Over the years, we have had quite a few military spouses and even vets here at CMP, and we know how challenging it can be for military spouses to grow their careers. In fact, the 650,000 spouses of active duty service members are four times more likely to be unemployed than civilians, in part because their lives are so transient.
You can’t exactly find a new job around Biloxi, Mississippi or Sierra Vista, Arizona at the drop of a hat when you’re suddenly relocated. It’s especially hard when you need flexible, freelance, or offsite job opportunities.
Increase those difficulties when you’re a woman who needs a career boost — more so if you’re a woman of color.
So we’re all really pleased to learn about the new announcement from LinkedIn: Starting today, they’re expanding their military and veterans program to include military spouses, thanks to a partnership with the US DOD’s Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program.
If you’re a military spouse moving to a new installation or retiring from the military, you’ll get one year of free LInkedIn Premium, and access to more than 12,000 LinkedIn Learning courses online including the new Learning Path for military spouses, which gets you 18 hours of expert-created content to help you get your career on track.
Related: 9 expert tips for getting back to work after having kids
Basically, there are video courses in everything from how to write a resume and how to network (online and off), to how to ace common interview questions, and how to figure out work-life fit. (Because there’s no real work-life balance, right?)
You’ll also find lots of partnerships with government agencies and nonprofits that serve vets, a pilot program for tech skills training from Microsoft for military spouses starting in September, and a whole community at linkedin.com/military (formerly linkedin.com/veterans) to offer resources and support.
Definitely worth checking out if you’re part of a military family.
Thanks to LInkedIn for what you’re doing. Because while we support the sacrifices our brave servicemen and women, we know how important it is to support the sacrifices of their partners and spouses, too.
Learn more about the benefits of the new LInkedIn program to support career development for military spouses at the LinkedIn blog. Coming soon: More support for the spouses of military widows and widowers, as well as caregivers for wounded veterans.
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