A Calling for Military Spouses

A Calling for Military Spouses A Case Study for Developing a Strategy for Career Mobility Cheryl G. Edenfield // DMGT 748 Final Project, Part 10: Final Process Book Prof. Bruce Claxton // 2016 November 29

A Calling for Military Spouses Developing a Strategy for Career Mobility M.A. Final Project by Cheryl G. Edenfield

Candidate for Master of Arts, Design Management Design management is a creative approach that is multidisciplinary, and crosses over the boundaries of business and design through research, analysis, ideation and refinement. This process offers a strategic advantage for individuals and organizations that seek to break old patterns to innovate.

Final Project submitted to the faculty of the Design Management Department at the Savannah College of Art and Design on [date] in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Design Management.

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INTRODUCTION The purpose of this case study is to employ design management methods to help military spouses (milspos) pursue their calling for a portable career.

Secondary research was supplemented with primary research conducted with interviews of military spouses at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and an online survey of military spouses across the United States demonstrated that there’s a greater need to help milspos figure out what they want to do, how to accomplish it and be satisfied with their chosen profession.

Through project framing, project positioning, research activities and synthesis, the researcher transitioned the project to improving career building strategies for milspos to pursue their individual callings whatever they may be. The design opportunities, prototype development and testing, and further synthesis led to the evolution of a final product that will deliver a virtual platform that allows milspos to connect with recruiters both on and offline.

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DEDICATION This project is dedicated to my fellow milspos (military spouses) who, of their accord, gave up their career desires and dreams. It is the love, devotion, and support of your service member’s career that influenced my decision to pursue the topic of milspo careers. May your resiliency in navigating military family life lead you back on the path to fulfilling your calling.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge my family, friends, and all others who have supported me through motivation and guidance throughout the design management program at SCAD and this final project.

To my esteemed DMGT program friends and cohorts, Brittany, Gwen, Michele, Poorvi, Stephanie, and Veronique: thank you for your continued friendship and daily inspiration.

I can not imagine having gone through this program with all of your support. I am grateful to have met you all.

To my professors: I would like to thank Bruce Claxton for his direction and advice throughout this final project. I would also like to thank all my professors at SCAD who have helped me to develop and expand my design management skills throughout my time in the program.

To my research participants. It is your input that helped to shape my project. Without your contributions, this project would not be possible.

Last, but not least, I would like to acknowledge my family. Thank you to my husband, Chris, for his encouragement and support of my career and education choices throughout our nineteen-year marriage. Thank you to my children for their understanding the importance of my continuing education. I could not have done it without you all.

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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION

DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES & SYNTHESIS

APPENDICES

Introduction........................................................................ 3 Dedication & Acknowledgments....................................... 4

Mapping Opportunities to Design Ideas......................... 55 Opportunities for Design Map......................................... 56

Appendix A: Timeline with Milestones............................ 92 Appendix B: Signed Consent Forms............................... 93 Appendix C: Primary Research Notes & Transcripts..... 95 Appendix D: Prototype Test Results...............................129 Appendix E: Working Wall..............................................134

PROJECT FRAMING Subject of Study................................................................. 7 Problem Statement............................................................. 7 Opportunity Statement...................................................... 7 Target Audience................................................................. 8 Purpose of Study................................................................ 8 Scope of Study................................................................... 8

PROJECT POSITIONING Market Analysis.................................................................10 ZAG Steps......................................................................... 28 Value Proposition.............................................................. 29 Onliness Statement.......................................................... 29

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES & SYNTHESIS Research Methodology..................................................... 31 Research Matrix............................................................... 32 Map of the Research Space............................................ 36 Research Protocols.......................................................... 38 Data Processing and Analysis.........................................44 Summary........................................................................... 53

PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT & TESTING Design Idea Prototypes.................................................... 58 Evaluating the Ideas......................................................... 63 Design Idea Final.............................................................. 65 Business Model Canvas.................................................... 71 SWOT Analysis.................................................................. 72 ZAG Steps......................................................................... 73

REFERENCES Annotated Bibliography..................................................169 Additional Sources.......................................................... 172 List of Figures................................................................... 175 List of Tables.................................................................... 177

FINAL PRODUCT TO MARKET Final Product Overview.................................................... 72 Business Plan.................................................................... 77 – Value Proposition.......................................................... 78 – Product Prototype......................................................... 79 – Outline of Services........................................................84 – Goals & Objectives........................................................ 85 – Marketing Strategy....................................................... 86 – Business Implementation Plan...................................... 87 – Risk Analysis..................................................................88

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusions & Recommendations..................................90 5

Project Framing

Project Framing SUBJECT OF STUDY This project will explore the culture military spouses who put their career aspirations on hold due to frequent relocation.

PROBLEM STATEMENT Military spouses experience career shifts when their significant others are given orders to relocate from one duty station to the next. When they seek employment they find that their rĂŠsumĂŠs do not have up-to-date skills or are filled with gaps in professional experience (Maury & Stone, 2014).

OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT There is an opportunity to create job and career search strategies to help military spouses who gave up on their calling due to their mobile lifestyle.

SIGNIFICANCE TO THE DESIGN MANAGER The application of design management methods towards a substantive goal will contribute to personal career development. The design manager conducting this study will find new ways to coach fellow military spouses who seek a flexible career path. It will serve as a building block towards a personal business facilitating job and career research sessions.

opener and give meaningful direction. In other fields, such as career development, this study could further advance research strategies for professional growth.

SIGNIFICANCE TO THE WORLD AT LARGE For the world at large, the utilization of this study may create value for others who come across comparable obstacles in their search for portable employment.

SIGNIFICANCE TO THE DESIGN MANAGEMENT FIELD Introduction of this study to peers, who face similar interruptions in their career paths, might be an eye

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Project Framing TARGET AUDIENCE The target audience for this project are military spouses who are married to U.S. military service members who relocate often from one military assignment to another.

PURPOSE OF STUDY The focus of this project is to help military spouses utilize design management methods to guide them in their search for a portable career.

SCOPE OF STUDY CONTEXT Articles, reports and surveys that illustrate the demographic and psychographic profiles for military spouses, their lifestyle, and how it affects their career choices will establish qualitative and quantitative data.

CONTENT These insights, along with research about career search and development processes will provide a model for which design management methods will be applied to affect meaningful change.

SUBJECTS This study will be aimed mainly on female military spouses because they make up 93 percent of the military spouse population (Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, 2015). Army spouses, primarily those who live in the Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, communities will be queried.

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Navy and Air Force spouses will also be interviewed.

Military spouses, representing all branches of the armed services across the United States, will be surveyed to augment the data.

DELIMITATIONS Those who employ military spouses will not be included in this study outside of reports, studies, articles or surveys that mention them. Employers will not be interviewed, but may be surveyed, for this study because the focus is on the employment search process.

TIMELINE This study will be completed over the course of ten weeks from September 12 to November 17, 2016.

Preliminary planning and secondary research has been conducted for about three months leading up to the start of the project.

Project Positioning

Project Positioning MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR MY SECO

OBJECTIVES

Category: government service provider

MEMBERS

Site URL: https://myseco.militaryonesource.mil/portal/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

The Department of Defense Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program offers comprehensive resources and tools for all stages of a military spouse’s career progression.

That includes tools and resources, assessments to explore skills and interests, career counselors, education, training, and licensing, employment readiness, and career connections.

• Available to 1 million military spouses • 93% of military spouses are women • 44.6% are under the age of 30 • About 35% are unemployed • 80% are married to enlisted service members • 20% are married to officers

It’s a comprehensive career research tool.

(Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, 2015)

The site clearly organizes the steps towards building a career from beginning to landing a job – exploring what to do, education, résumé or interview preparation, job search, and networking.

Login and account registration requires Department of Defense identity authentication of military spouse status.

APPROACH

HOMEPAGE

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

By providing an entry point into every step of the career building process ensuring resource consumption in a manner appropriate for each who accesses the site.

Images of smiling career women,and a featured content slide show about volunteer work to build a career, share success and tips with other military spouses, and scholarship application.

We both want to offer comprehensive tools and resources to make each military spouse successful in his or her career.

Each broad category – career exploration, education, employment readiness, and job search – is divided into the deeper subject matter within the group; it’s not just surface information and guidance.

Requires users to scroll to next section to see the welcome message and primary navigation – learn, advance, and succeed.

The very bottom sections are the latest content, what spouses say, and available counseling (over the phone).

Table 1. Market Analysis: My SECO 10

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

Collaborate on success stories or tips from other military spouses.

Work together on media-rich interactive content.

Direct our users to MySECO as a resource available as a link on our website.

MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR MILITARY SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT PARTNERSHIP CAREER PORTAL

OBJECTIVES

Category: government service provider

MEMBERS

Site URL: https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/msep/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

A recruitment and employment solution for spouses that partners with Fortune 500 Plus companies, provides HR managers with recruitment solutions (military spouses), prepares military spouses to be “job ready” applicants, and connects military spouses with employers seeking candidates with the skills and attributes they possess.

Military spouses who are seeking employment.

Focused on one aspect of career building, which is placing well-qualified military spouses with employers.

It is a part of DoD’s broader Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) initiative. It focuses on partnerships with employers to hire military spouses (currently more than 325 partners who have hired more than 98k).

APPROACH

Fortune 500 Plus partners and employers.

A network of spouse ambassadors that form a system of support to the communities where military spouses live and work allowing local and national stakeholders to connect and build productive relationships.

HOMEPAGE

A separate DoD contracted program (MySECO) provides other services such as career counseling and employment readiness.

Sharing links to other organizations who provide other services that apply to career building but are not job search related.

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

Focusing on one aspect of career building and do it well.

Link from MySECO, MilitaryOneSource.com, and whitehouse. gov/joiningforces.

We both want to ensure military spouses are gainfully employed.

Five rotating features beginning with “Congratulations on 90,000 Hires!” then a link to “My dashboard, job search and build your resume.”

List the MSEP Career Portal as a resource for job searching along with other job search tools.

Providing resume and cover letter templates.

Partnering with Fortune 500 Plus companies and employers to build a network.

Hot jobs (six listing summaries), events, scrolling logos of MSEP partners, and quick links to other valuable military spouse resources that are also a part of DoD.

Become an MSEP Career partner when it’s financially feasible to hire help.

Join the Spouse Ambassador Network as part of a collection of organizations within MSEP to leverage networks.

Table 2. Market Analysis: Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) Career Portal 11

MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR EMPLOYMENT READINESS PROGRAM

OBJECTIVES

Category: government service provider

MEMBERS

Site URL: varies from base to base (example http:// fortleavenworthfmwr.com/index.php/army-community-service/ employment-readiness-program)

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

Assistance for active or retired military and Department of Defense spouses and dependents in search of employment — career counseling, career development, job leads, cover letter and resume writing, Federal employment resumes and application processes, preparation for job interviews, overseas employment information, and salary negotiation.

Active or retired military and Department of Defense spouses and dependents who reside in the community in or in the vicinity of the base.

In person appointments available for one-on-one assistance.

At Fort Leavenworth and the 37 counties around the fort in Kansas and Missouri, there are approximately 29k family members less than half of which are spouses of the service member or DoD contract employee. (Fort Leavenworth Garrison

Providing a virtual career library for times appointments are not available, or spouses are unable to come in for help.

In person appointments and classes or workshops.

Public Affairs Office, 2015)

Monthly workshops.

Individual experiences and degree of usefulness to military spouses vary from base to base.

Access to a virtual career library.

APPROACH

HOMEPAGE

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

By providing a slew of career and employment readiness services from individual to group instruction, monthly workshops, and a virtual career library.

Installation community services website (for example, the Army Community Services or ACS Web page) and social media page with a link.

We have the same goal to provide assistance and prepare military spouses for employment.

Tailored assistance for the private sector and Federal employment resumes and applications. Federal applications and forms can be difficult to complete without help or tips on writing “KSA’s” (knowledge, skills, and abilities).

Family MWR website and social media page with a link.

Become a referral for each other to military spouses we meet.

Table 3. Market Analysis: Employment Readiness Program 12

Co-teach workshops for employment readiness in person.

Physically located (office) with other family and community services at the installation. Spouses who come in for assistance in other areas of military life will see and learn about the employment readiness program.

Make a video of career development workshop sessions for online sharing.

MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR MILITARY SPOUSE CORPORATE CAREER NETWORK (MSCCN)

OBJECTIVES

Category: government service provider

MEMBERS

Site URL: http://www.msccn.org/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

“To increase job placement and career development for military spouses and family members through the elimination of employment obstacles... provide unparalleled service so that every military spouses, caregivers, and family members can have access to a portable career within their chosen career paths. (Military Spouse Corporate Career Network, n.d.)”

Part of the Department of Defense Spouse Ambassador Network through MSEP (Military Spouse Employment Program).

It helps to partner with other Department of Defense organizations for funding and expansion of the network.

More than 7,000 verified military spouse applicants hired in 2015.

They offer resources for employers and job seekers. Training is available several times with registration options for each event. A work from home introductory workshop is available to teach participants what to consider.

All services are cost-free and coordinated with existing military family center work programs (such as the Employment Readiness Program through Army Community Services).

MSCCN is registered to operate as a contractor on a government contract.

APPROACH

Employer partnerships with Boeing, USAA Federal Savings Bank, Direct Employers (a nonprofit association of employers), IBM, and Magellan Health to name a few.

MSCCN Team Members are all military affiliated and experts in their field.

HOMEPAGE

MSCCN is a sister organization for veterans (Corporate America Supports You) to work in the same capacity; their resources and tools overlap.

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

They are approved to operate as an employment partner with all branches of the military. This allows them to extend their reach and network through each branch’s family services network.

Contact is through referrals, military family centers, virtual and on-installation (in person) workshops, articles and publications, and their website with an applicant tracking system.

We both specialize in the knowledge of preparing applicants for career and job placement success, and understand there are gaps in the programs and benefits provided by similar organizations. We want to help military spouses gain access to a portable career within their chosen career paths.

Their team members are recruitment specialists with a proven track record and can provide a “Hire Report.” The report details the status of the applicant), the branch of service, state/country, company, position, industry, and date hired.

They prepare job seekers through employee readinesstraining seminars to ensure job readiness and job expectations.

Table 4. Market Analysis: Military Spouse Corporate Career Network

Opportunity to use MSCCN as a resource to share with military spouses who are interested in using a volunteer program to fill gaps in experience to grow professionally.

Be a part of the MSCCN Career Corps Professional Network or Ambassador Program to provide mentorship and professional guidance, further network, and help members stay connected to their industry.

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MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR IN GEAR CAREER (A NONPROFIT PROGRAM OF HIRING OUR HEROES AND THE U.S. CHAMBER FOUNDATION)

OBJECTIVES

Category: military service provider (non-government)

MEMBERS

Site URL: http://ingearcareer.org/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

Grassroots level year-round career development networking opportunities to empower military spouses around the world whose objective is to build career networks in new locations every couple of years.

Career-minded military spouses in 22 local chapters throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Volunteer-led unstructured chapter meetings (dependent on the group leader).

The nonprofit was started by and for military spouses and currently has 5,000+ followers on their Facebook page. There are currently 212 members in the closed group of the Fort Leavenworth chapter.

Smart strategy to grow slowly by creating or opening a few chapters per year.

“Promote and advance the employment, career development, and networking opportunities for Military Spouses across the full range of professional occupations through the exchange of accurate, timely, and topical information through online and on-ground community building efforts and advocacy programs.” —In Gear Career mission statement (In Gear

They share testimonials from members. Military spouses tend to trust word-of-mouth recommendations, tips, and advice from other military spouses.

Career, n.d.)

APPROACH

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

They create value through the support system of individual chapters by targeting what they found as the cause of military spouse career issues; to quickly establish and leverage organic networks to secure meaningful employment.

Word of mouth and the local chamber of commerce.

Similar vision: “To improve the quality of life, morale, and stability for military families by enabling Military Spouses to seek professional employment and maintain long-term career paths despite the transient nature and demands of the military lifestyle.” —In Gear Career Vision Statement (In Gear

Focus is on the career-minded military spouse and not hiring fairs or job placement programs that are more effective in filling entry-level and hourly jobs. They address the needs of spouses who seek employment commensurate with advanced education and professional experience.

The homepage has a slide show of featured content starting with “Because we know networking, find a local chapter.”

Below it is a call to action (donate today).

Career, n.d.)

New job referrals, ICG news, and upcoming chapter networking events are directly below the slide show feature.

Create a process, or best practices guide for local chapters to organize content, resources, events, workshops, and tools disseminated to members.

Table 5. Market Analysis: In Gear Career 14

HOMEPAGE

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

Social media suggestions to like the page (through algorithms that target similar audiences and other liked pages).

Present workshops, stories, tips, and advice to local chapters

MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR NATIONAL MILITARY SPOUSE NETWORK (NMSN)

OBJECTIVES

Category: military service provider (non-government)

MEMBERS

Site URL: http://www.nationalmilitaryspousenetwork. org/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

They are “... the pre-eminent networking, mentoring and professional development organization committed to the education, empowerment and advancement of military spouses.” (National Military Spouse Network, n.d.)

Military spouses who paid for the $97/year subscription

Access to resources requires membership.

Military spouses interested in networking, attending business boot camp or accessing a career success toolkit.

Newsletter content features shared on the site as a sample of what to expect as a member.

They deliver both personal and career development for military spouses through quality content, mentoring, networking opportunities and cutting edge resources. They provide a community and exclusive members only networks to allow members to exchange experiences with others who seek guidance about their careers.

11 experts including authors, experts, mentors, coaches, entrepreneurs, military spouses, and retired veterans.

NMSN bi-annual magazines are available to view online (issuu.com).

APPROACH

NMSN provides an in-person career summit over two days with three events.

HOMEPAGE

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

A team of experts.

Social media and public relations (articles in Military Times and Forbes) promoting the NMSN Summit.

We both want to provide credible resources and experts.

Quality content, mentoring, and networking opportunities.

A combination of digitally provided assets, access to “ask the experts,” and in-person content delivery through a conference.

Embedded YouTube video about NMSN’s Summit

Opportunity to present vanguard instruction and substantive materials at a summit.

Call to action: “Register Now” followed by a summary of the Annual Military Spouse Career Summit with three opportunities to click on a link to go to the summit Web page.

Partner with one or more experts on the NMSN team to create ways to deliver advice, tips, and knowledge to military spouses.

Table 6. Market Analysis: National Military Spouse Network (NMSN) 15

MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR MADSKILLS

OBJECTIVES

Category: military service provider (non-government)

MEMBERS

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

They are “... a direct connection between [your] skill set and a remote job opportunity.” It is a platform designed to bring remote job opportunities to career professionals with “mad skills.”

Military spouses who are looking for flexible and remote job opportunities.

Companies can find a spouse, or let a spouse find them, to hire.

Companies who seek candidates with unique skill sets and are open to hiring a military wife for a remote job or contract.

Spouses can search for a job and apply for posted jobs with their profile; they may also find and connect with other spouses.

“MadSkills is dedicated to helping companies hire and find the most untapped and highly qualified talent pool available – Military Spouses” —MadSkills mission statement (MadSkills,

Focused primarily on remote job listings and companies who are amenable to hiring remote positions.

n.d.)

APPROACH

HOMEPAGE

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

By only listing [remote] jobs that are flexible and fit the military lifestyle of moving around.

Public relations [press releases] promoting military & veteran entrepreneurs, social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

We both want to provide (or point to) flexible employment opportunities for military spouses’ careers.

Free service to military spouses (to work with a fellow military spouse on next job or project; hire within the community and support each other.

Three plans [options]: corporate API integrations custom plans, direct access for employers ($97/month), and free profiles for military spouses.

Table 7. Market Analysis: MadSkills 16

Site URL: http://hiremadskills.com

Top call to action is “Hire a military spouse, get the most diverse skill sets in the marketplace.” Below top call to action are options to “hire a military spouse” or “find remote work.”

Next section outlines why a company should hire a military spouse.

Tout themselves as “The #1 online platform for military spouses to find remote jobs.”

Include MadSkills as a resource to refer fellow military spouses who are in search of remote work.

Develop content to share through the MadSkills blog and network.

MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR BLUE STAR FAMILIES CAREERS [NETWORKS LIVE!, BLUE STAR SPOUSEFORCE, MENTORS FOR MILITARY SPOUSES, EMPLOYMENT TOOLKIT, BLUE STAR NETWORKS]

OBJECTIVES

Category: military service provider (non-government)

MEMBERS

Site URL: https://bluestarfam.org/resources/careers/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

Blue Star Families know military families inside and out.

They help to strengthen military families through career development, care giving, and leading research on military family life. They continually strive to understand better and provide solutions to the challenges faced by military families.

Military spouses who seek help from Blue Star Families for their careers.

They don’t provide all the resources and content needed to help military spouses. Instead, they establish key partnerships to be able to provide a comprehensive set of tools, networks, strategies, and links to accomplish their goal.

APPROACH

Mentors who want to share their experience, tips, and strategies with military spouses who are more likely to follow word of mouth recommendations.

HOMEPAGE

Would be great to secure similar funding to leverage existing networking opportunities to connect more military spouses directly to hiring opportunities, training programs, and higher education.

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

Through multiple programs that connect a community of career-minded spouses by building relationships; preparation for Salesforce Certified Administrator exam; mentorship in partnership with Veterati [https://enter.veterati.com/bsf]; an employment toolkit and comprehensive career guide specifically developed for military spouses to target and address the unique employment challenges they face; and Blue Star Networks professional groups on Facebook to network with leaders within the member’s profession.

Blue Star Families is a favorite resource for military families.

Many users go straight to bluestarfam.org. Other entry points are word of mouth, partner organization referrals, and social media.

We try to help military spouses who agree with this quote: “If you’re married to a service member, you may be one of the 84% of employed active duty spouses who say that military affiliation had a negative impact on their ability to pursue a career.” —Blue Star Families 2014 Family Military Lifestyle Survey (Blue Star Families, n.d.)

Table 8. Market Analysis: Blue Star Families Careers

Their homepage has the tag line “Strengthening America’s Military Families.” Below that they lead the viewer to discover how they can help, how to volunteer, and how to connect with [your] community. Joining the network is free.

Include Blue Star Families Careers as a resource to direct military spouses we come into contact with to explore.

The next section on the homepage highlights featured stories, including “$900k awarded to help MilSpouses Find Employment (Blue Star Families, n.d.).”

Reach out to partner with Blue Star Families to expand the network and to have ‘boots on the ground’ local to Fort Leavenworth.

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MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR CAREER SPARK [A PROGRAM OF THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION]

OBJECTIVES

Category: military service provider (non-government)

MEMBERS

Site URL: http://www.mycareerspark.org/#/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

To maximize military spouse work and volunteer experience and make their resumes searchable to thousands of militaryfriendly employers in the Career Spark database.

Military spouses who have work and volunteer experience to contribute to companies that are military friendly.

Like other competitors, they are a program within another program and partner with others to broaden network reach.

The job search module is the “Hiring Our Heroes” employment dashboard.

Military friendly employers as part of Hiring Our Heroes.

Veterans as part of Hiring Our Heroes.

They provide instructions to create ‘goals for success’ versus tips.

There are UX issues with confirming Hiring Our Heroes Dashboard role confirmation in the Chrome Web browser. The pop-up window does not go away after making a selection.

APPROACH

HOMEPAGE

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

They create value through step-by-step instructions to discover (resume tools), explore (what to look for, where to look, how to use the network, and how to interview), prep, and track goals.

A referral link from Blue Star Families takes users to their site.

Hiring Our Heroes, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, also refers military spouses to Career Spark.

As part of Hiring Our Heroes (HOH), there’s an opportunity to share Career Spark with another HOH program In Gear Career as a resource to explore, prep, and track career goals.

They also create value through their partnerships with Hiring Our Heroes and Blue Star Families Careers.

Social media shared links through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Table 9. Market Analysis: Career Spark [a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation] 18

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

We both strive to be user-friendly and provide helpful information to coach military spouses towards their career aspirations through reminders of things they already know.

MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR LINKEDIN

OBJECTIVES

Category: civilian service provider

MEMBERS

Site URL: https://www.linkedin.com/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

“To connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.” —LinkedIn’s mission (LinkedIn, n.d.)

433 million members worldwide in 200 countries and territories around the globe.

Highlights skills and experience.

It is the world’s largest professional network with personal and business solutions (LinkedIn, n.d.). It allows users to stay up to date with company news, discovers new job opportunities, and shows connections to employees.

Business who are seeking marketing, talent, and or sales solutions.

Developers who want to leverage LinkedIn’s professional network to their apps.

Publishers who want to share their content with their network on LinkedIn.

APPROACH

HOMEPAGE

Interactive and social with in-depth member profiles, projects, portfolios, relationship degrees (between other connections and groups), and recommendations from their connections.

Open to everyone, not just military spouse affiliated, and at every level of experience within individual careers. Businesses may create a profile for members to connect to and follow.

Offers free and paid version of membership.

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

Ability to stay up to date with the network of connections.

