My conversation with former Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA) Site Manager now Operations Project Manager for MSSA, Candina “Dina” Janicki features a discussion of the dynamics of transition for military spouses, particularly when it comes to career, and how establishing a framework and identifying things you can, should, will and won't do for your career can be game changing as you go from duty station to duty station.  We explore why career continuity isn't always what we think it should look like but is achievable depending on how you look here. Dina and I dive into a few key approaches that I hope will help those of you who might be in a place of transition right now think about how to frame things as you move forward.

Connect with Dina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candinajanicki/

Danielle Laporte 2020 Planners (Affiliate Link): http://planner.sounbecoming.com

For More Information: http://www.sounbecoming.com

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Episode 20 features my conversation with friend and fellow Navy spouse, Engineering Site Supervisor, Rachel D’Ambra. Not only is she a highly successful career woman, a 9 year Navy veteran, and mom of two, but she’s here to share her tremendous knowledge of the Au Pair program. As we know, child care can be THE biggest barrier to returning to work for many military spouses and I’m so thankful that Rachel was willing to share her extensive knowledge of how using the Au Pair program works. Get ready to take some notes, friends!

To learn more about the Au Pair program mentioned in the show, visit https://www.aupairinamerica.com/ and do list Rachel D'Ambra as your referral if you don't mind!

Additional legal information about this topic can be found here: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/22/62.31

NOTE: As a general disclaimer, the information shared here reflects the experiences and personal opinions of my guest and are not the opinions of her employer, the Department of the Navy or the Department of State. The details shared within about the Au Pair program or regulations regarding the Au Pair program are subject to change. Please visit the Au Pair in America website for the most up to date information or the Department of State website for more information https://j1visa.state.gov/programs/au-pair. 

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I am very excited to bring you a conversation I had some time ago with THE Military Money Expert Lacey Langford. Lacey helps SO MANY military families get their financial acts together and I thought she’d be a fantastic expert to have on this show because one of the hardest topics to discuss when you’re dual career, especially if it’s new or new again, is money! Lacey is not only a money expert but she’s a veteran, a mom, and a milspouse and I know you’re going to appreciate her tips today. 

You can learn more about Lacey and hear her wildly popular podcast, The Military Money Show, at laceylangford.com

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Today's conversation features Marla Bautista, a professional writer, Army spouse, and mom. She shares a very personal story of how she got lost in military life and struggled in her marriage, only to rise above it by pursuing the work she loves and fighting to keep her family together. 

Connect with Marla on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlabautista/

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Jaime Chapman is an army veteran, active duty Army spouse, mom, and founder and CEO of Begin Within, which was recently named the #1 military spouse owned business this summer. She and her team have helped hundreds of women and men them get the careers of their dreams. Learn more about Begin Within: https://beginwithin.life/ Learn More About Jaime: chapman.com/">https://jaime-chapman.com/ Connect with Jaime on Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmanjaime/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unbecoming/message

In our conversation, veteran, speaker, and nurse practitioner, Elis Salamone shares her thoughts on goal setting - something I know from personal experience can help us no matter what we’re trying to achieve and especially when we’re attempting to map out a career plan. Earlier this year I went to a LeanIn workshop she hosted which was inspiring and transformative and ever since, Elis has been speaking to audiences, most recently as a #IAmRemarkable facilitator. 

Connect with Elis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elissalamonewhnp/

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We're back! Team Muskopf has successfully PCSed across the country and the podcast has a new introduction, an updated focus, and a new conversation to share! After a 19 year career gap, technologist, friend, and former full time mom, Jacqueline Widdis, learned how to adopt a true growth mindset and found herself working for one of the largest technology companies in the world. Jackie shares her story and insights with humor and humility. I'm so grateful to bring you this conversation with my friend, Program Manager, Jacqueline Widdis. 

Connect with Jackie on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelinewiddis/

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In Episode 14 of SO Unbecoming, I am REALLY excited to bring you my conversation with THIS powerhouse Air Force mil spouse EXPERT. She is the Founder of Dependent.Work a Military Spouse Talent Community that provides support, education and guidance for Military Spouses looking to continue their careers while supporting their Service Member and the Military Mission.  We talk compensation, applying for employment, using LInkedIn, mindset, and so much more. Enjoy my conversation with Human Resources Professional, Tia Prevo.

