories:
Courtney’s struggles as a military spouse have taught her how to be self-sufficient in a multitude of sceneries – being the single mom who is not single, keeping your fears under control while your spouse is deployed, and learning to love and accept the new person that comes home from deployment. With the desire to become the breadwinner after her husband’s retirement, Courtney joined Mom Corps YOU to learn how re-enter the workforce and find a job that allows her to successfully work and care for her family. But not just any job. Courtney is a 2009 Military Spouse Fellowship recipient from FINRA and AFCPE, obtained her AFC certification and worked as a Military Family Life Consultant. She wishes to give back into the military community and start a career providing financial education to military members and their families.
Melissa has experienced one of the frequently cited challenges of being a military spouse while searching for a job: “It’s the inevitable question from potential employers: ‘How did you end up in Hawaii?’ I’m never quite comfortable answering this question, for one I feel it’s a screening question to find out if I am a military spouse,” she says. “While my instinct is to be direct with a potential employer, there’s a fear that being found out as a military spouse could hurt my chances of getting a job.” After soul searching to uncover what she really wanted out of a career, Melissa found Mom Corps YOU and has dedicated her future endeavors to reach her dream job of helping millennial women navigate their own career paths and fulfillment of work/life balance.
The program’s partners and military organizations share in the mission to provide job strategies and opportunities that are hand selected and customized for military spouse members. Hire Heroes USA, MilitaryConnection.com, Military Spouse Advocacy Network, Military Spouse Connections, Project Transition USA, Salute to Spouses, SpouseLink.org, and Veteran Recruiting have all joined in supporting and advocating for these families.
Mom Corps YOU is available via an online subscription, available at a monthly price of $9.99 or annually for $99.99. In addition to the live online events available twice per week, Mom Corps YOU allows access to a wealth of content and presentations including: on-demand and one-on-one live chat coaching sessions with Mom Corps recruiters, and a mix of resources such as articles, videos, and infographics, in addition to Mom Corps authored how-to guides, slide shares, and simple tips. Learn more about Mom Corps YOU at www.MomCorpsYOU.com.