Homepage brings the user directly to a news feed of shared information – links to articles and resources shared by connections and companies the member follows; and discussion group posts.

Create a group within the LinkedIn network to reach out, share stories or tips with other military spouses, and connect with each other or with companies.

Easy to find and add links to people they know.

Mission to make military spouses successful.

Ability to see the degree of connection to an employee at a company or business of interest.

Social media link from articles found online.

Network introductions through the messaging system.

Social media link shared by users to connect with each other.

Contribute to the employment of members through job opportunities.

Share the skills our amazing members possess.

Table 10. Market Analysis: LinkedIn 19

MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR APRÈS GROUP

OBJECTIVES

Category: civilian service provider

MEMBERS

Site URL: http://apresgroup.com/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

Après offers inspiring content, tools to navigate transition back to work, access to career coaches, and a diverse job market of available positions for women looking to get back to work (after time off).

Women who took a career break.

• 95% have college degrees • 55% have graduate degrees • 65% can immediately fill mid to senior level positions • 68% are looking for full-time positions

Appeal to corporate partners by emphasizing the overlooked highly skilled source of talent of women returning to the workforce.

It connects women to employers who understand there are millions of highly-qualified women with established work experience that are an untapped source of talent.

Employers (corporate partners) who are seeking to search member profiles.

Offers a variety of media to digest content including articles and advice in digital (print) format as well as podcasts.

Employers get a full-page recruiting and marketing platform to showcase their company, corporate culture, and social media outlets.

Free and paid membership.

APPROACH

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

Après promotes employers to the member community.

Sponsored posts on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)

By sharing success stories of inspirational women to look up to and admire who successfully reentered the workforce after taking career breaks.

Public relations through PRnewswire.com (i.e. articles in the Washington Post and Buzzfeed)

We seek to redefine how women re-enter the workforce by offering content, tools, personal career coaching, and a way to navigate the job market.

Connecting the member community to full- and part-time jobs, short-term projects, fill-in maternity positions, etc. with job postings throughout the U.S. Providing tools to navigate the transition and vetted career coaches and exclusive content.

Table 11. Market Analysis: Après Group 20

HOMEPAGE

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

Menu navigation is straightforward and inviting: “inspire, admire, acquire, and hire.”

Possibly create a sub-group within Après for military spouses to connect with each other and the employers who are ready to hire women re-entering the workforce in different stages of their career.

The tag line is “Reconnect with your professional self.”

Offer to upgrade membership (to users who are already free members)

Refer military spouses to Après as another place to connect with employers and as a resource for content and tools.

MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR MONSTER

OBJECTIVES

Category: civilian service provider

MEMBERS

Site URL: http://www.monster.com/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

Monster connects people and job opportunities all over the world.

Men and women of all ages seeking employment or advice with employment readiness activities (resume, cover letter, job search, interviewing tips, personal finance, and salary and benefits information).

Monster started out small, as simply a job board, before expanding their extensive array of services for both candidates and customers (companies).

Monster values: “How we guide all decisions in our work, we ...

1. relentlessly innovate.

2. approach the world with intelligence.

3. put Customers and Candidates first, always.

4. foster trust, openness, and integrity in all that we do.

5. are bold and proud; we seek to improve the company, the communities where we operate, and ourselves (Monster, n.d.).”

APPROACH

Companies who are looking for candidates with talent to hire.

HOMEPAGE

They partnered with Military.com in 2004 “to accelerate growth and change the arena for career and educational opportunities for service members, veterans, and military spouses” (Military.com, n.d.). Their vision is a good fit for Military. com’s goal of connecting the military community to all the benefits of service.

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

They provide reach through a network of properties, partners, and targeting capabilities. The are not just a “job board” but also a provider of job seeking, career management, recruitment, and talent management products and services.

Online through their website. Monster is a well-known resource for job and career research and is recommended through word of mouth and career advising professionals.

They also advertise (print, social media, and television).

We have the same goal, and that is to connect people with job opportunities.

Help employers connect to candidates that interest them the most with a smarter search and communications platform, software, services, and analytics.

The initial view of the site focuses on getting found (upload resume) or for employers (post a job). Below the image and calls to action are highlights of career tips, featured company, and sponsored advertising.

A partnership would allow us to leverage Monster’s power to reach and connect — increase engagement, interaction, conversion, and geographical reach without re-inventing the wheel.

Table 12. Market Analysis: Monster 21

MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR INDEED

OBJECTIVES

MEMBERS

Site URL: http://www.indeed.com/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

Indeed helps people all over the world hire and get hired.

They enable users to search jobs posted on thousands of websites. Employers also post jobs directly on Indeed so no matter where job posts are, it will be easy to find.

Millions of users all over the world who are seeking employment.

Straightforward works well, and having more capabilities doesn’t necessarily contribute to success.

Over five million users recently shared inspirational user experience stories.

The focus is on hiring resources, posting jobs, and building a powerful search engine to find job postings that exist outside of Indeed. Quality and quantity of results bring candidates back to utilize the service.

It’s the simplest to use for job search and can be used in three ways: Web search engine, daily emails with jobs that match any search, and through their mobile website and apps.

APPROACH

Company accounts for 1) free job posting, 2) sponsored (paid) job posts, 3) free to contact up to 100 candidates, and 4) free company page to increase visibility for talent brand and showcase jobs.

HOMEPAGE

There are a variety of price points to meet the needs of each employer while the search for job options remain free for candidates.

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

Indeed helps people get jobs and shares how many users share their stories. They tout how successful job searches through them are.

Direct entry by users typing in Indeed.com

We both want to help people get jobs, and it is important to keep it as simple as possible.

The site remembers “my recent searches and offers a daily email to receive results based on those parameters.

Simplified search parameters garner hundreds of jobs. The software is intuitive and can share recommended jobs as well as sort by relevance. The criterion for search can be as broad or as detailed as the user prefers to deliver results.

Table 13. Market Analysis: Indeed 22

Category: civilian service provider

Referral from career advising professionals, word of mouth, and advertising (print, social media, and television spots).

The entry page begins with “Find Jobs,” and the site detects where the user is by automatically entering the “where” parameter for the search. Below find jobs are “post your resume,” and an update on how many new jobs are available to view in the last seven days.

There is an opportunity to partner through the Indeed Publisher Program (affiliate money earning) and use their API to help our users find jobs. The use of their API will allow us to avoid recreating and competing with powerful software that already exists and works well.

MARKET ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE COMPETITOR CAREERBUILDER

OBJECTIVES

Category: civilian service provider

MEMBERS

Site URL: http://www.careerbuilder.com/

LESSONS

WHAT IS THEIR NETWORK’S VALUE?

WHAT CATEGORIES DO THEY FALL INTO?

WHAT CAN THEY TEACH US FOR OUR NETWORK?

They are an “end-to-end human capital management company that covers the entire candidate lifecycle and employee lifecycle for business.” They specialize in HR software as a service for businesses.

Millions of job seekers around the world.

CareerBuilder focuses on the hiring process. By doing so, this helps get more job opportunities posted, shared, and advertised to the job seeker community.

Candidates can create an account to upload resumes and cover letters, see when employers view their applications, know when a company finds their resume, see the competition for each job, and use a “quick apply” tool to build their career.

More than 1000 partner career sites.

APPROACH

Hundreds of thousands of employers and recruiters who seek a pre-hire platform to help them hire faster and easier.

Advice, career content, and resources for job seekers are a secondary, not primary, benefit.

Affiliate partners in a wide range of industries from banking and finance to transportation.

HOMEPAGE

COLLABORATION OPPORTUNITIES

HOW DO THEY CREATE VALUE?

WHAT IS THE ENTRY POINT TO THEIR NETWORK?

WHERE OR HOW DO WE OVERLAP?

This service facilitates a smooth and less frustrating application process for the job seeker. The job search process is straightforward, and a streamlined hiring process for the recruiter creates satisfied users on both ends.

Partner companies who use CareerBuilder as their career site.

We both want to make the process of finding a job, and hiring for it, less stressful than it needs to be.

Internet search, word of mouth, and social media.

Share CareerBuilder’s career insights with our network as a valuable resource.

CareerBuilder shares the keywords employers are using to find candidates. Users who add their resume, and use the relevant, select keywords, let the next job find them.

The entry page call to action is “Find the right job. Right now.”

(CareerBuilder, n.d.). Below call to action, the site asks the user to add their resume. It also shares keywords, quick links, and job recommendations. At the bottom are popular job searches by category, city, and company.

Share CareerBuilder’s job search engine as a tool to find openings.

Table 14. Market Analysis: CareerBuilder 23

Project Positioning MARKET ANALYSIS

2X2 AXIS CHART A

For this 2x2 axis chart, competitors were compared in terms of their target market (demographic) focus and the user type.

MILITARY FOCUSED MySECO

DEMOGRAPHIC FOCUS

Employment Readiness Program

Military This category includes companies that focus on providing services to military spouses.

In Gear Career

Job seekers This category is for companies whose primary focus is job seekers.

JOB SEEKERS

USER TYPE

NMSN

MadSkills

Monster

Après Group

OPPORTUNITY

24

MSEP

MSCCN

Employer recruiters This category is for companies whose primary focus is employer recruiters.

Most companies are either military focused or civilian focused. The ones that are closer to the middle have resources and tools helpful unique to military spouses.

The opportunity space here lies mostly on the employer recruiter end of the spectrum. Much needs to be done to change the way company recruiters view transient applicants.

Career Spark

LinkedIn

Indeed

CareerBuilder

CIVILIAN FOCUSED Figure 1. Market analysis: 2 x 2 axis chart A. Author’s image.

EMPLOYER RECRUITERS

Civilian This category includes companies that focus on providing services to the general civilian population.

Blue Star Families Careers

MARKET ANALYSIS

2X2 AXIS CHART B

For this 2x2 axis chart, competitors were compared in terms of the type of network and location of the network.

COMMUNITY LinkedIn

TYPE OF NETWORK MSCCN

Community This category includes companies that offer a community to network with. The level of reach determined where on the axis the company was placed.

In Gear Career NMSN

Individual This category includes companies that are focused primarily on the individual user versus connections.

Online This category is for companies whose service is provided mostly online.

IN PERSON

In person This category is for companies whose service is provided mostly face-to-face.

MSEP Blue Star Families Careers

MadSkills ONLINE

LOCATION OF NETWORK

Après Group

Employment Readiness Program

OPPORTUNITY

Career Builder

Career Spark

Most companies offer their services online. There is a need to provide more in person and individual support.

Indeed

MySECO

Monster INDIVIDUAL Figure 2. Market analysis: 2 x 2 axis chart B. Author’s image.

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MARKET ANALYSIS

2X2 AXIS CHART C

For this 2x2 axis chart, competitors were compared in terms of the range of resources and location of the network.

SINGLE TOOL

RANGE OF RESOURCES MadSkills

Single tool This category includes companies that focus their resources mostly on one tool for each resource. For example job search or candidate search.

In person This category is for companies whose service is provided mostly face-to-face.

Online This category is for companies whose service is provided mostly online.

OPPORTUNITY Most companies offer their services online. There is a need to provide more in person and individual support that utilizes fewer tools. A single source can direct users to career and job search resources without recreating what already exists.

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IN PERSON

LOCATION OF NETWORK

Indeed Career Spark MSCCN In Gear Career

NMSN

Monster Career Builder

Employment Readiness Program

Blue Star Families Careers

Après Group LinkedIn MySECO

MULTIPLE TOOLS Figure 3. Market analysis: 2 x 2 axis chart C. Author’s image.

ONLINE

Multiple tools This category includes companies that have a wide range of tools and resources available towards building a career.

MSEP

AXIS CHART COMPARISONS

SINGLE TOOL MILITARY COMMUNITY FOCUSED

SINGLE TOOL MILITARY COMMUNITY FOCUSED LinkedIn

Employment Readiness Program

MSCCN

In Gear Career

MSEP

Career Spark MSEP

MadSkills Blue Star Families MSCCN Careers

MSCCN

In Gear Career

NMSN

Indeed

Monster

Après Group

LinkedIn

Career Builder

Blue StarCareer Families Builder Careers Indeed CareerBuilder

Après Group Career Spark LinkedIn MySECO

MSCCN

Après Group MadSkills

Blue Star Families In Gear Careers Career

In Gear Career NMSN

MSEP

Career Spark MSEP

MadSkills Blue Star Families MSCCN Careers

MSCCN

Monster In Gear Career

NMSN

Employment Readiness Employment Program Readiness Program

Indeed

Figure 4. Market analysis: 2 x 2 axis charts A, B, and C overlapped. Author’s image.

Monster

Après Group

LinkedIn

Career Builder

Blue StarCareer Families Builder Careers Indeed CareerBuilder

Après Group Career Spark LinkedIn MySECO

MySECO Monster

MySECO Monster

MULTIPLE TOOLS CIVILIAN INDIVIDUAL FOCUSED

NMSN Indeed MSEP Career Spark MadSkills

EMPLOYER ONLINE ONLINE RECRUITERS

NMSN Indeed MSEP Career Spark MadSkills

Monster

Employment Readiness Employment Program Readiness Program

Employment Readiness Program

EMPLOYER ONLINE ONLINE RECRUITERS

NMSN JOB IN IN PERSON PERSON SEEKERS

Après Group MadSkills

Blue Star Families In Gear Careers Career

LinkedIn

MySECO

JOB IN IN PERSON PERSON SEEKERS

MySECO

MULTIPLE TOOLS CIVILIAN INDIVIDUAL FOCUSED Figure 5. Market analysis: 2 x 2 axis charts B, C, and A overlapped. Author’s image.

Overlapping the three 2 x 2 axis charts supports the opportunities written that there is a need for military focused job seeker assistance in person for individuals and online for the community. There is also a small window of opportunity to create a connection with employer recruiters that is military family focused.

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Project Positioning ZAG STEPS

WHAT WAVE AM I RIDING?

WHO ELSE SHARES MY BRANDSCAPE?

WHAT DO YOU DO?

A military spouse (milspo) who was keen on helping other milspos pursue their calling despite the challenges they face founded MilSpo Careers.

This research provides milspos with a comprehensive toolkit that will assist individual milspos in the pursuit of their career aspirations to help give them flexibility and control no matter what point in their career they are.

The solutions stemming from this research will be a valued resource that guides milspos towards achieving career flexibility.

WHAT MAKES ME THE ONLY ‘ME?’

WHAT DO THEY CALL ME?

HOW DO I SPREAD THE WORD?

HOW DO PEOPLE ENGAGE WITH ME?

WHAT DO THEY EXPERIENCE?

Word of mouth and online through existing military spouse resources including: Army Community Services (in person counseling and briefs), Army Wife Network, and social media outlets

People engage with the service initially by phone, email, or social media.

Continued engagement depends on location, but can occur on the virtual platform created for MilSpo Careers.

They experience community support and an engaging dynamic environment that inspires milspos to not give up on their calling through networking and continued career readiness skill development.

This is the only project that focuses on the pursuit of a milspos calling through design thinking activities in combination with career resources and tools that already exist.

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WHAT IS IN MY VISION?

WHO ARE YOU?

The MilSpo Careers Network

Figure 6. Project positioning: Zag steps 1–6, 10, 12, 13, and 14. Author’s image.

• Individualized career coaching • Vision boarding • Virtual network

Blue Star Families Careers, In Gear Career, and Employment Readiness Programs share MilSpo Careers’ network brandscape.

Project Positioning VALUE PROPOSITION

ONLINESS STATEMENT

For military spouses who want to pursue their calling, our comprehensive toolkit and career coaching process provides flexibility and control of their future.

The only multi-faceted career coaching toolkit that offers a new blueprint for employment satisfaction for milspos who are in pursuit of their calling located on a virtual platform worldwide, who seek to regain personal identity separate from that of a milspo in a time when planning for the future is never too soon or too late.

We do this by assisting individual milspos to navigate available career resources, tools, and network Unlike other companies that just present a wide array of options without meaningful direction.

Our comprehensive toolkit focuses on the personal needs of each milspo through career coaching, vision boarding, and connection to a virtual network of other military spouses.

What The only multi-faceted career coaching toolkit How that offers a new blueprint for employment satisfaction

Who for milspos who are in pursuit of their calling Where located on a virtual platform worldwide, Why who seek to regain personal identity separate from that of a milspo

When in a time when planning for the future is never too soon or too late.

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Research Activities & Synthesis

Research Planning RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The methodology for this contextual research will be a case study with an interpretive qualitative approach.

DATA COLLECTION A mixed research methodology will be employed in this study. On the whole, primary and secondary qualitative research data will be gathered in order to get a deeper sense of the obstacles military spouses face in addition to their demographic and psychographic profiles.

It is important to get a holistic view of the entire career research process. This will be done by interview and conversation with the subjects to uncover not just the what, where and when, but the how and why of their interactions and emotions through the process. The psychological ramifications of an employment search cannot necessarily be quantified. However, quantitative research does have its value for this study. Questionnaires will be used in order to gain access to military spouses from all branches of the armed forces across the nation. It will be useful in discovering surface information such as job search strategies and the types of employment military spouses have been pursuing. Larger amounts of quantitative (secondary) research data from U.S. government and government contracted institutions will also be collected.

DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS Data collected throughout this study will be evaluated on a working wall. Information will be mapped according to problem solving model variations (Mendel & Yeager, 2010) including the analysis-synthesis bridge and Kumar models (Dubberly, Evenson, & Robinson, 2008) to unearth new processes for career research and portability of careers to take shape. Techniques to identify themes in qualitative data, including but not limited to word counts, line-by-line scrutiny and key-words-in-context, will also be used (Bernard & Ryan, 2003). A reverse search for missing information could also prove to be useful in identifying gaps. These models and techniques along with personas, empathy maps, system and journey maps will be composed to get a comprehensive understanding of the target audience and the problems they face.

31

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

HOW MIGHT MILITARY SPOUSES UTILIZE DESIGN MANAGEMENT METHODS IN THEIR SEARCH FOR A PORTABLE CAREER? What data is needed?

Why is this data needed?

What type of data is needed?

Where can this data be found?

What type of data collection methods are needed?

Who needs to be contacted to collect this data?

What is the take away from this data? What will be learned?

What might be missed? How might it be wrong?

Week 1-2

What drives military spouse career choices

The military spouse community is large (≈1 million) and each individual is different based on multiple factors

Week 2-3

What issues affect military spouses, how they feel about them, the driving forces behind their choices, and what motivates (or doesn’t) motivate them

Making sure the focus is on the real barriers faced

Week 2-3

What resources do military spouses know are available to them and if there is a need for more or less

Smaller, unknown, non-government backed resources might be overlooked

When does this data need to be collected?

1.

What is a ‘military spouse?’

Mixed (qualitative Demographic and and quantitative): psychographic To understand the primary and data about the target audience secondary target audience research

Internet, articles, previous studies, survey reports, conversations and personal experience

Military spouses and experts Surveys, research in the field of and interviews military spouse culture

1a.

What are the problems that military spouses face in pursuit of their career goals?

Identify the major issues and obstacles that need to be overcome

To prioritize and focus on the issues that need to be solved

Mixed (qualitative and quantitative): secondary research

Internet, articles, survey reports, conversations and personal experience

Military spouses and experts Surveys, research in the field of and interviews military spouse culture

Internet, articles, survey reports, conversations and personal experience

Military spouses, experts in the field of military Surveys, research spouse culture and interviews and military spouse career development/ resource services

1b.

What resources are available and how do military spouses pursue their career goals?

Identify resources available to military spouses (including both military and civilian resources)

Table 15. Research Sub-question 1 Matrix 32

To determine what is available and what is missing or needed

Qualitative data: primary and secondary research

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

HOW MIGHT MILITARY SPOUSES UTILIZE DESIGN MANAGEMENT METHODS IN THEIR SEARCH FOR A PORTABLE CAREER? What data is needed?

Why is this data needed?

Identify current employment opportunities and positions currently held

To understand the target audience’s current professional employment versus nonprofessional options

What type of data is needed?

Where can this data be found?

What type of data collection methods are needed?

Who needs to be contacted to collect this data?

Internet, articles, previous studies, survey reports and conversations

Military spouses, experts in the field of military spouse Surveys, research culture and and interviews military spouse employment resources/ services

Internet, articles, survey reports, conversations and personal experience

Military spouses, experts in the field of military spouse culture Surveys, research and experts in the field and interviews of career/ employment research and development

When does this data need to be collected?

What is the take away from this data? What will be learned?

What might be missed? How might it be wrong?

Week 3

The confines of available professional employment opportunities and what industries they fall in

Employment options might be too varied from hourly wage, and professional to vocational/ technical that some could be overlooked

1c.

What kind of career(s) do military spouses seek and where?

1d.

When, and how often, do military spouses conduct research or search for career opportunities?

Identify what resources military spouses use, know about, are not aware of, what steps they take in the research process, and how they are informed of these resources

Table 16. Research Sub-question 1 Matrix

To determine challenges and define opportunities for change in delivering the tools or steps necessary in researching a career

Mixed (qualitative and quantitative): primary and secondary research

Qualitative data: primary and secondary research

Week 3

What resources do military spouses know are available to them, how they use it, if it’s effective and how they access it; which employment search methods work more efficiently than others

Personal opinions will vary between each user; broad versus specific career and employment search methods may not apply to everyone

33

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

HOW MIGHT MILITARY SPOUSES UTILIZE DESIGN MANAGEMENT METHODS IN THEIR SEARCH FOR A PORTABLE CAREER? What data is needed?

Why is this data needed?

What type of data is needed?

Where can this data be found?

What type of data collection methods are needed?

Who needs to be contacted to collect this data?

Research

Experts in the field of design management and business professionals who apply design management methods towards research

Research

Experts in the field of design management and business professionals who apply design management methods towards research

Research

Experts in the field of design management and business professionals who facilitate creative thinking

What is the take away from this data? What will be learned?

What might be missed? How might it be wrong?

The scope of design management methods available to replicate

Several ways to essentially end with the same results; choosing a path that could be too complicated for nondesign thinking individuals

Week 1

The scope of research and processes available to replicate

Processes could be complicated, or conversely over simplified, for individuals not familiar with design management research strategies

Week 1

What ways nondesign thinking individuals could be directed to apply design management methods to nondesign related research

Processes could be too complicated to deliver; communication and learning styles of the target audience

When does this data need to be collected?

2.

What are design management methods?

List and identify the different types of design management methods

To determine a variety of design management methods to apply to this study

Identify the different types of research and processes and how they are used

To determine ways design management Qualitative: research processes can be secondary applied to current research career research and employment processes

Qualitative: secondary research

Internet, databases, academic journals, studies, articles and books

Week 1

2a.

Where and how are design management methods applied?

Internet, databases, academic journals, studies, articles and books

2b.

How are design management methods facilitated to nondesigners?

34

Identify ways to facilitate design management method processes to non-design thinking individuals

Table 17. Research Sub-question 2 Matrix

In order to guide military spouses through design management processes

Qualitative: secondary research

Internet, databases, academic journals, studies, articles and books

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

HOW MIGHT MILITARY SPOUSES UTILIZE DESIGN MANAGEMENT METHODS IN THEIR SEARCH FOR A PORTABLE CAREER? What data is needed?

Why is this data needed?

What type of data is needed?

Where can this data be found?

What type of data collection methods are needed?

Who needs to be contacted to collect this data?

When does this data need to be collected?

What is the take away from this data? What will be learned?

What might be missed? How might it be wrong?

Week 2-3

What are the steps one takes when researching career options or when following a career path; are licensing, certification or continuing education needed

Professional career paths have a variety of requirements and paths so they may vary greatly depending on the vocation

Week 2-3

The scope of vocations that are either portable or not

Career options and vocations might be so deep and wide that a portable career option might be missed

Week 2-3

Which methods work more efficiently than others or not; if it is possible to apply these methods to any vocation or not

The challenges may not be ones that can be changed, or may be dependent upon individual needs

3.

What are the building blocks of a career?

Identify what steps are followed to make a career

To understand how a career develops over time

Qualitative: secondary research

Internet, articles, academic journals and previous studies

Research

Internet, articles, reports and conversation

Experts and practicing consultants in career/ employment Surveys, research research, and interviews development and exploration; colleagues and peers seeking employment

Internet, articles, reports and conversation

Experts and practicing consultants in career/ Surveys, research employment and interviews research, development and exploration; department of defense reports

3a.

What makes a career portable?

Identify the differences between a portable and non-portable career

To understand what makes a career portable and to affect possibilities for change in nonportable careers

Mixed (qualitative and quantitative): primary and secondary research

3b.

What methods can be employed to make a career portable?