Visit dependent.work for more information about her thriving community.

Check out Dependent.Work on Instagram.

Connect with Tia on LinkedIn.

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One of the most common concerns I hear from military spouses is “How will an employer see this big gap in my resume?” I’ve thought it, obsessed over it even, many times. During my time out of the workforce, today’s guest was my marathon training buddy. We ran hundreds of miles together during our shared employment gaps. We also ran our own small businesses. We ran households filled with the laughter and insanity of small children while our spouses were away. This “gap” we worried about was a time of learning, developing new skills, literally growing our endurance and resilience, and I’m so excited to bring you her story of hard work, perseverance, and finding a dream employer. I hope you enjoy this conversation with my friend, fellow Stroller Warrior, Army spouse and accountant, Sara Sealy. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unbecoming/message

In Episode 12, we meet Army Spouse, Economist, and now Technologist Dr. Ruth Aisabokhae. Ruth is a native of Nigeria, a recent graduate of Microsoft’s Military Spouse Technology Academy, and today she talks about military spouse employment overseas and how her personal experiences led to struggle but also self discovery. Ruth shares some powerful advice and insights that I think military spouses, advocates, and employers can learn from. 

You can connect with Ruth on LinkedIn. To learn more about Microsoft Military Spouse Technology Academy, visit the Microsoft Military Affairs blog.

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If you’re a regular listener, you probably noticed I didn’t publish an episode last week Tuesday. I will fully admit the doctoral student, working mom and Navy wife life is definitely catching up to me. On top of that it’s time to prep for our next PCS move SO I’ll be publishing new episodes every other Tuesday until we’re in our new home in Washington DC this summer. Thank you for your patience!

This week’s guest is Navy spouse and mom of one Ashley Chenot. I’m excited she’s going to share her story here because it’s perhaps a different story than we’ve heard before. Ashley hasn’t really had to move during her spouse’s still active duty career and has been able to maintain employment in her field, but even without relocation, it’s taken a bit of initiative on her part to make her career work for her and her family. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Payroll Administrator, Ashley Chenot.

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In this 10th episode of SO Unbecoming, I take a few moments to share the top 9 tips and strategies I learned from the 9 guests we've had on the show so far, I talk about the advocacy and other exciting things that have happened in the last 10 weeks since the show started, and I make a few announcements about what's ahead. If you have a few minutes, grab a cup of coffee, take notes and let me know what you think about how we can improve the show moving forward.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Like the Facebook Page

Follow @unbpodcast on Twitter

Send Me An Email

Schedule a Time to Pitch Me on a future episode

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In Episode 9, I talk military transitions with CEO and Founder of the Redefining You Foundation, Shellie Willis. I’m a firm believer that we can always benefit from thinking about transition issues well in advance of our separation from military life. You may need to spend some time with this episode processing all the insights and advice that is shared, so get comfortable, friends, I’ll be listening there with you. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Army Veteran, Military Spouse, and one of the most passionate servant leaders I know, Shellie Willis.

Like Redefining You Foundation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedefiningYF

Tickets to Redefining Your Future Symposium https://www.eventbrite.com/e/redefining-your-future-symposium-7-tickets-54615325910 

Connect with Shellie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelliewillislssbb/

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This week's episode features my conversation with Air Force Combat Veteran, Military Spouse Blogger and Podcast Host, Amanda Huffman. When I stumbled upon one of Amanda’s most recent articles, I knew I wanted her on the show, not to talk about employment per se, but about a perspective that is unique to those who have been both veteran and spouse. On her blog and podcast, she uses her voice to advocate for women veterans, and I appreciate how she has also used her platform to help create an understanding of how being active duty can differ from being a military spouse. Her ability to communicate what it feels like as a person who has been both I believe can create an empathy and awareness that is important to understanding the norms that affect military spouse employment.