To identify what methods or steps are taken to make a non-portable career portable

To be able to improve on current steps taken

Mixed (qualitative and quantitative): primary and secondary research

Experts and practicing consultants in career/ employment research, development and exploration

Table 18. Research Sub-question 3 Matrix 35

ACTIVITIES

• support service member and family (Blakely et al., 2012) • relocation (pcs: permanent change of station) (Blakely et al., 2012) • job and employment search (CareerBuilder, n.d.; Trougakos et al., 2007) • going to school/ continuing education • volunteer activities (Trougakos et al., 2007)

OBJECTS

CIVILIAN COMMUNITY

CIVILIAN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

MILITARY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

TARY COMMUNITY MILI

• military family’s home • government buildings • virtual communities (online and social media) • military community (inside the base or installation) • community surrounding the base or installation • sometimes open, friendly and inviting but varies from location to location or by individual personalities (Department of Defense, 2009; Trougakos et al., 2007)

SERVICE MEMBER

MILITARY RESOURCES ONLINE

MILITARY SPOUSE

SMALL BIZ ADMIN

• military spouse • service member and family • military community service organizations • civil service (government employers and employees) • civilian employers and employees • local department of labor • local small business administration (and online resource) • local non-profit, community or service organizations • higher ed institution faculty and career services staff (Gleiman & Swearengen, 2012)

PSYCHOLOGICAL (REAL OR IMAGINED) RESPONSES

INTERACTIONS

CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYERS CIVILIAN BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS

MILITARY COMMUNITY SERVICES

• sadness, frustration. happiness • indecision • environmental stressors (Department of Defense, 2009)

Subhead colors correspond to map graphics

HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS

MAP OF THE RESEARCH SPACE 36

smart phone and/or tablet) (CareerBuilder, n.d.; Nielsen Scarborough, n.d.)

• writing/printing materials • license, certification, degree, or any combination of them • résumé or job application

USERS

ENVIRONMENT

• with the service member, children, • family members, neighbors in the community • government personnel on base (such as Military Community Service) • civilian personnel on base • virtual community (online resources and social media) (Collamer, 2013) • civilian community surrounding the base (organizations, businesses, schools, local government)

• employment/career books • technology (computer,

CIVILIAN RESOURCES ONLINE

Figure 7. Research space map part 1. Author’s image with icons used with permission (Freepik.com, n.d.).

Employment search process Step 1: direct interaction from military spouse to user Step 2: Indirect interaction from military spouse to user

MILITARY SPOUSE

SERVICE MEMBER & CHILDREN

• Life as a military spouse (Eubanks, 2013; Gleiman & Swearengen, 2012; Harrell, 2001; Schwartz, Wood, & Griffith, 1991; Stiehm, 2000) • Military spouse employment (Castaneda & Harrell, 2008; Maury & Stone, 2014; Military One Source, n.d.; Military Officers Association of America, n.d.)

• Profile of the military spouse (Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, 2015)

• Family and service member profiles and statistics (Department of Defense, 2009; Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, 2015) • Migration effects of following the service member (Cooke & Speirs, 2005; Hisnanick & Little, 2015; Payne, Warner, & Little, 1992) • Military spouse role in relation to service member (Harrell, 2001)

HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS

• Career decisiveness (Gati & Levin, 2014; Schwartz, Wood, & Griffith, 1991) • Military spouse health and well-being (Runge, Waller, Mackenzie, & McGuire, 2014) • Quality of military lifestyle (Bushatz, 2015; Department of Defense, 2009) • Psychographic profile of the military spouse (Sweeney, 2012)

• Licenses and certification (Military Officers Association of America, 2013) • Entrepreneur resources for military spouses (Military Spouse Foundation, n.d.; The MilSpo Project, n.d.)

• Military spouse students (Gleiman & Swearengen, 2012) • Spouse education and career benefits (CollegeScholarships. org, n.d.; Military One Source, n.d.; MyCAA, n.d.; National Military Family Association, n.d.; U.S. Army, 2015)

MILITARY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

• Using skills gained through voluntarism in job searches (Alwine, 2014; Military One Source, n.d.; Phillips & Phillips, 2000)

CIVILIAN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

• Using skills gained through voluntarism in job searches (Alwine, 2014; Military One Source, n.d.; Phillips & Phillips, 2000)

Figure 8. Research space map part 2. Author’s image with icons used with permission (Freepik.com, n.d.).

MILITARY RESOURCES ONLINE

CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYERS

• Career development and tool kits (Blue Star Families, n.d.)

• Employment search (Department of Defense, n.d.; Military Spouse Corporate Career Network, n.d.; Military Officers Association of America, n.d.)

• Education and career opportunities (Military One Source, n.d.; Military Spouse Foundation, n.d.; MyCAA, n.d.; National Military Family Association, n.d.; U.S. Army, 2015) • Portable career options (Military One Source, n.d.)

• Blue Star Careers (Blue Star Families, n.d.)

• Civilian personnel job portal (U.S. Army Civilian Personnel, n.d.)

• Entrepreneur resources for military spouses (Military Spouse Foundation, n.d.; The MilSpo Project, n.d.

• Spouse education and career opportunities (Military One Source, n.d.; U.S. Army, 2015)

CIVILIAN RESOURCES ONLINE

CIVILIAN BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS

• Portable career and skills (Dean, Barnes, & Browning, 2001) • Using the internet to search for a job (CareerBuilder, n.d.; Fountain, 2005; Indeed.com, n.d.; Monster. com, n.d.; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015) • Use of social networking to conduct a job search (CareerBuilder., n.d.; eMarketer et al., n.d.; Jobvite, n.d.; Lindsay, Greig, & McQuaid, 2005)

• Job club at local department of labor • Local employment conditions (Lindsay, Greig, & McQuaid, 2005; Yankow, 2004) • U.S. Chamber of Commerce programs (U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 2014)

MILITARY COMMUNITY SERVICES • Army Community Services (United States Army, n.d.)

• Education and career opportunities (Military One Source, n.d.; MyCAA, n.d.; National Military Family Association, n.d.; U.S. Army, 2015) • Resources availability varies by location and military installation (Plantier & Durband, 2007)

SMALL BIZ ADMIN

• Entrepreneur resources for military spouses (Military Spouse Foundation, n.d.; The MilSpo Project, n.d.; United States Army, n.d.)

• Online and local resource for all civilians (“The U.S. Small Business Administration,” n.d.)

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce programs (U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 2014)

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Research Activities RESEARCH PROTOCOLS CONSENT FORMS Consent forms were given to participants prior to interviews, administering questionnaires, and observations.

Online consent was solicited at the beginning of the survey.

(Signed consent forms are in appendix B.)

A Calling for Military Spouses

A Calling for Military Spouses

Developing a Strategy for Career Mobility

Developing a Strategy for Career Mobility

RESEARCH PROJECT EXPLANATION

INFORMED CONSENT FORM

The following information provides an introduction to field research that will be conducted for the A Calling for Military Spouses Project, between September 12, 2016, and November 17, 2016, through the Design Management Department at The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). This project will explore the culture of military spouses who put their career aspirations on hold due to frequent relocation.

I voluntarily agree to participate in an interview/inquiry performed by Cheryl G. Edenfield, a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I understand that this interview/inquiry is being conducted

by Cheryl G. Edenfield, in order to identify opportunities to help military spouses with job and career search strategies to pursue a calling that fits their mobile lifestyle.

RESEARCHER BIO Cheryl G. Edenfield is a military spouse, graphic designer, communications professional, former career adviser and content manager for SCAD career services, and a design management graduate student at SCAD. As a military spouse and aspiring entrepreneur, she has the desire to coach fellow military spouses who seek a flexible career path.

I understand that the evaluation methods may include: 1.

recorded (audio, video and/or photography) observations;

2. my completion of an evaluation questionnaire(s);

PURPOSE OF STUDY

3. my participation in a 30–60 minute interview; and/or

The purpose of this study is to help military spouses in their search for a portable career to discover (or re-discover) their calling.

4. my participation in a 60-90 minute interview and journaling activity

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

I grant permission for the interview/inquiry to be recorded and transcribed, and to be used only by

Research will be guided by the following questions: How might military spouses utilize design management methods in their search for a portable career?

• What defines a ‘military spouse?’

– What are the problems that military spouses face in pursuit of their career goals?

– What resources are available and how do military spouses pursue their career goals?

– What kind of career(s) do military spouses seek and where?

– When, and how often, do military spouses conduct research or search for career opportunties?

• What are design management methods?

– Where and how are design management methods applied?

– How are design management methods facilitated to non-designers?

• What are the building blocks of a career?

– What makes a career portable?

– What methods can be employed to make a career portable?

Cheryl G. Edenfield for analysis of interview data. I grant permission for this data—generated from the above methods—to be used in an educational setting.

I understand that any identifiable information in regard to my name and/or company name will be removed from any material that is made available to those not directly involved in this study.

Additionally, I understand that all information collected will be kept safely in a digital format in a secure online Dropbox cloud account for three years and then deleted after that period.

Printed Name

DATA COLLECTION METHODS

Signtature

Data will be collected through interviews, surveys, and/or a cultural probe with military spouses who are interested in rekindling a career put on hold.

Date

DATA MANAGEMENT

• Participants will have the option for the research to anonymize their data prior to sharing the body of work.

• Data will be stored safely on the researcher’s hard drive, and securely backed up on the researcher’s Dropbox account in the cloud.

• Data will be kept until November 17, 2019, and properly destroyed via deletion.

CONTACT INFORMATION For additional information please contact: • Cheryl G. Edenfield (researcher) 912.414.0330 // cgrego20@student.scad.edu • Bruce Claxton (professor) // bclaxton@scad.edu 1

Figure 9. Consent form. Author’s image.

38

2

DATA COLLECTION METHOD 1: INTERVIEW

MILITARY SPOUSE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS A Calling for Military Spouses Developing a Strategy for Career Mobility

In person and video chat interviews were conducted.

Planned interview time was for one hour time slots who expressed an interest in helping with this research project.

MILITARY SPOUSE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Name:

Age:

Current duty station (location): 1.

Please tell me about your experience as a military spouse. How long have you been married to a service member? Do you have children? If so, how old are they? How many times have you had to move?

2. Tell me about your career (or employment) background. What is (or was) your chosen profession? What steps did (or do) you take to build this career?

3. Is your career portable? If so, what makes it portable?

4. Where do you work? If not currently working, where have you worked in the past?

5. What kind of career do you want to pursue, and where? Is it a portable career that you can continue with each PCS (military move)? If so, what makes it portable?

Name: Current duty station (location): 1.

Please tell me about your experience as a military spouse. How long have you been married to a service member? Do you have children? If so, how old are they? How many times have you had to move?

2. Tell me about your career (or employment) background. What is (or was) your chosen profession?

What steps did (or do) you take to build this career?

6. Are you currently seeking a job, looking to start a business, or continue your education? If not now, do you plan to and when?

7. What are your career goals?

3. Is your career portable? If so, what makes it portable?

8. Describe the steps (methods) you take to accomplish those career goals?

9. What skills, education, or experience do you need to accomplish your career goals?

Do you possess those skills? If not, how and when do you plan to gain them in order to pursue your career goals?

10. What resources do you use to find career building opportunities (i.e. employment, education, licensing, entrepreneurial)? To whom, or where, do you go for help?

11. Do you have a résumé? When was the last time you updated it?

12. When, or how often, do you search for employment or career building opportunties?

13. How much time do you spend (or plan to spend) on your search before landing a job, continuing your education, starting a business, or halting the search?

14. What are some of the career building problems you face? How does that make you feel?

15. Would career portability help to solve some of those problems?

16. If career portability would not help you reach your goals, what would?

BONUS. Describe the ideal career situation by finishing the following statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if...

4. Where do you work? If not currently working, where have you worked in the past?

5. What kind of career do you want to pursue, and where? Is it a portable career that you can continue with each PCS (military move)? If so, what makes it portable?

6. Are you currently seeking a job, looking to start a business, or continue your education? If not now, do you plan to and when?

7. What are your career goals?

Figure 10. Interview questions. Author’s image.

8. Describe the steps (methods) you take to accomplish those career goals?

39

9.

What skills, education, or experience do you need to accomplish your career goals? Do you possess those skills? If not, how and when do you plan to gain them in order to pursue your career goals?

10. What resources do you use to find career building opportunities (i.e. employment, education, licensing, entrepreneurial)? To whom, or where, do you go for help?

11. Do you have a résumé? When was the last time you updated it?

12. When, or how often, do you search for employment or career building opportunities?

13. How much time do you spend (or plan to spend) on your search before landing a job, continuing your education, starting a business, or halting the search?

14. What are some of the problems you face when conducting your search (or research)?

15. Would career portability help to solve some of those problems?

16. If career portability would not help you reach your goals, what would?

BONUS. Describe the ideal career situation by finishing the following statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if...

40

DATA COLLECTION METHOD 2: VISUAL STORYTELLING ACTIVITY & INTERVIEW Activity and interview designed to visually provoke participants into looking and thinking about the career building process of a military spouse in new ways.

Tools needed • Interview and visual storytelling activity documentation sheet • Pen or pencil • Drawing materials (paper, markers, crayons) • Collage materials (magazines, glue, scissors)

ACTIVITY (30 MINUTES) On a separate sheet of paper, draw or create your résumé with a timeline that ends where you see yourself in five years.

POST-ACTIVITY REVIEW & QUESTIONS (30-60 MINUTES) Tell me about what you drew or created for your résumé, timeline, and where you see yourself in five years.

Desired outcome

Six Directions of lateral thinking interview questions

The goal is that the responses from this cultural probe will initiate dialogue with minimal intrusion to gain insight, identify problem statements, and uncover new opportunities not previously explored.

[Blue] Managing. What are your goals?

[White] Information. What have you learned? What are some of the problems you faced?

[Red] Emotions. How have your career goals changed over time? How does that make you feel?

[Black] Discernment. What do you think is reasonable to accomplish in order to meet your goal(s)?

[Yellow] Optimistic. What benefits do you see (coming from this activity and/or your goals)?

[Green] Creativity. Finish this statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if...

A Calling for Military Spouses

A Calling for Military Spouses

Developing a Strategy for Career Mobility

Developing a Strategy for Career Mobility

MILITARY SPOUSE INTERVIEW & VISUAL STORYTELLING ACTIVITY RESEARCHER

LOCATION

DATE

1.

TIME FRAME

What are your goals?

2. What have you learned? What are some of the problems you faced?

Cheryl G. Edenfield PARTICIPANT BACKGROUND Name: Length of time married to service member:

Age:

Current duty station (location): Number of PCS (duty station moves):

Profession:

3. How have your career goals changed over time? How does that make you feel?

4. What do you think is reasonable to accomplish in order to meet your goal(s)?

5. What benefits do you see (coming from this activity and/or your goals)?

6. Finish this statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if...

ACTIVITY (30 MINUTES) On a separate sheet of paper, draw or create your résumé with a timeline that ends where you see yourself in five years.

POST-ACTIVITY REVIEW & QUESTIONS Tell me about what you drew or created for your résumé, timeline, and where you see yourself in five years.

1

2

Figure 11. Interview & visual storytelling activity. Author’s image.

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ONLINE SURVEY & QUESTIONNAIRE

DATA COLLECTION METHOD 3: SURVEY & QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Online consent

I voluntarily agree to participate in this survey performed

by Cheryl G. Edenfield through the Design Management Department at SCAD. I understand that this survey is being conducted in order to identify opportunities to help military spouses with job and career search strategies to pursue a calling that fits their mobile lifestyle. I grant permission for the evaluation data generated from this survey to be used in an educational setting. I understand that any identifiable information in regard to my name and/or company name will be removed from any material that is made available to those not directly involved in this study. By completing the survey, I am agreeing to participate in the research.

Confidentiality will be maintained to the degree permitted by the technology used. Participation in this online survey involves risks similar to a person’s everyday use of the Internet.

A survey and questionnaire was created for military spouses unable to schedule an interview. It is also applicable for anyone in search of a portable career or those whose experience is similar to that of a tied migrant spouse.

The complete survey was conducted online at: https://goo.gl/forms/PXf1s3orsenHCQ4m1

O I agree O I do not agree 2. Are you a military spouse?

Please select “other” if your experience is similar to that of a tied migrant spouse (move and change jobs due to your spouse’s relocation for work)

O Yes O No O Other 3. What is your career (or profession)?

Figure 12. Online survey questions. Author’s image.

42

What do you do for a living, or what did you study to do?

4. Is your career (or profession) portable?

O Yes O No 5. What makes your chosen career portable, or not portable?

Please describe how what you do for living, or what you studied to do, is portable or not.

6. Are you interested in pursuing a portable career?

O Yes O No 7. Why or why not?

Why are you interested, or why are you not interested, in pursuing a portable career?

8. What methods (or steps) would you take to pursue a portable career?

Please select all that apply

o Meet with a career counselor o Conduct research on my own o Go back to school (continuing education or college degree) o Look for a job o Volunteer o Start a business o Other

9. What resources would, or do, you use to pursue a portable career?

12. What career building activity do you need the most help with?

o Military community services o Online search o Career counselor o Department of Labor o Small Business Administration o Friends or Family o Other

o Where to start (I’m not sure what I want to do) o What steps to take (I know what I want to do, but I don’t know what it takes to achieve my goals) o Résumé o Job search strategy (where to find a job) o Interview preparation o How to start a business o How to successfully run a business already started o Other

Please select all that apply

10. How useful are the following resources to you?

Check one of these columns as it applies: not useful at all, neutral (have no experience with this resource), somewhat useful, or very useful

Military community services Online search Career counselor Department of Labor Small Business Administration Friends or Family 11. What career resources do you use?

Please list the names of service providers, organizations, and/or online resources that you use in your career research (for jobs, continuing education, business, etc.)

13. What are some career building problems that keep you from achieving your goals?

14. Would career portability help solve those problems?

What else do you think would?

15. BONUS. Describe the ideal career situation by finishing the following statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if...

16. If you would like to be contacted for a personal interview, or if you are local to Fort Leavenworth and would like to participate in further research on this subject, please let the researcher know.

If you prefer not to leave your name, phone number, or email in this space, please contact the researcher, Cheryl G. Edenfield, at cgrego20@student.scad.edu. Thank you.

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Research Activities DATA PROCESSING & ANALYSIS INTERVIEWS AND VISUAL STORYTELLING ACTIVITY SUMMARY OF RESULTS The researcher transcribed the interview and responses then highlighted key pieces of data, transferred them to Post-it notes, then organized to help develop personas.

Demographics • Age: 30 to 42 years old • Length of marriage: 2.5 to 21 years • Moved (PCS’d): 1x to 8x (all but one live in Kansas)

What do they do?

Occupations, skills, and tasks • chemical engineer • teachers • counselor • clinical psychologist • photographer • stay-at-home moms • attorney • mortgage loan officer • crafter • medical coder

Select quotes highlighted in gray.

(Interview transcriptions are in appendix C).

What do they think/feel?

Feelings, frustrations, and attitudes • volunteer • self-sufficient • reliable • passionate • self-starter • small business owner • planner

• sacrifice • guilt • lost • not valued • stuck • stagnant • starting over (again) • hard not being in one location • hard to have goals

• deployment fear • loss of identity • stress to be the perfect spouse • chose this path so I have to accept it • feel overwhelmed (too much to handle, do, multi-task)

Figure 13. Data processing & analysis: summary of results collection methods 1 & 2. Author’s image.

“I lost my identity a little bit as a stay-at-home mom It’s hard to get credibility so I said I would accept less money. At least half my pay goes to childcare, gas to and from work, and work wardrobe.” Kerry M.

44

“It’s hard to have goals when your husband is in the military because the focus is on him.” Nicole V. “It’s hard because we’re not done having babies. Once our last baby is in kindergarten or first grade, I can honestly work.” Ava S. “I got licensed at the master’s level, and then as it turns out there’s a lot more jobs in Missouri and I already spent like three hundred dollars getting licensed in Kansas.” Amanda R. “I haven’t been in a paid position, so I don’t know what I’m worth or what to expect. What stops me (from applying for a job) is that I still don’t feel worthy.” Happy P. “...though I like what I do, there are periods of unemployment or underemployment.”

“Most important is a healthy work environment, be happy, to have a feeling of value of what you do. I put 108 applications in on USAJobs.gov in a seven-month period. If I have to start over like before, I’ll find a way. I have to be resilient.” Izzy W.

What are the critical behavior patterns?

• number one priority is family (marriage and children) • childcare expenses a deterrent to working • feels like starting over • feel stuck, stagnant

• don’t have a plan — can’t plan the future based on the unknown • waiting until spouse retires before pursuing a career • license/certification portability is an issue

Figure 14. Data processing & analysis: summary of results collection methods 1 & 2 continued.

Author’s image.

“...just thought if my kid was in childcare full-time for any time... it’s expensive to basically working to have him taken care of by a stranger.” Amanda R.

45

SURVEY AND QUESTIONNAIRE SUMMARY OF RESULTS [RE-ORGANIZED]

Demographics Mostly educators or health professionals

The researcher printed the survey results then highlighted key pieces of data, transferred them to Post-it notes, organized and summarized the data. Key

themes among the survey, interviews, and visual activity discussions are also noted.

What makes your/a career portable?

Reasons milspos need a portable career.

What does it mean to have a portable career?

Definition of career portability.

• having a computer with internet access • ability to work from home • freelance • schools, education/ youth centers are everywhere • banks are everywhere

• spouse retiring and we need income • have to wait until spouse retires (before pursuing a career) • no always easy starting over • freelance does not guarantee income • non interested in sales • why should I pursue a different career?

• flexibility to work from home • extra income • make a contribution to the family income • stability • be with family

• work on my own schedule • still have a career while moving; or even if moving • continuous work • growing my business

Key themes • flexibility • income • stability • family

Key themes • own schedule • continuous work • self-employed

Summary Location is what makes a career portable

Key themes • retire • income • start over

Opportunity: to help military spouses overcome location issues; to help begin planning before retirement and income becomes an issue; to help discover how to create a flexible career on their own schedule (be self-employed) until the service member is ready to retire.

46

Figures 15-17. Data processing & analysis: summary of survey results collection method 3. Author’s image.

(Survey result transcriptions are in appendix C).

Top methods to pursue a portable career.

Look for a job (71.9%)

Volunteer (65%)

Conduct research (59.4%)

Resources used to pursue a portable career Online search (84.4%)

Friends or family (59.4%)

Military community services (50%)

SURVEY AND QUESTIONNAIRE SUMMARY OF RESULTS [CONTINUED] Resource usefulness

What resources do they use?

What challenges do they face?

43.8% of the respondents found military community services only somewhat useful.

• employer websites • friends and family support system • continuing education • professional/industry organizations • higher ed career services • online job searches (Monster, Indeed, MilitaryOneSource, USAJobs, Craig’s List) • employment readiness programs (military/ government provided) • small business administration

• stability • starting over • sacrifice (my career) • networking • marketing my business • certification/licensure • unpredictable PCS (moving) schedule • training • moving too much to gain valuable experience • writing a résumé • choppy résumé • translating skills to jobs • difficult to advance • childcare

43.8%

43.8% of the respondents found online search very useful.

43.8%

Half (50%) found using friends and family as a resource somewhat useful.

50%

The majority of respondents were neutral or had no experience with using a career counselor, the department of labor, or the small business administration as a resource.

What are their feelings about their career options? love

•

good

challenging

•

•

positive

•

discouraged

okay •

•

satisfied

dismal

•

What do they need the most help with?

Job search strategy (56.3%)

What steps to take (37.5%) Opportunity Résumé (28.1%)

Would career portability solve the challenges (or their problems)?

24% not sure

38% yes

38% no

What are their feelings about the available resources?

•

limited

confused

•

•

not good

afraid

•

•

poor

slow going

okay • satisfied • could be better • not streamlined •

Figure 18-22. Data processing & analysis: summary of survey results collection method 3 continued. Author’s image.

not good • expensive to maintain certification not aware of or familiar with what’s available not tailored to milspos • not that helpful 47

COMMON KEY WORDS AND THEMES All of the raw data was analyzed, put on to Post-it notes, and entered in to a word cloud to visualize the sentiments, wants, needs, feelings, and challenges the military spouse faces.

Findings The same key themes found in the data summaries appear with the largest and most important ones being: • family • career • income • business • starting • stability • moving • sacrifice • freelance • childcare • résumé Figure 23. Data processing & analysis: common key words and themes wordle. Author’s image.

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MILSPO POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS

MILSPO POPULATION PSYCHOGRAPHICS

20.4%

OVER AGE 41

35%

UNEMPLOYED

35%

44.6%

UNDER AGE 30

BETWEEN AGES 31-40

Figure 24. Less than half of all military spouses are employed, and they are well educated

Figure 25. 93% of military spouses are women

Figure 26. More than half of military spouses are age 31 and over

20%

OFFICERS

42.8%

Figure 29. Super woman multitasking illustration (Freepik.com, 2015)

57.2%

SERVICE MEMBERS

FAMILY MEMBERS

80%

ENLISTED SERVICE MEMBERS

1

MILLION SPOUSES

Figure 27. 5 million total service and family members

Milspos, the majority of whom are women, are a powerful consumer market. More often than not, they make most of the household purchasing decisions and manage the family budget. (2014 Marketing to Military Consumers, 2014) The most common single word to describe these women is resilient. Milspos share a bond beyond the love of their respective service members. Not only are they strong, independent, flexible and adaptable, but they are also supportive, proud, patient, courageous and resourceful. (Sweeney, 2012)

Figure 28. Average monthly income is $1500-$4300 (depending on pay grade and years of service)

Figures 24-28: Demographic statistics (Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, 2015); figure silhouettes (Freepik.com, 2015) 49

PERSONA 1: AMY ROBERTS

PERSONA 2: MAYA CARTER

PERSONA 3: KELLY VAN DYKE

• Age: 27 • Originally from: Army brat; she moved all across the U.S. until she married a U.S. Marine • Married to a U.S. Marine for 5 years with two children • PCS (moved)*: 2 times and currently lives near Camp Lejeune in Onslow, North Carolina

• Age: 42 • Originally from: Maine • Married to a U.S. Army officer for 21 years and has 3 children one of whom is an adult with special needs • PCS (moved)*: 8 times and currently lives in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

• Age: 32 • Originally from: Omaha, Nebraska • Married for 10 years to a U.S. Army officer and has 2 children • PCS (moved)*: 6 times and currently lives in Savannah, Georgia

Background Amy was previously a college student at Penn State, and finished her masters degree in counseling before she got married and moved to North Carolina. Her husband Chris has been a marine for three years and recently came back from a six-month deployment. She recently gave birth to their second child, Jane, and have a six year old boy named Jackson.

Background Maya is currently a homemaker and community volunteer. She wants to take her volunteer experience as an Army Family Team Building instructor and parlay that into a paying gig. Her husband Wells plans to “double dip on retirement” by continuing to work for the government in a civil service job for another 20 years. They have two college-aged boys Sean and David, and a teen-aged daughter Samantha.

Background Kelly is currently an aspiring sign craft artist and painted furniture artist. She was previously an Army officer, and was really good at her job but met her spouse and decided to leave and follow her husband. She thought about looking for work, but she’s not sure what she wants to do. Her husband Dan has been serving for 14 years in the Army and affords them a comfortable lifestyle where she doesn’t have to work. The extra income she brings in is for family vacations.

User Narrative Amy’s goal is to become a school counselor. Right now she’s a part-time pre-school teacher at the private Christian school that Jackson goes to. This gives her a break while also giving her the opportunity to reclaim some of her identity as a teacher. She is very computer savvy, and shares an old desktop PC with her husband that she logs in to every night while nursing the baby. If she’s not on the computer, she’s on her Android phone playing games or chatting with her friends while laying down with the sleeping baby so that she can unwind from a busy day.

50

Figures 30–32. Photographs of military spouses. Author’s images.

User Narrative Maya occasionally logs in to her computer to check e-mail, search for recipes on Pinterest, and see what old friends and family are up to on Facebook. She’s not interested in bells and whistles, but gets frustrated when she gets sucked in to the computer for hours trying to find information about how she can translate her volunteer work onto a résumé. She also doesn’t know if she should go back to school, especially with one who’s also in college. She figures that her experience volunteering should get her foot in the door.

User Narrative Kelly is relatively tech proficient and is borderline A-D-D. She knows how to pull up YouTube videos to figure out how to get stuff done. For example, she figured out how to take free fonts from the Web and download them to her silhouette machine. However, she’s limited to layout and design when publishing this way. Right now, though she’s proud of her accomplishments, the business feels like a hobby.

CAREER AND FAMILY TIMELINE Timeline created to show the journey a milspouse takes from career to family.

UNKNOWN FUTURE Graduate from college Timeline in 2 year increments

Opportunity (when meeting and marrying the service member): to reach both the service member and new military spouse to offer career guidance along with Army family needs and resources.

Period of worry Milspo meets and marries a service member

Starts a family and makes family a priority (cuts back on employment or quits)

Career/goal level of satisfaction before becoming a military spouse

Career/goal level of satisfaction after marriage (dashes represent having gaps in employment)

Major milestones

Volunteer commitment

Retirement after 20 years of service Opportunity (blank space): to eliminate the period of worry; to increase career/goal satisfaction; to obtain balance while remaining flexible to the needs of the family unit.

Each PCS (move)

Service member and children

Figure 33. Data analysis: observations of career and family timeline. Author’s image.

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CAREER AND PORTABLE CAREERS

DEFINED FURTHER BY PRIMARY & SECONDARY RESEARCH CAREER

HIGHLY PORTABLE CAREERS

According to Employment Options for Foreign Service Family Members, a career is made up of successive jobs with higher levels of responsibility and increased pay (Dean, Barnes, & Browning, 2001). Based on the interviews and research conducted for this project, a career is also professional employment in a particular field or industry.

MilitaryOneSource, Monster, and LinkedIn all help to define further commonalities of portable careers:

PORTABLE CAREER Employment Options for Foreign Service Family Members states that a portable career is “finding (work) in one’s area of training on a regular basis” (Dean, Barnes, & Browning, 2001). However, research for this project found that it is much more than collective or continuous employment. Other contributing factors are: • flexibility • remote work (from home) • stability • guaranteed income • self-employment

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• high demand services or skill sets • not based on specific credentials or degrees not recognized from state to state or worldwide (i.e. law or medicine) • do not limit a person to a single geographic area or market • comfortability with technology, online business and or communication tools (Hensley, 2016; Martin, n.d.; MilitaryOneSource, n.d.)

The career fields that military resources recommend as highly portable are: • education • health care • technical services • entrepreneurship

Of those four, the recommended list of portable careers falls mostly under technical services and entrepreneurship: • accounting • customer service support • sales • technical service • transcription • fundraising • grant writing • editorial & content writing • marketing • creative services • web design • programming • social media • public relations (MilitaryOneSource, n.d.)

SUMMARY The findings from each stage of data processing are in alignment with secondary research data contained on the map of the research space (p. 34-35). Military spouses, in general, follow the same pattern and journey from the start of career until the service member’s retirement. The only difference between each is the level of sacrifice each makes to pursue a career. They all struggle to find balance, and all agree that the service member’s mission to the country is important. In one way or another, they give up their calling, their goals, and their dreams to follow the service member from one duty station to the next while they nurture their families.

There is a division, nearly in half, among the interview participants and the survey questionnaire responders whether or not career portability is the answer to their problems. They all agree that flexibility and location (remote work from home) are the primary factors that make a career portable. Reasons why a portable career is not the answer to their problems are: finances, cost of childcare, licensing, and certification. Just because the portability act (federal law) was passed this summer to “... ease professional licensing regulations...” the rules are not consistent and don’t cover every profession

(Bushatz, 2016). In the case of teaching, the law doesn’t require each state accept teaching certifications from state to state because public schools are state funded not federal. It is impossible to address every single need, so this project will focus on providing the tools necessary to plan for each individual’s future. Each profession differs, whether or not licensure or certification is needed.

OPPORTUNITIES There is an opportunity to assist military spouses with their job search strategy, what steps to take, and how to build their résumé.

More specifically, there’s an opportunity to help them with: • how to overcome location issues • how to plan their career before retirement and eliminate the period of worry • discover how to create a flexible career on their own schedule (be self-employed) and obtain balance while remaining flexible to the needs of the family unit • to increase career and goal satisfaction

It is of utmost importance to reach military spouses at the very beginning of their time as a milspouse versus at the end (close to service member retirement). The longer it takes to communicate and educate them about the resources available, the more likely they are to be unsatisfied and give up.

REFRAMING The core focus of this project was originally to help milspos develop a strategy for career mobility. However, the research data demonstrated that there’s a greater need to help milspos figure out what they want to do, how to accomplish it, and be satisfied with their chosen profession. Given the options for careers that are highly portable, it wouldn’t make sense to ask milspos to pursue a career they are not passionate about. Therefore, the focus of this project has transitioned into developing strategies for milspos to pursue their individual callings whatever they may be.

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Design Opportunities & Synthesis

Design Opportunities & Synthesis MAPPING OPPORTUNITIES TO DESIGN IDEAS HOW MIGHT WE... (from insights)

DESIGN IDEAS

create a connection with employer recruiters A. Create a social network to connect milspos and employer recruiters help overcome location issues

create a flexible career (self employment) B. Establish an employer outreach program begin career planning before retirement and income becomes an issue

create a network and support system C. Develop a portable career boot camp (series of workshops) increase career and goal satisfaction

Figure 34. Insights mapped to design ideas. Author’s image.

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Design Opportunities & Synthesis OPPORTUNITIES FOR DESIGN MAP This visual map displays the relationships between proposed design ideas.

C. EDUCATE

B. PROMOTE

Create a social network to CONNECT milspos and employer recruiters

Establish an employer outreach program to PROMOTE and advocate milspo skills as assets

A. CONNECT

MilSpos

Develop a portable career boot camp (series of workshops to EDUCATE milspos on the resources available and how use them)

Figure 35. Visual display of relationships between proposed design ideas. Author’s image.

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BRIDGING THE GAP TO CREATE VALUE

Employers

OPPORTUNITIES FOR DESIGN MAP This visual displays how the proposed design ideas can be combined to create value.

IDEA A Create a social network to CONNECT milspos and employer recruiters KEY ACTIVITIES

EDUCATE

VALUE: INCREASE CAREER & GOAL SATISFACTION PROMOTE

CONNECT

Figure 36. Venn diagram of how proposed design ideas combined create value. Author’s image.

Create an online profile (résumé); use LinkedIn’s API to pull data to avoid recreating the same information Invite employers and recruiters to create a profile and post jobs; partner with Apres Group and MadSkills to share employer connections and contacts Invite milspos to connect with each other; use both LinkedIn’s and Facebook’s API to find connections milspos already know and have established

IDEA B Establish an employer outreach program to PROMOTE and advocate milspo skills as assets KEY ACTIVITIES Establish rapport with local businesses to connect with milspo talent Work as a recruiter to find talent; reach out to milspos to connect them to job opportunities Advocate milspouse skills to employers; prove they can be an asset to the company/organization

IDEA C Develop a portable career boot camp (series of workshops to EDUCATE milspos on the resources available and how use them) KEY ACTIVITIES Develop courses for job search strategy, résumé writing, starting a business to communicate resources already available and how to use them

REFRAME Q For this project to be successful, parts of A, B, and C will need to be addressed to meet each goal: to connect, promote, and educate milspos.

To create increased career and goal satisfaction, exploring and prototyping each idea will help identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within each to refine further and assess if one idea should move forward or if they should be combined.

Implement courses as workshops on ground in partnership with local military employment readiness offices Create a workbook that follows the same steps as the on ground courses to interact with online

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Prototype Development & Testing

Prototype Development & Testing DESIGN IDEAS

PROTOTYPE (QUESTIONNAIRE)

1 2

Are you active on social media? (Y/N)

Invite employers and recruiters to create a profile and post jobs

What is your level of activity on social networks?

• 0 not active at all • 1 limited activity (less than once a day) • 2 active (at least once a day) • 3 very active (more than once a day)

IDEA A SOCIAL NETWORK

1

for milspos and employer recruiters

Create an online profile (résumé)

Figure 37. Idea A and key activities. Author’s image.

3 Invite milspos to connect with each other

Select the online accounts you currently have (check all that apply): • Facebook • Gmail • LinkedIn Select your preference: • I would prefer to use an existing account (like Facebook or LinkedIn) to sign up.

• I would prefer to create a separate account to sign up.

2

3

Do you think it will be useful to find employer profiles on a military spouse social network for careers? (Y/N)

Would you connect to your milspo friends on LinkedIn or a similar network for milspos? (Y/N)

Do you know of any other resources that connect military spouses to employers online? If yes, please share who.

On a scale of 0-3, how likely are you to connect with your milspo friends and family?

• 0 not at all • 1 limited (only a few) • 2 likely (more than a few) • 3 very likely (everyone I’m already connected to on all online platforms)

On a scale of 0-3, how useful would it be to find employers who post jobs specifically for military spouses?

• 0 not useful at all • 1 limited • 2 useful • 3 very useful When seeking an employer connection, where would you be looking for them?

• Local (within 25 miles) • Somewhat near (within 50 miles) • Distant (more than 50 miles, likely where the next duty station will be)

Do you already have a large military spouse friend/ connection network in place? (Y/N) If you already have a large friend/connection network in place, where are you connected (check the one with the most milspo connections)?

• Email • Facebook • LinkedIn

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DESIGN IDEAS

PROTOTYPE (QUESTIONNAIRE)

2 Recruit milspo talent

IDEA B

1 Network & establish relationships with local employers/ recruiters

Figure 38. Idea B and key activities. Author’s image.

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2

3

How useful would it be for you to have someone (or an organization) network and establish relationships with local businesses for you?

• 0 not useful at all • 1 limited • 2 useful • 3 very useful

How useful would it be for you to have someone keep your résumé, skills, and employment preferences on file to share with employers who are looking to hire?

• 0 not useful at all • 1 limited • 2 useful • 3 very useful

How useful would it be for you to have someone advocate your qualifications on your behalf?

• 0 not useful at all • 1 limited • 2 useful • 3 very useful

How do you view this (outreach) service? (Positive, negative, other)

EMPLOYER OUTREACH

connect & advocate milspo skills

1

3 Advocate milspo skills to employers (connect them)

Do you think this (outreach) service would work for you?

If no, why not?

Do you have a need to seek out employers who are not local to you?

How do you view this (recruiter) service? (Positive, negative, other) Do you think this (network) service would work for you?

If no, why not?

How do you view this (networking) service?

(Positive, negative, other) Would you pay for this service? Why or why not?

Do you have any suggestions for improvement; anything missing from this service?

DESIGN IDEAS

PROTOTYPE (QUESTIONNAIRE)

1 2

How useful would it be for you to participate in a career skills course?

• 0 not useful at all • 1 limited • 2 useful • 3 very useful

Implement career skills courses/ workshops

Are you aware of the career skills courses available to you through Army Community Services (ACS) and or the Employment Readiness Program (ERP)?

(Y/N)

IDEA C EDUCATE

1

career skills workshops

Develop courses for career skills

Figure 39. Idea C and key activities. Author’s image.

3 Create career skills workbook (for online/home use)

Are you interested in participating in a career skills course for military spouses?

• 0 not interested • 1 interested but hesitant • 2 interested • 3 very interested

2 Have you participated in a career skills course presented by ACS or ERP? If you participated in a career skills course presented by ACS or ERP, how useful was it for you?

• 0 not useful at all • 1 limited • 2 useful • 3 very useful Please explain why it was not useful, limited, or useful to you.

Do you have any suggestions for improvement; anything missing from this service?

3 How useful would it be for you to participate in a career skills course online or on your own?

• 0 not useful at all • 1 limited • 2 useful • 3 very useful Where would you prefer to take a career skills course? (number in order of preference with 1 being most preferred and 4 the least) • In person • Online (virtual class, live) • Online (virtual class, at my own pace) • Pick up or download a workbook to complete at my own pace Would you pay for this service? Why or why not?

If not interested, or interested but hesitant, please explain why.

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DESIGN IDEAS

PROTOTYPE (QUESTIONNAIRE)

Q Which idea do you think would be the most useful? A, B, or C?

B

Employer Outreach

Please rank each idea in order of importance to you (1 being the most important).

Are there any features that were left out that you would like to see?

Do you have any other comments and or suggestions?

IDEA Q

A

Social Network

Figure 40. Idea Q and key activities. Author’s image.

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C

Education

Prototype survey and questionnaire results can be found in the appendix.

DESIGN IDEAS

EVALUATION OF THE IDEAS

A

Social Network

POSITIVE

MINUS (NEGATIVE)

INTERESTING

• Connects milspo and employers anywhere in the world no matter the location (+5)

• Only useful if they (users) can find each other to connect locally for job(s) in the area or for virtual/remote employment (-4)

• More connections to milspo and employers equals more opportunities (+5)

• Creates a support system (+6) • Milspos can find jobs posted by employers who are already interested (vetted) in hiring milspos (+4)

• Does it really help to overcome location issues? (-4) • Time; it may take time to find or partner with employers to grow the network (-2) • Another account; why would a milspo create another social media account to track unless results can be guaranteed?

(-2) • Need to encourage milspos to connect; might not be a negative but could prove to be difficult (-1)

• Potential for a deep and wide network (+4) • It does help location issues if the network provides a connection to someone local (+4) • Potential to partner with organizations who already reach out to hire vets and their spouses (i.e. Hiring Our Heroes In Gear Career network and TASI) (+1) • Potential to leverage LinkedIn and Facebook networks and APIs (+3) • Seeing the degrees of connection to find someone local (i.e. LinkedIn network common connections) (+3)

P (+15) + M (-13) + I (+20) = PMI 22

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DESIGN IDEAS

EVALUATION OF THE IDEAS

B

Employer Outreach

POSITIVE

MINUS (NEGATIVE)

INTERESTING

• Veteran military community support shows company or organization good will (makes everyone feel good about their contribution to the community) (+5)

• Difficult to establish reach beyond local community (limited reach) (-2)

• Potential to partner with existing organizations to expand reach (+6)

• Limited resources to local community (both jobs and milspo talent pool) (-1)

• Potential for growth by duplicating model in other military communities (+4)

• Connects milspos to jobs (+6) • Feels good (positive trickle down effect) from happy milspo, to happy family, to happy soldier, and equals the result of better soldier retention (+6)

• Proves milspos can be an asset to company, organization, community, and family (+4)

P (+15) + M (-3) + I (+16) = PMI 28

C

Education

POSITIVE

MINUS (NEGATIVE)

INTERESTING

• Helps milspos no matter where they are in the career process (+3)

• Courses already exist through the Employment Readiness Program and Army Community Services (government provided resources) (-2)

• Potential to market availability of existing programs instead of re-creating them (+3)

• In person or online means it’s flexible based on individual needs (+4)

• Missing a needs assessment tool (which is not a course but individual counseling or testing) (-3) • Available online through MSEP and MySECO (government provided resources) (-5)

• Needs assessment is available through SFL-TAP and other government provided resources (both in person and online) (+2) • Potential to market availability of existing online programs instead of re-creating or re-building them online (+4)

P (+7) + M (-10) + I (+9) = PMI 6 64

Prototype Development & Testing DESIGN IDEA FINAL PROTOTYPE MilSpo Careers Network: A Platform for Joining Forces REFINED DESIGN BASED ON EVALUATION OF IDEAS

Networking Platform

The primary goal of the organization will be to connect military spouses with each other and with employers on a virtual platform. The secondary goal will be to provide military spouses with links to educational resources.

DESIGN CRITERIA Basic components of the site and network: • Network landing page and overview • User profile sign up page (for both military spouses and employers) • Member profile landing page with network activity options • Search page The user and system work flows outline additional pages and how the pages connect to make the system work.

MilSpo Careers Network

Employer Outreach

Educational resources Figure 41. Final diagram for idea Q and key activities. Author’s image.

65

Network landing page and overview

Profile page (for both military spouses and employers)

Member profile landing page with network activity options

Figures 42–45. Basic components of the network wireframe page sketches. Vector graphics licensed through Adobe Stock Photo and modified by author.

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Search page

USER FLOW PROTOTYPE AND FEEDBACK Primary users are military spouses and employers.

Review of the user and system flow: • How will users connect to the secondary component (educational resources for career and employment readiness)?

• If users do not sign up to be a registered user (with a profile) what will they see?

• Where will military spouses and employer recruiters interact? Will there be a discussion forum or place for comments or recommendations?

Add resources and service providers (educational resources)

Interaction space (discussion area, forum, recommendations)

Figure 46. Initial network user flow. Author’s image.

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USER AND SYSTEM WORK FLOWS

Military spouse user, Maya

System

1. Maya visits MilSpoCareers.com

2. The landing page gives a brief overview of the site with options to log in or sign up as either a military spouse or employer (company representative)

3. Maya selects “sign up to create a profile” for milspos

4. Maya is presented with a page to enter her profile manually (email address, first name, last name) or select LinkedIn or Monster to create a profile based on existing information

5. Maya is now re-directed to her user profile “home” page

6. System inside the account now shows Maya options to invite friends to join and connect, search jobs, or search employer profiles

7. Maya decides she wants to invite friends and clicks on the invite option

8. The invite page gives Maya the options to invite friends from her Gmail account, LinkedIn connections, and Facebook

9. Maya’s friends accept her invitation to connect

10. Maya’s user profile home and new landing page show her recent activity and which friends she is connected to

11. Maya chooses to search jobs in her area

12. The system shows a list of results along with how she might be connected to the jobs based on her qualifications and connections

13. Maya decides to save her search and post it to the forum

14. The system lets Maya’s network know what type(s) of job she’s looking for because she saved it to the forum; her network can then make recommendations and send her updates on her search

Table 19. Outline of work flows (steps 1–14) for a military spouse user

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Employer user, Elvin

System

1. Elvin visits MilSpoCareers.com

2. The landing page gives a brief overview of the site with options to log in or sign up as either a military spouse or employer (company representative)

3. Elvin selects “sign up to create a profile” for employers

4. The system brings Elvin to a company profile page to enter her profile manually (email address, first name, last name) or select Monster to create a profile based on existing information

5. Elvin selects Monster because his company has already pledged to hire veterans through Military.com (a Monster company)

6. The system pulls details from http://hiring.monster.com/solutions/hire-veterans.aspx

7. Elvin clicks on save to complete profile and is now redirected his company’s profile “home” page

8. System inside the account now shows Elvin the options to “post a job, link to an existing job post,” or search the military spouse network database of profiles (and resumes)

9. Elvin selects “post the job”

10. The system then advises Elvin that the account and job post will go live and it appears on his company’s profile page

11. Elvin selects “search military spouse network database”

12. The system presents results based on the search parameters Elvin entered for his job post

13. Elvin reaches out to the top five matches on his search to submit an application and more information

14. The system sends a notification to the top five milspouse matches that there is a message from Elvin to respond to

Table 20. Outline of work flows (steps 1–14) for an employer user

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REFINED DESIGN CRITERIA In addition to the basic components of the site and network (p. 65-68), pages for exploration of resources, search results, and interaction space need to be added.

FINAL PROTOTYPE DIRECTION RATIONALE

Exploration of resources, search results, and interaction space Figure 47. Additional basic component wireframe page sketch. Vector graphics licensed through Adobe Stock Photo and modified by author.

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Primary research uncovered that milspos need assistance in the pursuit of their individual callings whatever they may be. However, when presented with ways to help them with their career development the response for a service to connect milspos to employer recruiters was most desirable. Secondary and market research also revealed the same. Therefore, it’s important to establish a network while also nurturing employer relationships through outreach. The final product will be a virtual platform that also provides space to interact.

Business Model Canvas

Categories

MILSPO CAREERS NETWORK

Key Partners

Key Activites

Coopetition & Strategic Alliances

Monster & Military.com

LinkedIn

Value Propositions

Platform/ Network & Problem Solving

Online / Software Connectivity

Outreach (to customer segments)

Community monitoring

Performance

Support from the network, peers, & employer community

Promotion (Advocating MilSpos to Employers)

Key Resources U.S. Gov’t (MySECO & MSEP)

U.S. Chamber: Hiring Our Heroes & In Gear Career

Other MilSpo resource providers

Start with Army Wife Network, Mad Skills, & the MilSpo Project

Self/ Automated, Co-creation, Communities

Online Forum

Customers share resources / content

Local Forum

Detail

Customer Segments Niche Market

Military Spouses

Start local (Army) then build up through local chapters

Channels Employers’ sense of contribution to MilSpo community

Intellectual & Human

Optimizaiton of existing resources

Cultivating Connections

Existing APIs (LinkedIn, FB, Gmail)

Personal & Professional Relationships

Opportunities for Sense / feeling professional of security career building jobs

Cost Structure Value-driven freemium with fixed costs

Customer Relationships

Who, What, Where, When, Why, How

Online & On Ground

Website (computer, tablet, smartphone)

Employer Recruiters

Start with Hiring Our Heroes partners

In Gear Career chapter meetings (word of mouth)

Social Media (Facebook & LinkedIn groups)

Resource Service Providers

Start with Army Wife Network, Mad Skills, & the MilSpo Project

Sale of advertising banners

Ad sponsored networking events on ground

Ad sponsored live virtual networking events

Revenue Streams

Value

MilSpos make household purchase decisions

Web hosting & content management fees

Stake/ investment in reaching Military.com employer list

Figure 48. MilSpo Careers Network Business Model Canvas. Author’s image.

Advertising

Affiliate marketing with partners

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SWOT ANALYSIS

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STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

• Strong vision • Takes advantage of existing resources without creating new of the same • Single source for connecting all existing resources for making MilSpo connections • User generated activity, content, and recommended resources • Uses the semantic Web generated content and recommended resources • Increases connectivity for all customer segments • Aligns customer segment needs • Focus on cultivating relationships • Provides an extension of existing networks • Affordable (to customer segments)

• Virtually unknown • Skeptical market – with so many resources out there, which one do they trust to use?