You can connect with Amanda on LinkedIn or on her blog at http://www.airmantomom.com

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Episode 7 features a conversation with my coworker and my nominee for Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year, Mollie Parsons. Mollie is the program manager for Microsoft’s Military Spouse Technology Academy. She’s been a heavily involved Army spouse, maintained a career for much of her husband’s active study career, and she’s an outstanding advocate for military spouses everywhere. I’ve been nothing short of impressed by her tenacity, her drive, and her genuine care and passion for serving the military spouse community. Let’s learn more now in my conversation with Program Manager and MSOY nominee, Mollie Parsons.

You can vote for Mollie through 12pm CST February 12 at http://msoy.afi.org/candidates/mollie-parsons/

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In this sixth episode of SO Unbecoming, we meet CEO and Executive Coach, Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan. Lakshmi is not a military spouse, but an advocate and volunteer in our community. She and I met at a USO event on Joint Base Lewis-McChord and I was absolutely blown away by her energy, her insights, and her then inexplicably deep knowledge of Dr. Brene Brown’s work. She kindly let me connect with her after the workshop and after several conversations, I discovered who this magnificently talented and accomplished woman is.  Over the past 23 years, Lakshmi has helped hundreds of leaders and teams at companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Starbucks re-center and re-imprint themselves with truly transformative results. Her proven Infinite Impact 4C’s approach helps clients achieve Clarity, Capacity, Courage and Connection. Before founding her business Infinite Impact, she spent 13 top bracket years at Microsoft. She has over 5000 hours of professional coaching experience, and was invited by Dr. Brene Brown to be one of 6 Master Facilitators worldwide of "Brave Leadership", her groundbreaking courage-building program for corporations. Lakshmi holds a PhC from the University of Washington, a master’s degree from Georgetown, and is a graduate of the Strategic Marketing Management Program at Stanford Business School. Please join me for a wonderful tale of unbecoming, of rediscovering who you are, and learning how to show up in the arenas of your life bravely as your best and truest self. This is my conversation with CEO and Top Executive Coach, my friend, Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan. You can connect with Lakshmi on LinkedIn and visit her website infinite-impact.com to learn more about how to work with her as a coach! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unbecoming/message

In Episode 5, I share my conversation with Aimee Olivera Sanchez. Aimee is a clinical social worker serving the veteran community and she shares an inspiring personal story of the challenges of becoming a military spouse, overcoming addiction, and ultimately creating a career and a family life that is a testament to her compassionate heart, her fierce spirit, and her incredible talents. We talk about everything from childcare, to family member support, to the new law that allows military spouses to claim their active duty partner's state of residence.  I hope you enjoy it!

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In this episode of SO Unbecoming, we meet clinical social worker, Alexandra Brown. Alex currently works at a juvenile detention facility in the state of California providing CSEC (Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children) services. During our conversation, we learn more about her occupation and and how she has managed her career through military PCS moves and raising 3 children of her own. We talk about licensure, child care, mentorship, overcoming personal challenges, and self care. I’m thrilled to share my conversation with fellow Navy spouse, USC MSW alumna, native New Yorker, mom, runner, and real life superhero, clinical social worker Alexandra Brown. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unbecoming/message

In this episode, I share my first expert conversation with Recruiter Kristie Chapin. Not only is she a military spouse but she's managed to grow a 14 year career as a recruiter and she's sharing her top tips for resumes and advocating for yourself as a prospective or current employee. You can connect with Kristie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-chapin-phr-csp-9ab06310 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unbecoming/message

In this second episode of SO Unbecoming, I share my conversation with Navy veteran and Military Spouse Liesel Stanhope. We talk about the challenges and possible solutions for practicing law while living the military life and discuss the related issues of child care, mentoring, licensure, and the value of portable (not work from home) careers that the modern digital workplace can provide. Let’s meet Attorney Liesel Stanhope. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unbecoming/message

Happy New Year! I’m so excited to bring you the very first episode of SO Unbecoming featuring my beautiful friend, Military Spouse, and architect, Annabella Taylor. Bella talks to us about how she gained the confidence to put herself back out there after a 9 year career gap while raising 3 children and her spouse serving more than 250 days away from home in 2018. I’m very excited to share her story with you! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/unbecoming/message