• Start-up without proof of concept • No control over member placement or track record for placement • Begin with small user base at start • How to measure activity level and success of the users • Sustainable revenue; little to know initial earnings

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

• New ways to deliver services organically (word-of-mouth) through In Gear Career chapter meetings, and social media groups • Gamify and offer levels of achievement through a point system for growing network (invitations to join or connect), sharing career building resources (users vote on helpfulness), connecting network to jobs -- i.e. achieve ambassador level status • Request users to update profile when job is offered through the network in order to track placement and results of the system • Partnerships with Hiring Our Heroes and Monster/Military.com add a level of cache to make the network a trusted source • Improve fixed costs by piggy-backing or taking advantage of strategic alliances by building the site within an existing site like Military.com

• Other MilSpo resource providers (MySECO, MSEP, MadSkills, or the MilSpo Project) could add on a networking component to their existing sites and services – they currently have on ground chapters and utilize social media to connect • Military.com’s Veteran Talent Portal could potentially create their own military spouse talent portal (like MadSkills) • Fixed costs may increase faster than bandwidth allows • Military spouses might not be willing to share found job opportunities if they want to apply for them themselves • Local on ground activity may be dependent on In Gear Career chapter activity • Local on ground resources like In Gear Career and employment readiness offices may create their own network within social media to do the same

Table 21. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the business model

ZAG STEPS

1. WHO ARE YOU? We are a non-profit organization that helps military spouses in the pursuit of their individual callings whatever they may be.

4. WHAT WAVE AM I RIDING? • Career and employment recruitment services • Virtual networking and social media

7. WHAT SHOULD I ADD OR SUBTRACT? We should not re-create career services that already exist. Instead, we will allow the network users to make recommendations by rating usefulness of existing resources.

2. WHAT DO YOU DO? We bridge the gap between networking, employer outreach, and marketing the tools available for professional career success.

5. WHO ELSE SHARES MY BRANDSCAPE? Military.com (a Monster.com company), In Gear Career, and Employment Readiness Programs share the MilSpo Careers’ network brandscape.

3. WHAT IS IN MY VISION? Our vision is to engage hundreds of military spouses around the world by cultivating career building opportunities through a professional network of connections and resources.

6. WHAT MAKES ME THE ONLY ‘ME?’ This is the only organization that creates a single aggregate source of career resources and tools that already exist both on and offline.

8. WHO LOVES ME?

9. WHO’S THE ENEMY?

Our partners and competition love that we are marketing their services for them through our network. Our users love that the connection and support they receive from us help lead them to the recruiters who are hiring.

Military.com’s Veteran Talent Portal on Monster.com could potentially create their own military spouse talent portal. The enemy is anyone who posts negative reviews for resources without actionable solutions to make them better.

Figure 49. Prototype development: Zag steps 1-9. Author’s image.

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10. WHAT DO THEY CALL ME? The MilSpo Careers Network

13. HOW DO PEOPLE ENGAGE WITH ME? People will engage with the service initially in person at a local In Gear Career chapter meeting, by social media groups (In Gear Career and Army Wife Network), and online at MilSpoCareers.com.

16. HOW DO I EXTEND MY SUCCESS?

11. HOW DO I EXPLAIN MYSELF? We strive to be an invaluable resource in the military spouses’ career tool kit. We connect military spouses with each other and with employer recruiters who want to hire them.

14. WHAT DO THEY EXPERIENCE? They experience community support and an engaging dynamic environment that inspires milspos to not give up on their calling through networking and access to professional career building employment opportunities as well as the recruiters who want to hire them.

17. HOW DO I PROTECT MY PORTFOLIO? We will protect our portfolio by continually improving our partnerships (with competition and employers), the resources we share, the online platform we provide our users, and the offline activities we perform with all users.

Figure 50. Prototype development: Zag steps 10-17. Author’s image.

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12. HOW DO I SPREAD THE WORD? Word of mouth and online through existing military spouse resources including: Army Community Services/ Employment Readiness Programs (in person counseling and briefs), the Army Wife Network, and social media outlets where military spouses share tips with each other.

15. HOW DO I EARN THEIR LOYALTY? We will earn a milspo user’s loyalty through meaningful network community engagement and placement in a professional job that continues to build on their career.

We will earn an employer user’s loyalty by directing well qualified candidates to them for their open positions.

Final Product to Market

Final Product to Market FINAL PRODUCT OVERVIEW The MilSpo Careers Network is a virtual platform that will provide a space for military spouses and employer recruiters to interact both on and offline.

CONNECT military spouses to each other, to

career resources, and employers

EXPLORE existing resources for career and

employment readiness

PROMOTE the value of military spouses

and the skills they possess to employer recruiters acting as an advocate

Figure 51. Reframed product space and interactive flow overview. Author’s image.

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BUSINESS PLAN The MilSpo Careers Network will be a non-profit organization comprised of three components that bridge the gap between networking, employer outreach, and marketing the tools available for professional success.

MISSION The MilSpo Careers Network’s mission is to provide a virtual network and space to develop and promote military spouse talent.

VISION The MilSpo Careers Network’s vision is to engage hundreds of military spouses around the world through the cultivation of career building opportunities through a professional network of connections and resources.

VALUES The MilSpo Careers Network’s core values are collaboration, creation, enrichment, lifelong learning, and fortitude.

Figure 52. Mock up of final prototype sample layouts on a mobile device. Image used with permission.

• Collaboration among military spouses and the employer communities where each of them live • Creation of meaningful experiences, relationships, and career paths • Enrichment of military spouse life; as a family; and as a military community • Lifelong learning to take charge of one’s career building skills and to thrive as professionals • Fortitude to stay motivated and committed to overcoming the obstacles military life brings

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VALUE PROPOSITION

For military spouses who want to pursue their calling, our network and employer outreach services provide a means of education, promotion, and connections to support control of their future.

EDUCATE

We do this by cultivating both military spouse and employer relationships online and in person.

PROMOTE

Unlike other companies that present a wide array of options we strive to partner with those companies and funnel their services into one aggregate source.

CONNECT

Our service focuses on connecting military spouses with employers who have identified themselves as willing to hire military spouses for professional career building positions.

MilSpos

Employers

Career Resources

Figure 53. Value proposition model. Author’s image with vector people standard license through Adobe Stock Photo.

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PRODUCT: PRIMARY NETWORK ACTIVITY PAGES

CREATE PROFILE

CREATE PROFILE

WELCOME!

JOIN TODAY!

NEXT

MILSPO EMPLOYER NEXT

Home and initial start page.

MilSpo create a profile page to register with sync to LinkedIn profile option.

Employer create a profile page to register with sync to LinkedIn profile option.

Figures 54–56. Final prototype start and create profile pages. Author’s image with vector graphic standard license through Adobe Stock Photo.

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MAYA CARTER

AMAZON

EXPLORE CAREER RESOURCES

MilSpo profile page with LinkedIn profile summary and link to view full profile on LinkedIn. Options to invite friends to connect (via email, Facebook, or LinkedIn) and explore the network are below member profile as well as options on both the main menu nav bar (red) and page footer. The right side bar shows a list of jobs, companies, and people Maya might be interested in applying to, following, or connecting with.

Employer profile page with LinkedIn profile summary and link to view full profile on LinkedIn. Options to post jobs (purple briefcase circle) and search (aqua circle) the network are below member profile as well as options on both the main menu nav bar (red) and page footer.

Figures 57–59. Final prototype user profile and exploration pages. Author’s image with vector graphics standard license through Adobe Stock Photo.

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POPULAR TIPS

Exploration page with no log in or sign up required. Career resource listings are pulled through a semantic Web search of the most frequently visited sites by users of similar browsing and social media habits. Members of the network will be able to rank resources to help improve the results shown by selecting no opinion, not useful, or useful (three radio buttons to the right of each result).

CAREER RESOURCES

CAREER RESOURCES

POPULAR TIPS

MilSpo’s (Maya’s) network landing page and overview. The left column is LinkedIn highlights are below the profile along with the user’s most frequently contacted connections. Main page includes the user’s primary networking activities and latest discussions.

MilSpo’s (Maya’s) view of job or company search results (main body). Right side bar includes exploration resource links and popular tips.

Employer recruiter’s (Elvin’s) view of search results (main body). Left side bar includes summary about the organization, list of current job listings, and industry (other recruiter) connections. Right side bar gives search tips and latest trends or resources for recruiters.

Figures 60–62. Final prototype user’s network overview pages for each MilSpos and employer recruiters. Author’s image with vector graphics standard license through Adobe Stock Photo.

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WELCOME! The MilSpo Careers Network’s mission is to provide a virtual network and space to develop and promote military spouse talent.

MILSPO LOGIN

MAYA CARTER

AMAZON

EMAIL

PASSWORD

JOIN TODAY! SIGN IN

MILSPO

EMPLOYER

Figures 63–67. Final prototype sample responsive Web (mobile view) layouts. Author’s image with vector graphics standard license through Adobe Stock Photo.

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EXPLORE

CAREER RESOURCES

HOME

JOIN

CREATE PROFILE

MILSPOS

CREATE PROFILE WITH LINKEDIN

EMPLOYERS

EXPLORE EMPLOYMENT READINESS RESOURCES

MILSPO USER PROFILE

JOIN

CREATE PROFILE

CREATE PROFILE WITH LINKEDIN

EMPLOYER USER PROFILE

MILSPO USER PROFILE DATABASE

INVITE

FACEBOOK GMAIL LINKEDIN

COMPANY & EMPLOYER USER PROFILE DATABASE SEARCH

SEARCH

JOB LISTING DATABASE

Figure 68. Reframed product (network) space and interactive flow activity detail. Author’s image.

POST A JOB

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SERVICES: ADJACENT ONLINE & OFFLINE ACTIVITIES

FOR EMPLOYERS

Online

Through partnership with Monster/Military.com: • Veteran friendly employers are self-identified when they go to the Military.com section of Monster.com • [Add a field to current forms] option to mark an employer profile and job post(s) as open to qualified military spouses • Employer profiles marked as open to hire military spouses appear on the network’s exploration page list of employers • MilSpo Careers Network will send an invitation to the employer to join the network • Jobs posted as open to qualified military spouses are automatically added to search results when a job search query is conducted; it will appear as a secondary list of jobs at the bottom if not directly posted through the network

Offline

Through partnership with U.S. Chamber Hiring Our Heroes program managers: • Veteran friendly employers are identified from the program • MilSpo Careers Network sends an invitation to the employer to join the network and post jobs • Jobs posted as open to qualified military spouses are included in search results when a job search query is conducted • In person relationships also established with local In Gear Career chapter leaders; a guide on networking with employers to promote the benefits of employing military spouses will be shared with each chapter leader The network will be reliant on establishing and cultivating in person (offline) relationships with companies within the locale of each military installation; types of jobs will vary.

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FOR MILITARY SPOUSES

Online

Through military spouse career groups on social media (Facebook and LinkedIn) like In Gear Career (a part of U.S. Chamber Hiring Our Heroes), the MilSpo Project, and MadSkills • Share tips on best practices to leverage personal networks opportunities • Invite milspos to join the network (with permission from potential partner site owners)

Offline

Through in person networking group In Gear Career (a part of U.S. Chamber Hiring Our Heroes) and partnerships with military family community service employment readiness programs and workshops • Conduct a best practices workshop on how to leverage the network to connect to others as well as employers and job opportunities • Invite milspos to join the network at in person networking events, career fairs, and local resource fairs The network of military spouses will primarily be online, but offline relationships will also help to steer activity. For example, a milspo may share a job opportunity that is not posted online at a local group meeting but can also share the job post in the online network with a link to the original job post from an employer.

GOALS & OBJECTIVES Increase career and goal satisfaction among military spouses:

Figure 69. Mock up of final prototype sample layouts on laptop and mobile devices. Royalty free image used with permission by MockupZone.

• at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, by May 2018.

• at 4 of 24 military installations with an In Gear Career chapter by May 2019.

• at 12 (half) of all military installations with an In Gear Career chapter by May 2020.

• at all military installations with an In Gear Career chapter by May 2022.

Branch into an employment market for military spouses that consists primarily of career building professional positions.

Bridge the gap between career resources, employers, and military spouses.

• Work as a recruiter to find talent; reach out to milspos to connect them to job opportunities beginning January 2017.

• Establish rapport with local businesses to connect with milspo talent beginning January 2017.

– Partner with the local In Gear Career Leavenworth chapter on ground and online.

• Partner with Military/ Monster.com and include military spouses for hire on at least 2 percent of their job listings posted for veterans by May 2017.

– Partner with the local Hiring Our Heroes corporate fellowship program employers.

• Document and create best practices model to share with leadership at other In Gear Career chapters to duplicate efforts by June 2018.

• Create strategic alliances with other MilSpo resource providers by May 2017.

Figure 70. List of primary goals and objectives for the MilSpo Careers Network. Author’s image.

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MARKETING STRATEGY

MESSAGE

For employers: Help secure the future of military families by employing military spouses and enabling career mobility.

For military spouses: Take control of your future by connecting with and supporting each others career goals and dreams.

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PRODUCTS Responsive website and recruitment services

• MilSpoCareers.com • Social network connection service • Employer recruitment service (for both milspos and employers)

PROMOTION

PLACE Online and on ground (in person)

• MilSpoCareers.com • Partner websites including Military.com and Monster.com • Social media groups including Facebook and LinkedIn • Other social media including Twitter and Instagram • In person at military spouse networking or meet up venues including In Gear Career, military spouses’ clubs • In person at employment readiness office and job or career fairs

Social media, email, networking, advertising

• Social media post and email invitations with job posts, career resources, and success stories • 30-second word-ofmouth elevator speech • 2 minute elevator speech for networking events • 5 minute brief (speech) for group presentation briefings with companion email follow up • Digital ads on social media and partner websites • Public relations stories • Print (limited) materials including business cards and post card hand outs with two separate target markets (employers and milspos)

Figure 71. Marketing mix (strategy) for the MilSpo Careers Network. Author’s image.

PRICE Combination of free and paid advertising/ promotion

• Free advertising or promotion through: – social media – email – word-of-mouth – employment readiness office – public affairs office • Paid advertising or promotion through: – social media boosts – digital ads – sponsored spouses’ club newsletters, website, and social media or blog posts • Cost of printed materials

BUSINESS IMPLEMENTATION

RAISE CAPITAL

Raise capital needed to establish contract with Web/application developer by March 2017.

BUILD / ESTABLISH

Build and launch mobile responsive website by June 2017.

Begin cultivating employer and milspo relationships.

CREATE & PROMOTE

Create groups on social networks Facebook and LinkedIn) by April 2017.

Create links to content from established career resources to share by May 2017.

Begin promoting the product and services.

LAUNCH

Launch and roll out of the website and pilot network on June 1, 2017 to one location (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas).

1-2 YEARS

Evaluate program and expand the online network to four locations

by May 2019.

3-5 YEARS

Evaluate program and expand the online network to 24 locations

by May 2022.

Invite social media groups and local network (on ground) to sign up.

Figure 72. Business implementation plan for the MilSpo Careers Network. Author’s image.

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RISK ANALYSIS

The SWOT analysis was used to determine the limiting factors, obstacles, and success factors of the MilSpo Careers Network business model.

LIMITING FACTORS

Skeptical market will be mitigated by sharing success stories (public relations and marketing).

Launch will begin with small market and user base.

Fundraising past initial investments will need to continue.

OBSTACLES

Small market and competition — local on ground activities and networking will help to overcome these obstacles. Employers are more receptive to in person or one-on-one contact versus cold call and email connection tactics.

Figure 73. Risk analysis for the MilSpo Careers Network. Author’s image.

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SUCCESS FACTORS

Creating separate databases for milspos, employers, and career resources will help to create a foundation for success.

Continuing communication with all users and milspo resource providers will keep content fresh and current.

Conclusions & Recommendations

Conclusions & Recommendations This case study began with the intent to help military spouses (milspos) pursue their calling for a portable career. Even though there was a great need to help milspos figure out what they want to do and how to accomplish it, when presented ideas, they preferred assistance with support from a third party to connect them to employer recruiters and jobs. The focus of the project shifted to career and goal satisfaction. The researcher also found that job portability is just one way to achieve career satisfaction.

The final product, a virtual platform that allows milspos to connect with recruiters both on and offline, meets the requested users’ criteria without re-creating resources that already exist.

It is the researcher’s recommendation to continue developing the final product — the online platform, the social media groups, competitor partnerships, and marketing strategies. Postponement of the final implementation and launch until the local Leavenworth In Gear Career chapter can assist with creating more content to expand the prototype of the product both on and offline would contribute to future success. The marketing strategies should also be implemented and tested over the course of at least six months to one year. The researcher recently began working with local (Leavenworth and Kansas City area) human resources recruiters. The contacts and employment opportunities, appropriate for military spouses, can be shared as part of the next iteration of the prototype. As user satisfaction grows, the researcher can then reach out to competitor contacts already made (MadSkills and Employment Readiness Groups) to establish the first partnerships to share resources with the user groups.

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Appendices

APPENDIX A: TIMELINE OF MILESTONES UNIT 1

1. PROJECT PLANNING Refine Final Project Outline Secondary Research Primary Research Documents Consent Forms

2. CONDUCTING RESEARCH Progress Report (primary research) Working Wall

3. MARKET ANALYSIS Project Positioning ZAG Value Proposition

4. RESEARCH SYNTHESIS Research Gaps Personas Opportunities Design Criteria

5. INITIAL EXPLORATION Midterm Process Book Sketches of Diverse Concepts

6. CONCEPT EXPLORATION Concept Development ZAG steps 12, 13, 14 Concept Testing

7. ASSESSMENT AND VALIDATION Concept Assessment Gaps Prototyping

8. FINAL PROTOTYPE 9. BUSINESS/IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Business Model Canvas

10. DELIVERABLES Final Process Book Graduation Poster 92

Table 19. Timeline

UNIT 2

UNIT 3

UNIT 4

UNIT 5

UNIT 6

UNIT 7

UNIT 8

UNIT 9

UNIT 10

APPENDIX B: SIGNED CONSENT FORMS

Figures 74–78. Signed consent forms. Author’s image.

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Figures 79–83. Signed consent forms. Author’s image.

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APPENDIX C: PRIMARY RESEARCH NOTES

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS

Interview 1 [In person] Name: Kerry Age: 35 Current duty station (location): Spouse is under orders for an unaccompanied tour in Korea while Kerry is living at their last duty station, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Please tell me about your experience as a military spouse. How long have you been married to a service member? Do you have children? If so, how old are they? How many times have you had to move?

Figure 84. Kerry. Author’s image.

“We have been married seven years this October and have two girls ages two and a half and four and a half. As a married couple, we have moved three times. We lived in one location for four years, the second for two, and this third location. We have been at Leavenworth now for a little over a year. My husband is in Korea so by the time we move there will be two years.”

Tell me about your career (or employment) background. What is (or was) your chosen profession? What steps did (or do) you take to build this career?

Figures 48-50. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Kerry’s interview. Author’s image.

“Okay. So I graduated from NC state with a degree in chemical engineering, and right out of college I got a job with International Paper, a large pulp and paper company.

I worked as a process engineer there for two years and decided that I wanted to try something different so I got a job with another paper company, Rayoneer performance fibers.

I started as a process engineer and then I got promoted into area management and I was an operations area manager for almost three years.

Okay, and then we got married and yeah, so I quit my job and I hate to say it but I quit my career. I was fortunate enough

to be offered the opportunity to work as a consultant for Rayoneer and I did that working pretty much full-time for about a year, and then when my husband he got sick while he was in Afghanistan related to traumatic brain injury that he had when they got blown up in Iraq and so when he got medevac’d and he was sent back to the United States I had to stop working for about five to six months straight because I was taking care of him… then during that time I got pregnant and I did go back to work and I was working again on pretty much full time until I had my first child and then I had to scale back a little. I just couldn’t do as much traveling so you know I was probably like looking half time at that point and then we moved and I continued working until I got pregnant again. I made one business trip with two kids and I realized I can’t do that since I had to travel with the children… job wouldn’t allow me and he couldn’t stay home with them. I quit and spent about a year and a half being an exclusively stay-at-home mom. When we PCS’d to Leavenworth, we had agreed that since we’re outside Kansas City that I would try to find work again and I was fortunate to get hired about three months after we moved here. I got hired as a process engineer at a company called Corbian. It’s a food ingredients company.”

Is your career portable? If so, what makes it portable?

“Yes and no. I know that I can get hired as a process engineer in a variety of different industries… at the level I was at the paper mill when I was an area operations manager I was considered an expert in my field. My field was pretty specific to that industry. I don’t know that I can find work with what I was specializing in at that time… it wasn’t really transferable to the areas that we’ve been livening in. The Midwest doesn’t have a lot of paper mills, let’s be honest right, and to get to that level you have to build a level of expertise which takes more than about a year and a half two years which unfortunately we’ve been moving every two years the last couple years. So I’m already anticipating having to quit this 95

job when we have to move and to be perfectly honest with you I don’t know that I’m going to be hired again.

because I said I need adult conversation and I honestly think it made it made like our relationship a lot better.

We hope we find out (where we’re going_ hopefully by December and then I can start looking for work, but you know it’s one of those things that’s kind of like the unknown. You just kind of start all over again.“

I really think it also gave me confidence back, because like I don’t know about you, but I was older when we got married.

So I had already worked for seven years and I identified myself as an engineer and all of a sudden then people know what you like to do. I don’t know anymore. I don’t really know what I do. I mean I go to the playground, do laundry and stuff, which is all-important. I actually did enjoy the playground, but I just missed someone like the excitement and I miss the identities. I feel like that’s part of like who I am. I lost my identity a little bit as a stay-at-home-mom.”

What kind of career do you want to pursue, and where? Is it a portable career that you can continue with each PCS (military move)? If so, what makes it portable?

“The same. I really enjoy the technical aspect of my job. I want to work in a manufacturing chemical process type of environment. I really enjoy doing that so really I feel like I would enjoy any industry as long as it’s along the lines of chemical process related sort of work.

Okay. I would like to get back to the level that I was at the paper mill, but the truth is if I was to purse that sort of career again, Rei would have to be retired and most likely he would have to be a stay-at-home dad because that type of job is 24-7. You know you’re attached to your cell phone; you get called at three o’clock in the morning you know to go to work at six in the morning. You don’t know exactly when you’re gonna get to come home so it’s definitely, I mean I’d like to get back to it because I mean it is exciting and stuff but… I’m a mom and stuff now so he can wait a little bit. It’s gonna have to wait.”

Are you currently seeking a job, looking to start a business, or continue your education? If not now, do you plan to and when?

“I’m going to look for work… I love my kids and there’s staying at home that really is fantastic and wonderful, but, you know, I need to work. I need it for like my mental health… understand like I have to. I went back to work after I had my second one 96

What are your career goals? Describe the steps (methods) you take to accomplish those career goals?

“My focus is to get my career back. When Rei is retired, and we would have to be so that I could really build that again.

(Right now) I feel like I can more than just a job, you know, because I really have a passion for what I do so it is like a career but I know that I can’t stay there. Right now, I’m driving an hour to get to work… (retirement is) about nine years from now..”

What resources do you use to find career building opportunities (i.e. employment, education, licensing, entrepreneurial)? To whom, or where, do you go for help?

Do you have a résumé? When was the last time you updated it?

“I updated it right as we were moving here. I update it as I switch jobs and every year at when I have my annual performance evaluation.”

How much time do you spend (or plan to spend) on your search before landing a job, continuing your education, starting a business, or halting the search?

“I gave up on USAJobs.gov and the GS (civil service) systems.

I was so frustrated at Fort Riley. ‘They’ should give every military spouse instructions on how to get a GS job.”

What are some of the problems you face when conducting your search (or research)?

“The places we’ve lived. We moved around a lot and this shows up on your résumé. Recruiters say this can hurt you and they advised me not to share my status as a military spouse.

It’s a struggle because employers can tell by the address (for each place of employment or my contact address).

It’s hard to get credibility so I said I would accept less money At least half of my pay goes to childcare, gas to and from work, and work wardrobe. I have to consider how much of a pay cut to take to make it worth taking the job.”

Would career portability help to solve some of those problems?

“I use recruiters. They have jobs that are not advertised. I just Google the key word for the job and recruiter. I also use Indeed, CareerBuilder, and Monster.

With recruiters, you can’t apply to the job on a different website. Once you use them, your application must go through them (companies pay the recruiter).”

“It depends on the position. Certification and licensing for lawyers and doctors are different from state to state.”

If career portability would not help you reach your goals, what would?

Interview 2 [FaceTime video chat]

“What would I have done? Maybe a different type of engineer? or go to pharmacy school?”

Name: Ava Age: 30 Current duty station (location): Fort Shafter, Hawaii. Spouse works at Hickam Air Force Base.

BONUS. Describe the ideal career situation by finishing the following statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if... “… the active duty service member had the option of staying in a location without it being detrimental to his career.

Please tell me about your experience as a military spouse. How long have you been married to a service member? Do you have children? If so, how old are they? How many times have you had to move?

That would be nice, or staying somewhere for a little bit longer. In some cases, what if you have a spouse that really does have a career?

“We have been married five years in December. We have two children, four and two... moved four times — Fort Polk, Fort Leonard Wood, Fort Sill, and now Fort Shafter, Hawaii.”

I think that in some cases it’s really hard on the family unit.

Like I said, we’re blessed and fortunate enough that Rei has the income that he does, but sometimes I think what if he was on the enlisted side and he made half as much as he does? and I would feel like I have to work just to have some of the luxuries I grew up having.”

Tell me about your career (or employment) background. What is (or was) your chosen profession? What steps did (or do) you take to build this career?

Figure 88. Ava via FaceTime.

Author’s image.

“I went to an architectural trade school and got an entry level job. When the 2009 recession hit... I went back to school at a junior college for general studies and for art education.”

Do you think your career is portable? If so, what makes it portable?

Figures 89–90. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Ava’s interview. Author’s image.

“Honestly, I don’t think... you have to be in the right place, and you really have to so.. so Texas is fantastic. I think it would be fairly easy for me to get a job in structural steel detailing or drafting. But Oklahoma I would have had to drive to OKC, to Dallas. Unless I can work from home, a company that gives me the program, a computer to work from home. I don’t think there are many companies that do it.“

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Where do you work? If not currently working, where have you worked in the past?

“I’m going back to school now. That and the kids are enough for now“ What kind of career do you want to pursue, and where? Is it a portable career that you can continue with each PCS (military move)? If so, what makes it portable?

“I’m majoring in family and child studies (school counseling) through a really great online program. Very military spouse friendly. I would really like to. Jeff wants to work in the school system when he retires. I would like to work with middle school kids, or even elementary... and if I can incorporate some of my art in there, that would be fantastic. That’s kind of the goal.

Absolutely, why I chose it... because there are schools everywhere. Also with the military there are CDCs (Child Development Centers) and Youth Centers everywhere. If I can get my foot in the door at a military base that we’re stationed at.”

How long do you think this program is going to take?

“It’s a two-year program (that I am enrolled in). It’s really up to me. It’s two semesters condensed into one; accelerated adult learning. As Henry starts Pre-K, as Violet starts Pre-K, I can take on more than one.”

Was there anything else you wanted to say about the career goals you have?

“Just that it’s really important to include my art education, art background (in what I choose to do, which is school counseling). Not completely sure how I’m going to do it yet.”

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Describe the steps (methods) you take to accomplish those career goals?

“Was really scared about it. Honestly, when I met you and saw what you’re doing, I thought it was possible. It was a process.

I had to start applying last November. A lot of preparation. A lot of headache going back and forth finding immunization records. Thankfully the ball is rolling.

Magnese in Lake Charles… more economical to go there. It’s smaller. I felt comfortable. LSU didn’t offer the classes online (that I was looking for).”

Have you used the military resources available, like MilitaryOneSource.com or army community services?

“Yeah, honestly, I didn’t even go to the education center. I kind of just did it on my own. That is definitely going to come into play soon. I’ll have to get out there for sure.

Absolutely, and you know this as well as I do, with ACS or anything like that it all has to do with the individual. Who’s there, and how much information they are willing to share, how friendly they are.”

Do you feel comfortable going to them? or is it a last resource?

What skills, education, or experience do you need to accomplish your career goals? Is there anything else you need to do to help?

“Eventually I might need to look into getting my masters to do counseling. I also still have this itch for art therapy. Masters is down the road.”

What resources do you use to find career building opportunities (i.e. employment, education, licensing, entrepreneurial)? To whom, or where, do you go for help?

“My sister went there (Magnese). As far as career building, they are really good, they actually have a course that stays on my dashboard and it’s career building. I get emails three times a week from them saying there’s a job fair, there’s these resources. The thing is they don’t apply to me as a military spouse because they are Lake Charles Louisiana based. It doesn’t help me right now. I know the advisers reach out.

I think it’s going to be more of me taking the initiative and taking it out there.“

“I think I would have at Fort Sill. Over here, no. It’s so different in Hawaii. You don’t have that close feeling. Everything here seems very foreign. It seems very detached. Shafter is just a place to live. There’s no community. A lot of the stuff, ACS, all the major offices are in Schofield Barracks. For me, I hate the traffic here. It’s terrible... with two kids. I just feel really hesitant about tackling that. As far as going out there by myself right now...”

Do you have a résumé? When was the last time you updated it?

“Yes. I updated it whenever we go to Fort Sill. So that was three years ago.”

Have you had help with your resume?

“I had help from a family friend who is an accomplished psychologist. He helped me fine tune it... and Jeff is really good with resumes. So I had help from him too.”

How much time do you spend (or plan to spend) on your search before landing a job, continuing your education, starting a business, or halting the search?

“Not often at all. I feel like I’m not in that phase of it yet... was in the phase of babies.”

Would you consider your volunteer work as a career building activity?

“Absolutely, Yeah. Just the leadership experience. The socialization experience as a stay at home mom I wouldn’t have had that volunteer experience. I just think I’m better for it.”

So when you do finish, how much time do you plan to spend?

Let’s say you know you’ll be done in two years, how much time will you spend before you’re done?

“Absolutely.”

If career portability would not help you reach your goals, what would?

“I don’t know if anything else would help besides portability. I wish I had the mind of an editor.”

BONUS. Describe the ideal career situation by finishing the following statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if… “...I could work as a school counselor; set my own hours; be off on the weekends; be off during summers; and be able to take that career wherever we move to (either the same company, but more likely same job with a different company).”

“I honestly think that like... I’m trying.. so if I can really break away once Violet starts Pre-K. And it’s hard because we’re not done having babies. That’s a tough one for me to answer.

Sort of like our plan, once our last baby is in kindergarten or first grade, I can honestly work. This is a pipe dream, 3 days a week, 5 days a week, off on weekends. Something like that.”

What are some of the problems you face when conducting your search (or research)? How did it make you feel?

“Just the work experience. Being there. It’s the type of job you have to do everyday to get better. With moving around, that would be a challenge. If you have to move in the middle of a project, where does that leave the company? That would be a challenge with the structural engineering career.

With the new one... I guess similar. If I were a school counselor, in a perfect world we would PCS in the summer time.”

Would career portability help to solve some of those problems?

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Interview 3 [in person] Name: Amanda Age: 31 Current duty station (location): Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (spouse is in the U.S. Navy) Please tell me about your experience as a military spouse. How long have you been married to a service member? Do you have children? If so, how old are they? How many times have you had to move?

“This is my first move. Married four years; together five years before. We have one child who just turned two (25 months).”

Figure 91. Amanda. Participant’s image used with permission.

Tell me about your career (or employment) background. What is (or was) your chosen profession? What steps did (or do) you take to build this career? Is your career portable? If so, what makes it portable?

“Doctorate in clinical psychology in 2015; internship and degree completed. I need one-year full time post doc with supervision. APA internship requirement — didn’t qualify.

Kansas is one of two states that licenses masters level psychologists. No one seems to care because I’m too educated. (They think I’m) overqualified, like you’re going to leave after here… just coming through. They don’t want to invest in me even if they know that my husband is going to retire or they don’t know because I didn’t disclose that information.

Figures 92–93. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Amanda’s interview. Author’s image.

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So for about nine months I searched for work like everyday. I have to have these post-op hours. That’s really the only thing holding me back.

(My degree) is portable. Once licensed there a lots of jobs; federal positions which is like on base it doesn’t matter if

you don’t have your license in that state. It’s actually quite cool you can use your license from say Kansas, Washington, or something like that and then another state and federal position.”

Where do you work? If not currently working, where have you worked in the past?

“Worked through program in grad school for seven years and I worked five of those years like doing practicals and internships… community mental health, I work for an agency that does psychological testing for family courts.”

What are your career goals?

“Five year goal is to be licensed, and be at an agency (10 years). I want to go somewhere new; you structure and like people who’ve been doing it every season and ask questions and consultation and then kind of… you see a little bit of everything. That’s what I enjoyed at community health centers… then figure out where I want to go from there.

Ultimately I want to start my private practice (slowly on the side).”

Would you consider doing something else?

“Yeah, I did consider it but you know care with a baby. He wasn’t quite a year; just thought if my kid was in childcare fulltime for any time… it’s expensive basically working to have him taken care of by a stranger. So yeah, if I’m not getting hours (post doc)… it didn’t make sense to me.

(My husband was) expecting like a double income when we got here, so he was like, you know just get stressed out like what’s going to happen when I retire? When are you going to just get a job… are you gonna stop looking for your post-doc

and just work like oh man at Target or something? No. So, I mean I considered it, like I’ll do anything if we need to put food on the table. Of course our situation right now, I’m in a smaller house. Figuring out the logistics, furthering my reach. Basically any city is like 40 minutes away so I’ll be driving about an hour both ways even if I was working part-time.

(For post-doc) it’s kind of like the last time you can be like a slave working. They don’t pay that much, and they want you to work full time. They’ll say that on paper, but they really want you there like 60 hours a week. You gotta prove yourself to me. So the myth about the places that could potentially work and then I had got licensed here because that was the other thing is that you have to be licensed to work. I got licensed at the master’s level, and then as it turns out there’s a lot more jobs in Missouri and I already spent like three hundred dollars getting licensed in Kansas. They have you jump through all these hoops for six months of your life. The paperwork, oh my gosh. So six months here in Kansas, and then you have to start the process again (for Missouri). It’s ridiculous. Yeah, frustrating. By the time you get licensed you’ll be looking to move again.

I did a lot of online searches. I was still getting 20 responses a day to let me know what jobs are available — monster (I paid for that premium). Then I started looking at federal positions

that was interested in working in the prison. Apparently no one answers the phone. No voice mail. It just rings and rings.

I basically was cold calling people begging for interviews so I would spend every time like right now who on the phone and email. I contacted people at Mary’s college to teach. No openings to teach; nothing in their counseling department.

Goodness, they said I was overqualified. … went to ACS (Army Community Services); joined In Gear Career (found out about them in June) which was the last thing before stopping the search end of April.

Had a job interview at Lansing Correctional that lasted three hours. No phone call to offer or say not hired.

I feel stuck. Stagnant.

Do I commute? Consider family, being present in marriage and raising kids first.

If I knew through my program what to do in other sates (what you need per state) I would have asked for recommendations (on where to go)…

Key: know to ask the right questions; reach out to facilities in Kansas before coming here; not lying, but also having to say you’re leaving; transparency, but let them think you’re staying.”

BONUS. Describe the ideal career situation by finishing the following statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if...

The goal is to move closer to the West coast.

Would be good to have one exam for all states.

Husband will retire in February (2017).

We came here for family; closest base.

(I was) naive about coming here… didn’t know the specifics of licensure/job search in Kansas.

“…I could be in control of my hours, meaning like day-today I don’t have to just be present; given the freedom and responsibility to see my clients, write quality notes whether it’s in my office or home for my profession; freedom too for my employer boss to know that I get it done, take care of it, and not have to show off by staying late to look great; being valued for my employer to understand the value that I add to the company and the freedom and responsibility that they get it (quality work for them).”

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Interview 4 [in person] Name: Genevieve Age: 36 Current duty station (location): Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Please tell me about your experience as a military spouse. How long have you been married to a service member? Do you have children? If so, how old are they? How many times have you had to move?

Figure 94. Genevieve. Author’s image.

“We have been married five years with two children, age four and almost nine months. I guess two times we’ve had three duty stations that Jeff and I have been together so twice and it’s (the third) duty station.”

Tell me about your career (or employment) background. What is (or was) your chosen profession? What steps did (or do) you take to build this career?

“Okay, I graduated college and taught kindergarten for a year… then I went to grad school for two years. In 2005 taught in Hawaii until 2010. 2011 I was in administration for the last year we were in Hawaii. The school I worked out was a small private school, behavior management program, and then it was a school for children with dyslexia.

Then we moved to Oklahoma. I just wasn’t feeling… I didn’t think I have to go back into the classroom after being in administration, but to be an administrator at a private school you don’t need credentials. You just have to have a master’s degree.

Figures 95–97. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Genevieve’s interview. Author’s image.

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Then I got pregnant so I just volunteered on post at Fort Sill. Then once we moved here (Fort Leavenworth) we were sending him (our son) to a private school in Kansas City… the drive, I needed to do something (while waiting for

our son at school due to the long drive) so I volunteered.

I don’t necessarily think I would go back into teaching or administration, but I like school development. So I did that for a year, but then Jeff deployed and Hudson now came under the public school system at age of three. The public schools provide preschool and so I was pregnant again. I don’t think I can drive (to the city private school) because when Jack was home I wanted to rest or something in the afternoon. I had that option. It was one of me so I was like, I’m going to be too exhausted. Worse being pregnant with no back up. I talk, I mean I still keep in contact, with the two ladies I worked under and they’ve actually both well one is still there. The one I worked with the most moved on because when you’re in small development offices you want to be promoted; usually have to go somewhere else because the person above you has to leave if you want to be promoted.”

Is your career portable? If so, what makes it portable?

“Yes. There are schools everywhere. Reciprocity is in about 40 states for certification. I keep it active through online professional development classes.”

Where do you work? If not currently working, where have you worked in the past?

“A school development office; fundraising. Somewhere educational based, a non-profit. The harder part is that some duty stations there are not many private schools.”

Are you currently seeking a job, looking to start a business, or continue your education? If not now, do you plan to and when?

“Not looking for work… volunteer stuff, things with the kids.

Childcare — even economy childcare rates versus (ours) subsidized (is expensive).

When? Depends where we live. Probably when Jack is in pre-K. I can work part time. Ideally when they’re both in school.”

For next duty station, Jeff’s boss recommended he look over ‘the preference list’ with his wife.”

Do you have a résumé? When was the last time you updated it?

As the other parent, I can’t leave the other parent (military member to take care of the family).

Starting over with a portable career.“

What are your career goals?

“I enjoyed administration, helping students and family… helping families fundraising. The more successful event, the more satisfying.”

Describe the steps (methods) you take to accomplish those career goals?

“Until I’m ready to go back full time, making and keeping connections. Build experience in some fashion, such as volunteering.”

What skills, education, or experience do you need to accomplish your career goals? Do you possess those skills? If not, how and when do you plan to gain them in order to pursue your career goals?

“Professional development — find classes online, pay out of pocket to continue (doing it on my own). Active teachers would get the same through the school they work at to get signed off on. Mine (professional development certification) is good until 2020. I personally front load to satisfy requirements. I got it done before Jack was born.”

What resources do you use to find career building opportunities (i.e. employment, education, licensing, entrepreneurial)? To whom, or where, do you go for help?

“With Hudson’s school, I just asked. In the future, I would research. Do some recon on the internet. Volunteering is a good way to get in the door.

“No résumé. I have an old one that can be updated. It was last updated two years ago.

Before moving here, I did some search for about a week. I started as soon as (Jeff) was accepted to SAMs (school).”

When, or how often, do you search for employment or career building opportunities? “ Every five years for certification, and every two to three years for each (military) assignment.“ How much time do you spend (or plan to spend) on your search before landing a job, continuing your education, starting a business, or halting the search?

“The second you find out where to go. I go gung ho into research. There’s no reason to spend a lot of time looking because it can change.

What would help?

“More time (at a duty station). We don’t always live near family. Help with expenses to fly (my) mom to help. It goes back to childcare; need to secure that first (before considering anything else).“ BONUS. Describe the ideal career situation by finishing the following statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if... “…we had more of a say where we went?

Go back to Hawaii. (I) have connections and references there.

If childcare were easier to obtain, wouldn’t have to worry about it.“ Is there anything I missed (that you want to share)?

“It’s just hard.

There’s an adjustment. When Jeff went to Rhode Island (school) for nine months, I was an assistant principal and didn’t give up the job.

Flexibility. If I were to teach… and Hudson was sick. I (the milspo) is the one who would take time off and arrange the sub, sub plans, and go home to take care of the sick child.

Side note: Georgia is not a military friendly state (for starting a business).“

It also require a lot of talking to your spouse (the service member) about expectations.”

What are some of the problems you face when conducting your search (or research)?

“Constant moving. Even though I like what I do, there are periods of unemployment or underemployment.

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Interview 5 [in person] Name: Isabel (Izzy) Age: 31 Current duty station (location): Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; husband is in Korea on an unaccompanied tour.

Please tell me about your experience as a military spouse. How long have you been married to a service member? Do you have children? If so, how old are they? How many times have you had to move?

Figure 98. Isabel. Author’s image.

“We are newly weds in our second year. Before that we dated for two years. I’m still new; transition was hard (when I moved to Texas from Detroit). It took a while to find a job here.

Victoria just turned one. I moved two times for him.”

Tell me about your career (or employment) background. What is (or was) your chosen profession? What steps did (or do) you take to build this career?

“I was an attorney; then I went into finance (mortgage loan originator). When I moved to Kansas, I was not licensed to do anything in the state.

he asked me to move to Texas. I moved and applied to work for DH Horton.

At first I was okay with Jason going to Kansas alone, but I was pregnant so I went too. For six months, I started looking.

The Civilian Personal Advisory Council (CPAC at Fort Leavenworth) told me that I could get no spousal preference anywhere (for government jobs) when Jeff goes to Korea. I found a contract position with MES, a partner with the Army Education Center, seven months before landing a permanent full time job with benefits.

When I took the position as co-leader of In Gear Career, I wanted to affect change. I wrote the governor and our state reps for Kansas. Wrote to CPAC, to the top of CPAC. Lawmakers have to change the law. It’s the top of my list to do. I also connected with the JD Spouse Network about Kansas reciprocity laws. To get any law change, (you have to) get many people to write.”

[Researcher note: I suggested she write a general letter and get it signed as a petition instead of asking individuals to all write letters. Many don’t know what to write.]

Is your career portable? If so, what makes it portable?

I went to Michigan State and was pre-med and studied sociology as an undergrad. While working at the rehab, I saw a need for defense attorneys.

Figures 99–101. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Isabel’s interview. Author’s image.

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Then I went to Ohio Northern University for law and received a dual degree (J.D. international law and master of laws degree). I thought I would travel the world to help create democracy.

Went to Quicken Loans finance, passed the mortgage loan originator tests and was licensed in 17 states. By the time I was promoted to senior banker, I reconnected with Jason and

“Law is not portable. There is a new bar exam in each state.

The laws vary so much.

Mortgage loan officer is not portable.

Options are to seek employment with the federal government.

No legal jobs came open so I had to broaden my search to Kansas City. With a commute, you have to make sacrifices.

We need the income. Childcare is an issue too.”

Where do you work? If not currently working, where have you worked in the past?

“I work for M-E-S at the Army Education Center and am a counselor for vets (outsourced contractors). I’m leaving this job and going to work for the Department of Education (DoE) as an institution review specialist (compliance officer). It’s more portable than jobs I ever had.”

Researcher note: participant considers the compliance position really professional in comparison to the counselor job.

What kind of career do you want to pursue, and where? Is it a portable career that you can continue with each PCS (military move)? If so, what makes it portable?

“If I went back to where I’m licensed… but most important is a healthy work environment, be happy, to have a feeling of value of what you do. Eight DoE locations allow tele-work, if Jason’s not stationed in one of the DoE locations. I gave Jason the list.

If I have to start over like before, I’ll find a way. I have to be resilient.

Arguably, we are probably smarter than our husbands. Our husbands believe in what they do; they have pride in their jobs. What they do has an impact on everyone and anyone.

So we support them.”

Would I go back to school? No. Sometimes I will sit in on classes. I miss the intelligent discussion, but there’s no additional value to my career.”

“About one to two months ago. I have a civilian one that is one to three pages, and a federal one that is 14 pages. I need to do it more; when looking every time I applied for a job I updated it. Nothing’s changed.”

What are your career goals?

“Eight years from now (when Jason retires)… if you asked before I was married I would have said law partner or VP. Now, ideally a GS-13 or GS-14 somewhere, San Antonio retirement (for Jason), or working finance as a mid-level administrator.

I have visions of family. Jason in another career. Building more stability. We want to create a life for our daughter.”

Describe the steps (methods) you take to accomplish those career goals?

“Keep working in the system. Be consistent and receive positive evaluations.

I’m concerned the balance (of family life and wanting to see Jason twice a year in Korea) will affect my evaluations. I only have a certain amount of time off (available).”

What resources do you use to find career building opportunities (i.e. employment, education, licensing, entrepreneurial)? To whom, or where, do you go for help?

When, or how often, do you search for employment or career building opportunities?

“Every time I move; once I find a job I stay. So when I know where we’re going, I’ll start looking for job prospects in the new place.”

How much time do you spend (or plan to spend) on your search before landing a job, continuing your education, starting a business, or halting the search?

“Seven months this last time.”

What are some of the problems you face when conducting your search (or research)?

“When you move so much, it’s hard to advance. I try not to compare myself with people I went to school with, or people I started with at Quicken Loans. When I look at where they are I think, am I not progressing where I should be? It’s important to advance as a whole, to build something together (as a family).”

Would career portability help to solve some of those problems?

Are you currently seeking a job, looking to start a business, or continue your education? If not now, do you plan to and when?

“Not seeking; got offered two jobs. I also got an offer from HUD, but accepted the DoE job.

I put 108 applications in on USAJobs.gov in a seven-month period. I was applying for high and low end jobs.

“With licensing I felt I had the need and still want to do a PM (project management) certification. Looking for employment with the CPO office was not helpful. In Gear Career was best as a spouse because it’s other spouses networking. I received tips on how to edit USAjobs résumés. It’s an opportunity to info share.”

“No; it would help with spousal satisfaction and probably military retention. It has some benefits but varies person to person and type of career.”

When was the last time you updated your résumé?

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APPENDIX C: PRIMARY RESEARCH NOTES

VISUAL STORYTELLING AND INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS Visual storytelling & interview 1

If career portability would not help you reach your goals, what would?

Name: Happy Age: 42 Location: Researcher’s home at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Length of time married to service member: 21 years Number of PCS (duty station moves): 6+ Profession: first time in college, business management and fashion merchandising; second time, cultural anthropology Time frame: 30 minute activity and 1 hour post-activity interview

“For me, it’s an opportunity to keep my position and work from home. I see a shift to that; hiring remotely. I feel like a professional and get to keep my job.”

BONUS. Describe the ideal career situation by finishing the following statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if... “…milspos could stay with one company despite PCS’ing; people in companies saw milspos as an asset which is reflective of their adaptability. …stigma of milspos get better.”

Tell me about what you drew or created for your résumé, timeline, and where you see yourself in five years.

Figure 102. Happy. Author’s image.

“Family; school is on hold. I have a passion for different cultures. Stayed in Maine for school.

William was commissioned and went to Fort Sill for OBC (officer basic course) then went to Fort Bragg. That’s when I became involved in the Army as a military spouse. I was an FRG (family readiness group) leader and provided information on resources. William volunteered me for this.

Then I did the AFTB course (Army Family Team Building) and became a certified instructor.

William’s first deployment was the first invasion in 2003. The information dissemination began then with the ‘chain of concern’ (a.k.a. phone tree).

2005 William went to Fort Sill for triple C (captain’s career course) for six months, but I went home to take care of dad. Later in 2005 we went back to Fort Bragg and I was volunteering again. William had another deployment while there and I taught AFTB classes.

Figure 103. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Happy’s activity and interview. Author’s image.

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2008 — involved in the FRG for another deployment.

Figures 104–105. (Left) Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Happy’s activity and interview.

Author’s image.

Figures 106–107. Happy’s visual life and career timeline. Author’s image.

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I got a job offer after I was pregnant and William was at basic (training) as an assistant manager. I was guaranteed a manager position within a year. That meant I would have to stay in Boston for a year. They (the employer) said it was okay I was pregnant. I told William, and he said, ‘you want to stay there and not move?’ I thought I needed to sacrifice, then turn down the job because I was a milspouse now and going to have a kid.

It was one sacrifice after another. I could have stayed behind to finish school, but I would have nothing if I stayed behind.

In any Army training, they teach you to be self sufficient, reliant. As a spouse, they strip you of your self, of your independence. They stress being the perfect spouse. It’s about family, the team. You don’t have time to be YOU… and we think, ‘we chose this path’ so we accept it.”

Six steps of lateral thinking interview questions.

My goal — I don’t want to be in the business world. I would like to still be involved in military, doing the same thing (I have been doing) and maybe get paid. I haven’t been in a paid position, so I don’t know what I’m worth to get paid or what to expect. What stops me is that I still don’t feel worthy.”

How have your career goals changed over time? How does that make you feel?

“I feel guilty. Eventually working in a paying position, teaching milspouses. I don’t know how much to get paid. I’m afraid to be told I’m not qualified. I got an AA degree twenty years ago.

It’s affected my confidence.

I don’t know how to be a person for (myself). Redefining (myself) that’s been lost. Am I too old? What happens if I don’t like the job?”

Figure 108. Nicole. Author’s image.

What do you think is reasonable to accomplish in order to meet your goals?

What are your goals?

“Glad I did all volunteering. I’m passionate about what I do, knowing I made a difference. I can share good and bad and teach others something. I hope they can make a better future for the Army, continue traditions (protocols). Some things should stay (the same). We need to support each other through camaraderie, treating each other equally and the same.”

What have you learned? What are some of the problems you faced?

“I learned I don’t know everything. You can always learn something new. I still feel I don’t know enough and can be taught something.

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“For them (whomever is hiring) to see my value. Volunteer to get my foot in the door to get hired from within. You can’t prove anything until you show them what you’ve got.”

What benefits do you see (coming from this activity and/or your goals)?

“Too institutionalized; the Army lifestyle is all I know. In five years… I have no back up plan… but I also have no regrets.”

Finish this statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if…

“I know what I wanted to do with my life and didn’t have to worry about it.”

Figure 109. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Nicole’s activity and interview. Author’s image.

Visual storytelling & interview 2 Name: Nicole Age: 34 Location: Researcher’s home at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Length of time married to service member: 10 years Number of PCS (duty station moves): 6 Profession: stay-at-home mom, former Army officer, and new business owner Time frame: 20 minute activity and 1 hour post-activity interview Tell me about what you drew or created for your résumé, timeline, and where you see yourself in five years.

“I was a business marketing major with a minor in bio/chem.”

Six steps of lateral thinking interview questions.

Desk work and people skills? (In response to: what other skills do you have?)

“Put my mind to it. Work around Dan’s schedule. I would be by myself and the kids in childcare.”

I feel lost — I should think about it (more).”

What do you think is reasonable to accomplish in order to meet your goals?

“Branding (my business), a website.

Saving money to open a location, buy a spot to start out; I can handle small.

Ask friends for help, what steps to take.”

What benefits do you see (coming from this activity and/or your goals)?

What are your goals?

“It’s hard to have goals when your husband is in the military because the focus is on him.

“ I feel like it’s hard not being in one location, and the kids? Don’t know where the Army will send us if I work and Dan is deployed.

I need to focus on myself.

Now, it’s working from home and selling stuff online. No storefront until we’re settled down somewhere. I’d like a boutique full of stuff I like.”

What have you learned? What are some of the problems you faced?

Stop volunteering? It sucks up your time. When there’s changeover of people in your position, the next person may not continue what you started… (Researcher’s note: so what’s the point of putting in effort?)

I’m a ‘yes’ person. I have a hard time saying ‘no.’”

“I’ve been following my husband… am more focused on him than myself. I need direction?”

How have your career goals changed over time? How does that make you feel? “ I like creating things, so that’s stayed the same.

Finish this statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if… “…I could travel more.“ Additional question: What would help you be able to travel more?

Figures 110–111. (Left) Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Nicole’s activity and interview. Author’s image.

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Figure 113. Kellyn. Participant’s image used with permission.

Figure 112. Nicole’s visual life and career timeline. Author’s image.

Figure 114. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Kellyn’s activity and interview. Author’s image.

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Visual storytelling & interview 3

with not having to move around a lot.

Name: Kellyn Age: 37 Location: Researcher’s home at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Length of time married to service member: 15 years Number of PCS (duty station moves): 8 Profession: mammographer and photographer Time frame: 13 minute activity and an hour long interview

Take studio photography to the next level.

Tell me about what you drew or created for your résumé, timeline, and where you see yourself in five years.

“Pauses for family, kids, balance.

It’s difficult: certification and experience. I had to become a Red Cross volunteer to do clinicals. It’s taken me 17 years to become a certified mammo tech –> an expert working in the field during those years except three of those years.

It’s hard finding a job due to location areas and choices between clinic or hospital. I have gaps in employment Then the employer hears you’re a milspouse. Munson Army Health Clinic took me on as a Red Cross volunteer (second time doing this) to keep up my skills.

I decided to take on a photography business. It’s always been a hobby and passion. I turned it into a business this year.

In five years, I need to keep the mammo skills up and (continue the transformation of) the hobby into business.”

Six steps of lateral thinking interview questions.

What are your goals? “ To be able to pursue the mammography more. Find a job

My number one priority is always family.

When husband is retired (we will have) stability; being happy together and no stress.”

What have you learned? What are some of the problems you faced?

“Wherever my husband goes, that’s where my career takes me.

Derek is a great partner; we may open a studio together.

Biggest challenge is not knowing where you’re moving. Pick up your career, kids’ schedules and schools. Get the kids settled first.

With the unknowns… how do you start the application process early?

Cost effect – licenses differ in each state and procedures vary. Always starting new. A lot of employers don’t understand that. It’s repetitive.””

How have your career goals changed over time? How does that make you feel?

“Have had to sway back and forth, figure out balance and keep up with everything. I want to provide income for my family in some way. I want to feel valued. Deployments are always on my mind; when is he going to have to go. I have to stop and take care of the kids.”

What do you think is reasonable to accomplish in order to meet your goals? “ All experience. Being in the job, working the field.

Establishing name (brand). In this community there’s lots of competition (photographers). Getting repeat clients. Taking more classes and add more to portfolio.”

What benefits do you see (coming from this activity and/or your goals)?

“It’s put in perspective everything I’ve done. It wasn’t just a straight shot. I’ve talked to many people. It’s good to have a job that you can take everywhere.“ Finish this statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if… “…you could be hired without explaining and defining yourself as a military spouse. This is who I am, all my qualities and expertise, and that is not a tedious step to have to go through (repeatedly).“ Additional conversational notes: “As soon as we figure out where we’re going, I search the top five places where we could end up. I research the location, travel time, clinic, orthopedic narrow down, asking around, and phone calls. I also consider school (for the kids) and the distance from where the jobs are.

Portable? Something/place nearby within expectations of a career, but distance depends on what their (employers) guidelines are… and expectations cloud their perception.

It’s like they’re judging the milspouse versus respecting us as a milspouse… feel out how he/she will react. Am I going to be treated fairly in the workplace? Then when it’s a good fit, I have to start over again. There are extra stresses, 111

expectations, and worries with our package deal as a milspouse. We have to defend our qualifications and explain ourselves.

Stability would help reach my goals. As would educating employers. Keeping up with skills (technology), photography, and business. Keeping patient numbers where I need them (hours in the job even if as a volunteer) to be hired.

Figures 115–116. (Left) Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Kellyn’s activity and interview.

Author’s image.

There are two sides: 1) story as a military spouse and 2) yourself, what you’ve done. We are constantly split in half; multiple directions.

I can feel at times, I lose where I see myself in five years. So I pull back and think, ‘how am I going to continue?’ I don’t like the unknowns. How will I get there? I’m a planner.”

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Figure 117. Kellyn’s visual life and career timeline. Author’s image.

Visual storytelling & interview 4 Additional question: What makes a career?

Name: Liz Age: 33 Location: Participant’s home (for activity) and researcher’s home (for interview), both at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Length of time married to service member: 2.5 years Number of PCS (duty station moves): 2 Profession: medical coder Time frame: activity conducted on participant’s own time frame at home; interview was approximately one hour.

Figure 118. Liz. Author’s image.

Tell me about what you drew or created for your résumé, timeline, and where you see yourself in five years.

“Red boxes are for certificate/degree/education. Blue represents life events and milestones. Green is for jobs. Yellow is volunteer stuff. It’s colorful. I feel like I have too many boxes and am not focused. I multi-tasked too much. Should I funnel it?

I found that I have a hobby (photography); I never had one before. Learning a skill feels empowering. I’m a little sad that I’m just getting started. When I was younger I had no one to mentor me. I learned something new!

At the top I have more green (jobs) before and more yellow (volunteer stuff) now.”

Six steps of lateral thinking interview questions.

What are your goals?

“Currently, number one is to be the best mom.

Developmentally teach Brogran vocabulary and social skills.

Figure 119. Thumbnail scan of transcribed notes from Liz’s activity and interview. Author’s image.

I want to see if the skills are there (in me) for photography.”

“A manager role, one where you’re needed at. The job depends on you to run; quality control. There are stepping stones to make a career.”

What have you learned? What are some of the problems you faced?

“I learned that I don’t know how to say no. I’m a people pleaser. I don’t feel moving is a problem. Moving is refreshing.

It’s exciting!

Multi-tasking; my biggest struggle is I have too much. How do I handle it? I take stimulants to keep up. How do you find balance, which takes priority when?”

How have your career goals changed over time? How does that make you feel?

“I always maintained a bucket list in life. When I got married, it got easier; made the comment… now career is to support his.

His job is way more important. It’s a necessity to support his role. If husband’s happy, then we roll with that. I’ll always be the support. We do that together. If he’s not happy, then all of it will be complicated. I can’t fix it at work, if I can have a plan to make him happy at home. He makes my dreams come true.

I never got to see the world before. I’m thrilled to support his career. He works hard so we can play really hard.”

What do you think is reasonable to accomplish in order to meet your goals?

“If I want to make a business… I’m weeding out the credibility of photo courses, mentoring to learn, researching online programs, figuring out timing, and could be in a better113

structured environment. I can get attention but don’t want to waste time or money. I’d be surprised to barter, trade. I like the social aspect of accountability, critique, and praise from a mentor.”

What benefits do you see (coming from this activity and/or your goals)?

“I always wanted to put this on paper; meant to do this. It’s nice to see it. I get a clear, great way to prioritize where do I go from here?“ Finish this statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if… “…there were more hours in the day; more time to sleep; a bottle of wine somewhere without feeling guilty about it.“ Additional conversational notes: “My biggest deployment fear, what I struggle the most with Tony being gone in general… is hurt? I have no back up, and I’m managing the anxiety (of it all).

Resources? Not really, no idea; never thought to search military spouse sources (counseling needs, protocols, teach the ropes, armywife.com basic class). To look for a job, I’d look anywhere else including Monster.com. There should be new army/military wife courses at (military) installations.”

Figures 120–121 Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Liz’s activity and interview. Author’s image.

114

Figure 122. Liz’s visual life and career timeline. Author’s image.

Visual storytelling & interview 5 Name: Andi Age: 32 Location: Participant’s home (for activity) and researcher’s home (for interview), both at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Length of time married to service member: 8 years Number of PCS (duty station moves): 4 Profession: Teacher Time frame: activity conducted on participant’s own time frame at home; interview was approximately one hour.

Figure 123. Andi. Author’s image.

Tell me about what you drew or created for your résumé, timeline, and where you see yourself in five years.

Described teaching pre-school, full time work missing out on class parties and field trips. When both her kids were in childcare she decided she wasn’t going to work full time until they were both in school, then after being at home she decided that she wanted to back… probably later when they are maybe second or third grade. So now she’s teaching part-time at her son’s school, two days a week in the mornings. It’s just a little bit, but still flexible enough that she’s not missing out and not tied down to a classroom when the kids are sick. It’s a lot easier to manage a commitment; more flexible; and next year they are going to be moving again next summer.

She didn’t get her certification in Kansas because she’s teaching at a private school where they don’t require you to be certified in a state and then when they move, she may need to get her own recertification.

“Obviously, I love teaching… just my future timeline I don’t really know what to do.

Figure 124. Thumbnail scan of transcribed notes from Andi’s activity and interview. Author’s image.

The lows are just the expectations of the time commitment (of full time work) because you’re not just doing it at school, it

bubbles over at home life and so the kids go to bed and I’m spending my free time instead of mommy time doing lesson planning or grading papers… if we needed the money I would obviously do it but it’s not something that we have to have that money to survive. Yeah, we can make lifestyle changes and you know everybody’s a lot happier.

The highs are it makes me feel like my own person because that’s my job and my career and it’s something different. It’s just me that’s not awesome Claire’s mom or Alan’s wife… it’s my own identity. Yes, being a teacher I miss having the autonomy itself where you are your own entity you know that separate from your children’s and your husband’s lives. You have your own, you know part of your life that’s yours.

Of course I miss teaching, and I miss the kids, and then you know the co-worker relationship. I do miss teaching but I’m ultimately glad I chose to stay home for a while, okay, and I also have my certification in counseling… I haven’t done anything with counseling. It’s really hard to get a counseling job in education unless you’ve been in the district and a seventy year old retires or leaves and then you have your foot in the door. Those openings are kind of like librarian opening. When somebody gets that job they keep it until they retire. They don’t come open very often so being transient in the military you can’t pursue that avenue… not until we’re retirement stable. So I haven’t been able to explore that part of education that I’m certified in and I’ve also thought about maybe going back and finishing my LPC because I have my masters in counseling so all I have to do now is get my supervision hours to get my certification to counseling… but when I did take my final semester internship for my masters degree… I was exhausted having to listen to people talk all day long; like help them work through their problems and offer suggestions for coping skills and learn how to manage their own. “

115

Figure 125. (Above) Andi’s visual life and career timeline. Author’s image.

Figures 126–130. (Left) Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Andi’s activity and interview. Author’s image.

116

Six steps of lateral thinking interview questions.

re-learn vernacular, acronyms, and learn the politics of each school.”

What are your goals?

“In about five years, I want to go back to full time. Probably when Austin is in middle school that’s when I’m going to transition. I really wanted to be involved with what’s happening in his life because he can’t always tell me what’s happening really, unless I have a pulse on him, I don’t know how to coach him and how to behave appropriately in social situations if I’m not ever witnessing what’s happening (he’s autistic).

I need to re-certify. If I let it lapse then I will need to go through more tests and classes. Every state has different licensure and now reciprocity.”

Continued conversation about certification and the portability act (which doesn’t apply to teaching certifications); it’s a federal suggestion to the states to adopt teaching certification portability. It can’t be enforced because education is state funded, not federally funded. It sounds good to provide reciprocity for military spouses, but again the law does not require it. It sounds good on paper, but it is only a strongly worded suggestion.

What have you learned? What are some of the problems you faced?

“I taught in communities with high military presence. There is not enough local base to get in. Rarely any positions open in DoD schools. Local people stay in it. When life happens, if I’m teaching where my kids are, it makes the process (of the job and my employment there) more of a community effort (it’s more convenient and flexible).

How have your career goals changed over time? How does that make you feel?

“I’ve shifted more towards lower grades; it’s more flexible with certification. I really enjoy teaching the little ones, I’m surprised. I’m happy.

I thought about counseling — it’s not hard to transfer state to state but licensure doesn’t vary as much” What do you think is reasonable to accomplish in order to meet your goals? “ I won’t know until November/December where we’re going.

I’ll continue to sub at our next assignment. That will be three years — 1 year staff duty, 1 year as an XO, and 1 year as an S-3. I’m anticipating deployment. There are a lot of what ifs.

I don’t want to be tied down while husband is deployed. I need to keep it flexible, but still relevant to the field (my career field).”

What benefits do you see (coming from this activity and/or your goals)?

“It’s good to put it on paper, a plan of action. It made me realize I don’t have a plan. I feel like I just know I’m ready to go back. I’m not anxious about going back.“ Finish this statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if…

“Pretty good. Been happy where we’ve been.

WIBNI… I kept lucking into opportunities that I do.“

Education changes so much from state to state. I have to 117

Figure 132. Amanda. Participant’s image used with permission.

Figure 131. Amanda’s visual life and career timeline. Participant’s scanned image used with permission.

118

Figure 133. Thumbnail scan of transcribed notes from Amanda’s activity and interview. Participant’s scanned image used with permission.

Visual storytelling & interview 6 Name: Amanda Age: 31 Location: Participant’s home (for activity and questionnaire), Lansing, Kansas Length of time married to service member: 4 years Number of PCS (duty station moves): 1 time Profession: clinical psychology doctor Time frame: participant completed the activity and questions at home then scanned and emailed to researcher Tell me about what you drew or created for your résumé, timeline, and where you see yourself in five years.

Six steps of lateral thinking interview questions.

What are your goals?

“1. To get licensed at the doctoral level as a clinical psychologist.

2. Work with a federally funded or non-profit agency (full-time) for ‘loan payback’ that also has a healthy work environment.

3. Start my own private practice (build my reputation and clientele.

4. Enjoy my career and find balance with family life.”

What have you learned? What are some of the problems you faced?

How have your career goals changed over time? How does that make you feel?

“I have had the same career goal for a while now, but I think ‘what I’m willing to do’ has changed. I am not willing to sacrifice time with family or overall quality of life to achieve it.

And I feel pretty good about that.”

What do you think is reasonable to accomplish in order to meet your goals? “ 1. Passing the EPPP 2. Attaining 2000 post-doc hours 3. Applying at different agencies 4. Start an LLC for PP (private practice) 5. Set boundaries w/employers about hours at work/time away” What benefits do you see (coming from this activity and/or your goals)?

“This activity and interview was fun! I found clarity and a nice visual representation of the plan in my head. J “ Finish this statement. Wouldn’t it be nice if… “…I had a job I looked forward to going to and a balanced life of work and play (family time, date nights, vacation, and a meaningful, fulfilling career.“

“I’ve learned that I have a lot to learn. Some of the problems have been ignorance and lack of awareness of different state laws and procedures, but most problems have been ‘red-tape’ (i.e. paperwork, licensing, time left stationed, hours).”

119

What is your career (or profession)?

Banker

APPENDIX C: PRIMARY RESEARCH NOTES

Teacher

SURVEY AND QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

Liberal Arts Jack of all trades, Master if none chereden@gmail.com

Edit this form

32 responses View all responses

Web/graphic designer Dental office manager Early childhood developmenr I am currently a stay at home mom. I am in my junior year of online college for a Education Studies Bachelors.

Publish analytics

Medical Assistant

Summary

Registered Nurse I earned a M.A in English Literature and Creative Writing, now im a freelance editor for authors and

Online consent

publishers I agree

32

100%

I do not agree

0

0%

Legal Studies/Courtroom Dental Hygiene and Dental Assistant Marketing

100%

Homemaker Medical records technician have not had time to complete/ move every 2 years event planning/nonprofit events Realtor

Are you a military spouse?

Yes

29

90.6%

No

2

6.3%

Other

1

3.1%

Mental health counselor Paraeducator Graduate Student/education Marketing/government relations

90.6%

Marketing and small business development Small business owner Dental Hygienist Medical Coding

What is your career (or profession)?

Physical therapy

Banker

Family consumer science

Teacher

Military reservist

Liberal Arts Jack of all trades, Master if none

Is your career (or profession) portable?

Web/graphic designer

120

Figures 134–135. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results. Author’s image.

Dental office manager

Early childhood developmenr

34.4%

Yes

21

65.6%

No

11

34.4%

In some way mine is portable unfortunately some states resperosity is attached to years. Moving from

Family consumer science

Virginia to North Carolina I lost my career because I was a resent professional and did not have two

Military reservist

years experience.

I should be able to do marketing, communications and graphic design remotely. But must companies will

Is your career (or profession) portable?

34.4%

Yes

21

65.6%

No

11

34.4%

offer it.

Raise childern Medical coding can be done from home on your computer if you have the required experience and are comfortable in your ability to do it from home therefore this profession can be easily be transferred to the next place the family is PCSing to.

65.6%

There are schools everywhere and usually there is a need for educators or at least tutors. medical is needed everywhere Planning of events could be remote depending on position. Research and planning of events can be

What makes your chosen career portable, or not portable?

done with phone/email/internet access but tour of venues would require some travel along with execution of the actual event.

I never got the chance to have a career before marrying my military spouse

Real Estate requires you to be licensed differently in each state. Everytime you move you have to start

I was a pharmacy tech, civil servant as a missile warning analyst and later as a family readiness support

over building a business in a new location. Just when you have established yourself again it is time to

assistant.

move.

My current job is location based but my career is based on my having a computer, internet, and the right

Each state has their own requirements for licensing as a mental health counselor. Licensing in a new

software and I can virtually work and design for clients as I do now.

state takes at least 6 months to do in most cases. I can't work or even look for work before licensing.

Not portable because employers want stability

Plus licensing costs several hundred dollars. So each time we PCS, I will not be able to find work for at

I work for CYSS which is portable to a degree. Every army installation has a CYSS but if you want a

least 6 months to a year. In addition, regulations change all the time. In a state I'm already licensed in,

"career" position rather then an entry level position it becomes difficult to maintain your status without

new requirements won't apply because I can be grandfathered in. But if we move to a new state, my

being demoted during PCS

education and experience maynot meet that state's laws. So the longer I'm out of school, the more likely

As a mom yes. When I begin in the education field it can be portable but extremely frustrating because of

I won't be able to license due to the continued demand for ever longer education. I don't have the time

certifications required by different states.

and can't afford to go back to school for additional classes every time we move.

Usually easy to find jobs in the medical field

No

The challenge with my profession is gaining licensure in the new state. This takes quite a bit of time and

Teaching is a portable career, just ,matter of renewing licenses in new states

money.

I work for local government ­ I will start filling this out with recommendations, though! We had a military

I can find a job at different bank. However most times I have to start lower than the position I left in terms

spouse work for us who was clearly a cut above the normal employees we would usually hire. She was

of salary and rank.

only with us a short time but made a huge improvement in our organization.

I choose this career path so I could take my work with me no matter where I go.

I started my own consulting business so I can do online marketing and business consulting virtually

Courtroom career are hard to come by each relocation­ different skill set than working for an attorney In some way mine is portable unfortunately some states resperosity is attached to years. Moving from

anywhere There are banks/credit unions everywhere

Virginia to North Carolina I lost my career because I was a resent professional and did not have two

I work from home doing custom furniture restoration and there is always a need

years experience.

It is semi­portable. Unfortunately, dentistry has not adopted national boards for clinical portions of their

I should be able to do marketing, communications and graphic design remotely. But must companies will

licensing exams. The US is divided into regions and not all states accept all regions. Relocating every

offer it.

18mo­3yrs means you're constantly paying to retake exams, credentailling in different stars, etc.

Raise childern

I use a remote desktop to sign into the hospital I'm doing for that day.

Medical coding can be done from home on your computer if you have the required experience and are

Contingency of passing each state's certification exams

comfortable in your ability to do it from home therefore this profession can be easily be transferred to the

It kind of is. It's just hard to license in every state

next place the family is PCSing to.

Not portable because I worked in the Health Dept. And there was no way to transfer from state to state.

There are schools everywhere and usually there is a need for educators or at least tutors.

Portable but have to be able to find a unit

Figures 136–137. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results. Author’s image.

medical is needed everywhere Planning of events could be remote depending on position. Research and planning of events can be

Are you interested in pursuing a portable career?

121

I would like to be invested and involved in the community where I work. I will wait until my spouse retires to pursue a career.

I am interested in furthering myself as a person and would like to work on my own schedule as I have a Plus licensing costs several hundred dollars. So each time we PCS, I will not be able to find work for at

toddler now. But who know what the future holds.

least 6 months to a year. In addition, regulations change all the time. In a state I'm already licensed in,

Because I already work one part time. If my full time job was a consistent pay and I could live anywhere

new requirements won't apply because I can be grandfathered in. But if we move to a new state, my

that would be ideal but it's hard to freelance as a designer and have guaranteed money.

education and experience maynot meet that state's laws. So the longer I'm out of school, the more likely

I am but I'm not interested in sales

I won't be able to license due to the continued demand for ever longer education. I don't have the time

I am interested in a portable career I am not interested in a sales position.

and can't afford to go back to school for additional classes every time we move.

Having to move often and starting from zero it would be great to have a Carter that can follow the moves.

No

It is why I had no choice but to choose an online education.

Teaching is a portable career, just ,matter of renewing licenses in new states

I was interested so I could bring in extra income for my family and my love of the medical field.

I work for local government ­ I will start filling this out with recommendations, though! We had a military

Think I already have one.

spouse work for us who was clearly a cut above the normal employees we would usually hire. She was

Because it's not easy starting from the beginning especially when you're qualified. It's frustrating having

only with us a short time but made a huge improvement in our organization.

to prove yourself to a different institution

I started my own consulting business so I can do online marketing and business consulting virtually anywhere

To have the flexibility to travel and work from home Sense of own identity, contribute to monthly income and retirement account

There are banks/credit unions everywhere

I am interested because I would like to work but more importantly I want to keep my family together.

I work from home doing custom furniture restoration and there is always a need It is semi­portable. Unfortunately, dentistry has not adopted national boards for clinical portions of their licensing exams. The US is divided into regions and not all states accept all regions. Relocating every 18mo­3yrs means you're constantly paying to retake exams, credentailling in different stars, etc.

I use a remote desktop to sign into the hospital I'm doing for that day.

Because it would help as our family moves from base to base. I would be able to continue my career.

Because we move a l out and need the stability So I can still have a career even with so many military moves.

I have one. need something mobile

Contingency of passing each state's certification exams

My boyfriend is currently awaiting his OCS date and once he graduates and moves for flight school (and

It kind of is. It's just hard to license in every state Not portable because I worked in the Health Dept. And there was no way to transfer from state to state.

Portable but have to be able to find a unit

beyond) I plan to move with him.

Currently a stay at home mom and enjoying time with my family.

I've already done 2 different careers (accounting and mental health) with advanced degrees. I don't want to go to school for yet another career path.

Are you interested in pursuing a portable career?

31.3%

I get tired of starting new jobs. Not good for my retirement.

Yes

22

68.8%

I have one

No

10

31.3%

Not a military spouse, don't have the need. I believe military spouses need portable careers to support family wellness, mission readiness and because our nation needs well­educated people just as much as it needs well­educated Soldiers.

68.8%

My husband has seven more years in the military so I need a portable career I'd rather be able to continuously work instead of having to apply and reapply and so on I would like to learn how to grow my business

Why or why not?

122

I don't feel that I should have to pursue a different career in order to practice my profession in all parts the US.

I would like to be invested and involved in the community where I work. I will wait until my spouse retires

making my own money is important too

to pursue a career.

Teaching is already portable

I am interested in furthering myself as a person and would like to work on my own schedule as I have a

I started my own business

toddler now. But who know what the future holds.

I would like to be with my family and travel.

Figures 138–139.

PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results. Author’s image.

Because I already work one part time. If my full time job was a consistent pay and I could live anywhere that would be ideal but it's hard to freelance as a designer and have guaranteed money.

Military spouses want to be able to work wherever they are sent

the US. making my own money is important too Teaching is already portable I started my own business

It's the best option I could think of when we started moving and it stuck but I'd like to change it but am

I would like to be with my family and travel.

afraid other jobs aren't portable

Military spouses want to be able to work wherever they are sent

If it wasn't for my furniture I would be very discouraged. My degree and background is social work and I have had problems in the past finding a job in smaller towns around my husbands duty stations

How do you feel about your career options?

Limited Not many for a liberal arts major I'm in limbo as my husband doesn't have stationary time as he moves up on rank.

It feels like a competition to get a job.

Not good at the moment I feel discouraged. I feel like I have to stay where I am and be demoted each time we move Confused

It is time consuming, costly and difficult to keep a career while moving with my husband. poorly, it's rare to end up with a job like I'm doing. Most are only direct sales or creative like photography, design, or career in volunteering Positive They are ok I feel good, but I need to redesign what I do.

What methods (or steps) would you take to pursue a portable career?

Dismal Love my career choice.

Meet with a c…

Love the idea because different places will not always have what you're looking for. Easier to fit in

Conduct rese…

It's slow going in the beginning but I'm confident I'll have more clients as I work on my resume Discouraged. It takes 6 months ­ 2 year to find employment with each PCS and I don't even bother looking while stationed overseas.

They are extremely limited.

Extreme limited Not so good It's challenging because nobody wants to hire a person with so many holes in their resume and

Go back to s…

Look for a job Volunteer Start a busin…

Other 0

5

10

15

20

everywhere you move you start from zero.

I am satisfied with my career options

Meet with a career counselor

12

37.5%

limited as a mil spouse/ never time to network

Conduct research on my own

19

59.4%

Go back to school (continuing education or a college degree)

16

50%

Look for a job

23

71.9%

I feel like my career options are very limited I feel like I can always default back to real estate. If. It working for myself, working on a team with other agents.

As long as we don't move, I can expect to progress with my career. As soon as we move, it'll be start from beginning again.

Volunteer

21

65.6%

Start a business

11

34.4%

Other

1

3.1%

Good, but I feel because if my husband's position it's not necessary for me to have a career, so I worry less about it than someone else in a different financial situation

What resources would, or do, you use to pursue a portable career?

Pretty good for myself. I wish military spouses would consider marketing as a portable career path.

Military com…

Online search Career coun…

Figures 140–141. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results. Author’s image.

Department…

Small Busine…

123

Start a business

11

34.4%

Somewhat useful

14

43.8%

Other

1

3.1%

Very useful

2

6.3%

What resources would, or do, you use to pursue a portable career?

Online search [How useful are the following resources to you?]

Not useful at all

Military com…

Online search

Neutral (have…

Career coun…

Somewhat use…

Department…

Very useful 0.0

Small Busine…

3.5

7.0

10.5

Friends or fa…

Not useful at all

2

6.3%

Neutral (have no experience with this resource)

3

9.4%

Somewhat useful

13

40.6%

Very useful

14

43.8%

Other 0

5

10

15

Military community services

16

50%

Online search

27

84.4%

Career counselor

11

34.4%

20

25

Career counselor [How useful are the following resources to you?]

Department of Labor

7

21.9%

Small Business Administration

5

15.6%

Not useful at all

Friends or family

19

59.4%

Neutral (have…

Other

2

6.3%

Somewhat use…

Very useful

Military community services [How useful are the following resources to you?]

0

5

10

15

Not useful at all

Not useful at all

2

6.3%

Neutral (have…

Neutral (have no experience with this resource)

20

62.5%

Somewhat useful

9

28.1%

Very useful

1

3.1%

Somewhat use…

Very useful 0.0

3.5

7.0

10.5

Department of Labor [How useful are the following resources to you?]

Not useful at all

6

18.8%

Neutral (have no experience with this resource)

10

31.3%

Somewhat useful

14

43.8%

Very useful

2

6.3%

Not useful at all Neutral (have…

Somewhat use…

Online search [How useful are the following resources to you?]

Very useful 0

5

10

15

20

Not useful at all

124

Neutral (have…

Figures 142–143.

PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results. Author’s image.

Somewhat use…

Not useful at all

5

Neutral (have no experience with this resource)

24

75%

Somewhat useful

3

9.4%

15.6%

Very useful 0

Very useful 5

10

15

7

21.9%

20

What career resources do you use?

Not useful at all

5

15.6%

Neutral (have no experience with this resource)

24

75%

none

Somewhat useful

3

9.4%

Monster.com

Very useful

0

0%

Linked in jobs, indeed, SCAD job portal Mostly online research

Small Business Administration [How useful are the following resources to you?]

Military community services and online research I have tried utilizing AFRC, career services with my school, online searches with no luck in finding

Not useful at all

employment.

Neutral (have…

Local newspaper, hospital websites Friends and family referrals, online job search (company websites for example), military one source

Somewhat use…

Upwork.com

Very useful 0

Usajobs

5

10

15

20

Usajobs.gov, indeed.com, In Gear Careers, local career and business solutions website, governmentjibs.com, websites for local employers Monster.com, labor department, local college.

Not useful at all

4

12.5%

Neutral (have no experience with this resource)

25

78.1%

Somewhat useful

1

3.1%

Small business, indeed, college eebsites, and my support system.

Very useful

2

6.3%

Usajobs.gov and AHIMA

LinkedIn, State Deparments, Indeed, Moster, Flex Jobs & Power to Fly

school district websites, state wide school search engines

Friends or family [How useful are the following resources to you?]

indeed.com, idealist.com, linkedin.com Continuing education I continue to do online

Not useful at all

CareerBuilder.com, Fayetteville State University, local business bureau, NCBLPC,

Neutral (have…

Mycaa military one source.

Somewhat use…

Indeed.com Fort Leavenworth has an Army Community Service program and good pre­bachelor's program through

Very useful 0

internet/ use jobs, indeed

4

8

Barton Community College

12

SBA, business and trade magazines and podcasts, industry associations Not useful at all

5

15.6%

Neutral (have no experience with this resource)

4

12.5%

Somewhat useful

16

50%

Very useful

7

21.9%

Mostly online search Craigslist ADA, ADHA, University Alumni The website of the hospital I'm applying for ­ they all have career boards that aren't always posted w/ the monster job board. ­ I'll use local resources like the newspaper even.

What career resources do you use?

I just look at job postings for districts in my area Facebook, google, friends and family

none

USA jobs, state jobs, continue education Web pages

Monster.com

Continuing ed

Linked in jobs, indeed, SCAD job portal

Figures 144-145. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results. Author’s image.

Mostly online research Usajobs

How do you feel about the resources available to you career­wise?

125

USA jobs, state jobs, continue education Web pages Continuing ed

for medical coding it's not all great, hard to weed out the scams ­ for direct sales much easier ­ also many online resources for learning a trade ­ so all depends on what career you're looking for.

N/a

How do you feel about the resources available to you career­wise?

They are ok. It's just challenging as a military spouse because of constant changes

neutral

Pretty good

I'm for it.

Limited based on location living in

Descent It could be better

What career building activity do you need the most help with?

Unsure Not very familiar with options I don't feel good at all. It's been really had to find a job.

Very limited I look for my own. In my experience, those available lead me to do it myself anyway. Not very helpful There are a lot of articles related to my desired job Resources are helpful, but jobs for me or jobs for my transferable skills are almost nil or I'm overqualified

Where to sta…

What steps t…

Résumé Job search st…

Interview pre…

for the jobs where my skills are transferable.

How to start…

They could be better.

How to succ…

They are limited.

None

Other 0

4

8

12

16

They're not easily available and my Continuing Education Units (Ceu) are expensive to maintain for my certification.

I am satisfied with the resources available. not many available that are known about

Where to start (I'm not sure what I want to do)

7

21.9%

What steps to take (I know what I want to do, but I don't know what it takes to achieve my goals)

12

37.5%

I feel like the resources for finding a remote or flexible job are very limited and unhelpful.

Résumé

9

28.1%

Job search strategy (where to find a job)

18

56.3%

Interview preparation

4

12.5%

I am sure there are more resources available than I am aware of. If I was looking for a job I would probably be much more famililar.

Military specific resources don't help all that much. Networking is still the most helpful way to get a job.

How to start a business

5

15.6%

How to successfully run a business already started

7

21.9%

Other

5

15.6%

It's ok.

Umm okay I guess Not for myself, but the resources for military spouses are just not streamlined Armywide so they don't seem to know what to look for. Many military spouses are the target of heavily advertised for profit universities that can cause them to go into deep debt, reap few professional benefits and can even harm family mission readiness.

Usually not tailored to military spouses and our special family dynamics It's been better at some bases more than orhers It's fine The resources on post are not helpful in my field, specifically. for medical coding it's not all great, hard to weed out the scams ­ for direct sales much easier ­ also many online resources for learning a trade ­ so all depends on what career you're looking for.

N/a

126

They are ok. It's just challenging as a military spouse because of constant changes Figures 146-147.

PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results. Author’s image.

Pretty good

What are some career building problems that keep you from achieving your goals?

Advancement I have a history degree. Not the best choice, but probably should go back for something else useful or go for a masters.

Having knowledge of management but no professions experience and the process to move up is time consuming. Always start low and work up which affects pay.

Not enough support, babysitting needs etc Being demoted at PCS and maintaining benefits Stability and childcare Paying for the extra certifications. My husband is an E6. I cannot utilize a lot of the resources at his rank.

Every time we move, I have to start over with a new hospital. Most of them want a certain amount of time in their facility before I can advance to charge nurse or educating others.

Networking, finding new partnership, finances

Being demoted at PCS and maintaining benefits

Myself, busy with my family needs.

Stability and childcare

Translating my skills to jobs

Paying for the extra certifications. My husband is an E6. I cannot utilize a lot of the resources at his rank.

Every time we move, I have to start over with a new hospital. Most of them want a certain amount of time in their facility before I can advance to charge nurse or educating others.

Networking, finding new partnership, finances Finding consistent work Not sure Frequent moves Companies do not like that I have moved and makes it difficult to continue to be promoted. They want leaders to stay with the company.

Money Moving too much to gain valuable experience; too expensive to go back to school or volunteer (childcare expenses if volunteering) none moving all the time I constantly worry how I will build a career while having to move with my boyfriend every few years. I know what I want to do and they type of organization that I want to work for and it worries me that I will have to sacrifice my happiness in my career to move around constantly.

Writing a resume.

Frequent moving, Unpredictable PCS schedule and future location Training N/a I see military families suffer because spouses (mostly women here on Fort Leavenworth) must move before they have had the chance to establish themselves professionally. They don't have the time to advance themselves in their career and are often underpaid because of frequent moves.

Being transient so employers don't consider my application, no continuity in networking, lack of local resources I don't know what to do next Getting my business known Short dwell time makes it difficult to network and make for a choppy resume. This is especially difficult when you have the added wait on licensure. interest ­ or necessity isn't there None Time management with husband's busy schedule Myself, busy with my family needs.

Translating my skills to jobs

Would career portability help solve those problems? What else do you think would?

Would career portability help solve those problems? What else do you think would?

Yes No not really Yes, cause I could do it anywhere.

Depends on what it was career wise. More resources Yes I would be most helpful to have a understanding community that will try and work with spouses so we can get meaningful employment in our chosen professions.

Not sure Established networks with efficient resources Education on advertising a potable career with each move. Where to find new clientele.

More informed career councilors and a workable program between the military and spouses.

Yes! Yes I think it would. Make MyCAA available for all rank spouses can help too. nothing yes, school portability In real estate it is a matter of meeting people where you go to make it successful in each location.

Establishing yourself in the community and learning the community.

I can't think of any careers other than retail, customer service, and banking to be portable. Literally any career that requires a license would not be easily portable. So no matter how much training a person receives, it'll not make finding job in a new location easy. In fact, the more education, the more likely that career will require licensing, and the less portable it will be.

More than likely.

N/a Yes, I believe nationwide companies not affiliated with the Department of Defense should be approached about understanding military spouse career portability.

Yes and a virtual network More education I have no idea Absolutely, but longer assignments at a duty station would help too. n/a If I was new to teaching, yes!

No. Not sure.

It might, and me knowing what I would like to do.

Yes No

Figures 148–149. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results. Author’s image. not really

Yes, cause I could do it anywhere.

127

I made more money teaching.

I lived somehwere long enough to finish a career program I could keep one job.

BONUS. Describe the ideal career situation by finishing the following statement.

Wouldn't it be nice if...

I could teach at both the college level and teach yoga­ which by September 2017, I should be able to

Your life experience counted as employment

and excellence in our workforce. We have a brain drain in our state and we need them. The Department

I could work for USAA on my own time or a company such as that where I could go anywhere and still

of Defense needs to take military spouse career portability seriously. I have seen years of not being able

work. Or do what Cheryl does and have the knowledge she does to work for businesses to develop their

More military spouses were able to enter the workforce in my community and raise the level of education

to achieve one's professional goals lead to divorce, severe emotional health issues, financial problems

websites.

for Soldier families that can lead to security clearance issues. This is a mission readiness problem.

Something I could do at home that doesn't involve sales

I could work for a national nonprofit that allowed me to work remotely when my family PCSes and I could

When moving I didn't have to start over with my same company I can work from anywhere.

I could actually find a job that will hire mil spouses.

My nursing license was good in all states. Currently, my license is good in several states, and I am licensed in a couple others. I'm somewhat afraid to let my current licenses from other states go.

Therefore I pay my licensing fees when due to multiple states just in case we move back to a state we previously lived in.

The resources provided would be more helpful in pointing people in the right direction I could be a legal virtual assistant and stay employed while relocating and still be able to contribute to my

retire from that company I could have a job thsts easier to progress.

I could open my own brick and mortar shop!

I found a skill that I enjoyed and work wouldn't be work, it'd be fun and exciting.

States had an interstate military compact and accepted teacher certifications as is rather than forcing teachers to recertify each time they move to a new location­­exams, especially multiple exams cost a lot of money. And in fairness I am sure some states are desperate for teachers and would take any states certifications, but not the ones I've lived in.

I could work from home without such a stress to family life.

retirement fund.

I could find a job that was flexible to my life, and provide financial support for my family.

More companies allowed for remote work options, especially for military spouses.

I could work wherever my spouse is stationed with decent pay

I ground finish college to be a vet There were grants or scholarships available for military spouses.

I made more money teaching.

I lived somehwere long enough to finish a career program

Number of daily responses 20

I could keep one job.

Figures 150-151. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results. Author’s image.

I could teach at both the college level and teach yoga­ which by September 2017, I should be able to

15

More military spouses were able to enter the workforce in my community and raise the level of education

10

and excellence in our workforce. We have a brain drain in our state and we need them. The Department of Defense needs to take military spouse career portability seriously. I have seen years of not being able to achieve one's professional goals lead to divorce, severe emotional health issues, financial problems for Soldier families that can lead to security clearance issues. This is a mission readiness problem.

I could work for a national nonprofit that allowed me to work remotely when my family PCSes and I could retire from that company I could have a job thsts easier to progress.

I could open my own brick and mortar shop!

I found a skill that I enjoyed and work wouldn't be work, it'd be fun and exciting.

States had an interstate military compact and accepted teacher certifications as is rather than forcing teachers to recertify each time they move to a new location­­exams, especially multiple exams cost a lot of money. And in fairness I am sure some states are desperate for teachers and would take any states certifications, but not the ones I've lived in.

I could work from home without such a stress to family life.

128

I could find a job that was flexible to my life, and provide financial support for my family.

5 0

APPENDIX D: PROTOTYPE TEST RESULTS

Results can be viewed in spreadsheet form online at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZGMATf5YQE01NrW1k3b4Rqlby--TmORxjCyuHD7iDaM/edit?usp=sharing 10/30/2016

MilSpo Career Solution A - Google Forms

10/30/2016

MilSpo Career Solution A - Google Forms

chereden@gmail.com

Edit this form

6 responses

16.7%

83.3%

View all responses

Summary

Online Consent I agree

6

100%

I do not agree

0

0%

I would prefer to use an existing account (like Facebook or LinkedIn) to sign up (for a new social media account for milspo networking)

5

83.3%

I would prefer to create a separate account to sign up (for a new social media account for milspo networking)

1

16.7%

2. Do you think it would be useful to find employer profiles on a military spouse social network for careers?

Yes

4

No

0

0%

Maybe

2

33.3%

33.3% 100%

66.7%

66.7%

Prototype A

2a. Do you know of any other resources that connect military spouses to employers online? If yes, please share who.

Usajobs

1. Are you active on social media?

Yes

6

100%

No

0

0%

NO

2b. On a scale of 0 to 3, how useful would it be to find employers who post jobs specifically for military spouses?

100%

not useful at all: 0

0

1

0

0%

2

2

33.3%

very useful: 3

4

66.7%

4 3 2

1a. What is your level of activity on social networks? not active at all: 0

0

0%

1

0

0%

2

2

33.3%

very active: 3

4

66.7%

4 3

0%

1 0

0

1

2

3

2

2c. When seeking an employer connection, where would you be looking for them?

1 0

0

1

2

16.7%

3

16.7%

1b. Select the online accounts you currently have Facebook Gmail

66.7%

Facebook

6

100%

Gmail

5

83.3%

LinkedIn

6

100%

LinkedIn

1c. Select your preference:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sAHXNz5RieKB6WT0s8OoQTYgZHq6QKs6jM7SYiLuQ3I/viewanalytics

1/9

Figures 152–153. PDF print of Google questionnaire prototype results. Author’s image.

Local (within 25 miles)

4

66.7%

Somewhat local (within 50 miles)

1

16.7%

Distant (more than 50 miles; likely where the next duty station will be)

1

16.7%

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sAHXNz5RieKB6WT0s8OoQTYgZHq6QKs6jM7SYiLuQ3I/viewanalytics

2/9

129

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MilSpo Career Solution A - Google Forms

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MilSpo Career Solution A - Google Forms

3. Would you connect to your milspo friends on LinkedIn or a similar network for military spouses?

Yes

4

66.7%

No

1

16.7%

Maybe

1

16.7%

16.7% 16.7%

100% 1b. Do you think this (outreach) service would work for you? If no, why not?

Yes Yes, possible

66.7%

1c. Do you have a need to seek out employers who are not local to you?

3a. Do you already have a large military spouses friend or connection network in place?

33.3%

Yes

4

66.7%

No

2

33.3%

33.3% 16.7%

Yes

3

50%

No

2

33.3%

Not sure

1

16.7%

50% 66.7%

2. How useful would it be for you to have someone keep your résumé, skills, and employment preferences on file to share with employers who are looking to hire?

3b. If you already have a large friend or connection network in place, where are you connected?

Email

0

0%

Facebook

6

100%

LinkedIn

0

0%

not useful at all: 0

0

1

0

0%

2

1

20%

very useful: 3

4

80%

4 3

100%

0%

2 1 0

MilSpo Career Solution B

0

1

2

3

2a. How do you view this (recruiter) service?

Prototype B

Positive

6

100%

Negative

0

0%

Other

0

0%

100%

1. How useful would it be for you to have someone (or an organization) network and establish relationships with local businesses for you? not useful at all: 0

0

1

0

0%

2

1

16.7%

very useful: 3

5

83.3%

5 4 3

0%

2b. Do you think this (recruiter) service would work for you? If no, why not?

Yes

2

Yes, would get oneself more exposure.

1 0

Yes, possible 0

1

2

3

3. How useful would it be for you to have someone advocate your qualifications on your behalf? not useful at all: 0

0

1

0

2

0

0%

very useful: 3

6

100%

1a. How do you view this (outreach) service?

Positive

6

100%

Negative

0

0%

Other

0

0%

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sAHXNz5RieKB6WT0s8OoQTYgZHq6QKs6jM7SYiLuQ3I/viewanalytics

130

3/9

Figures 154–155. PDF print of Google questionnaire prototype results. Author’s image.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sAHXNz5RieKB6WT0s8OoQTYgZHq6QKs6jM7SYiLuQ3I/viewanalytics

0% 0%

4/9

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MilSpo Career Solution A - Google Forms

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MilSpo Career Solution A - Google Forms

6

3.0

5

2.5

3a. How do you view this (networking) service?

4

2.0

3

Positive

6

100%

1.5

2

Negative

0

0%

1.0

1

Other

0

0%

0.5

0

100%

0

1

2

0.0

3

0

1

2

not interested: 0

3

1

0

0%

2

1

16.7%

very interested: 3

2

33.3%

50%

3

1c. If not interested (0), or interested but hesitant (1) , please explain why.

I prefer to use my degree(s) and skill­sets that I've already been educated, gathered experience and invested.

3b. Would you pay for this service? Why or why not?

I am a career counselor myself and I don't see how the classes offered could give me more information than I already know.

Yes

Cost and making the time.

Couldn't if not working

I am no longer a military spouse as of Jan. 2015

Yes, because someone has to set it up.

Yes, as long as it is a reasonable service fee

2. Have you participated in a career skills course presented by ACS or ERP?

3c. Do you have any suggestions for improvement; anything missing from this service?

66.7%

Yes

2

33.3%

No

4

66.7%

Cost to build? Getting all to buy into it.

NO 33.3%

MilSpo Career Solution C 2a. If you participated in a career skills course presented by ACS or ERP, how useful was it for you?

Prototype C 1.0 0.8

1. How useful would it be for you to participate in a career skills course? not useful at all: 0

1

16.7%

1

2

33.3%

0.4

2

2

33.3%

0.2

very useful: 3

1

16.7%

0.0

2.0 1.5

0.6

1.0

0

1

2

not useful at all: 0

1

33.3%

1

1

33.3%

2

0

0%

very useful: 3

1

33.3%

3

0.5 0.0

0

1

2

2b. Please explain why it (the career skills course) was not useful, limited, or useful to you.

3

Limited help N/A Did not pursue service

1a. Are you aware of the career skills courses available to you through Army Community Services (ACS) and or the Employment Readiness Program (ERP)?

Yes

5

83.3%

No

1

16.7%

2c. Do you have any suggestions for improvement; anything missing from this service?

No

16.7%

NO

83.3%

3. How useful would it be for you to participate in a career skills course online or on your own?

1b. Are you interested in participating in a career skills course for military spouses? https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sAHXNz5RieKB6WT0s8OoQTYgZHq6QKs6jM7SYiLuQ3I/viewanalytics

5/9

Figures 156–157. PDF print of Google questionnaire prototype results. Author’s image.

not useful at all: 0

0

0%

1

1

20%

2

2

40%

very useful: 3 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sAHXNz5RieKB6WT0s8OoQTYgZHq6QKs6jM7SYiLuQ3I/viewanalytics

2

40%

6/9

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MilSpo Career Solution A - Google Forms

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MilSpo Career Solution A - Google Forms

MilSpo Career Solution final Qs

2.0 1.5

[Image]

1.0 0.5

Which idea do you think would be the most useful? A, B, or C?

0.0 In person [3a. Where would you prefer to take a career skills course? (number in order of preference with 1 0 1 2 3 being most prefered and 4 the least)]

1 2

1

1

16.7%

2

2

33.3%

3

1

16.7%

4

2

33.3%

3

16.7%

A. Social Network

1

16.7%

B. Employer Outreach

4

66.7%

C. Education (career skills workshops)

1

16.7%

66.7% 16.7%

4 0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

A. Social Network [Please rank each idea in order of importance to you (1 being the most important).]

Online (virtual class, live) [3a. Where would you prefer to take a career skills course? (number in order of preference with 1 being most prefered and 4 the least)] 1 2

1

0

0%

2

2

33.3%

3

2

33.3%

4

2

33.3%

3

1 ­ most important

1

16.7%

2 ­ important

4

66.7%

3 ­ least important

1

16.7%

1 ­ most impor…

2 ­ important 3 ­ least import…

4

B. Employer Outreach [Please rank each idea in order of importance to you (1 being the most important).]

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

1 ­ most important

5

83.3%

2 ­ important

1

16.7%

3 ­ least important

0

0%

1 ­ most impor…

Online (virtual class, at my own pace, not live) [3a. Where would you prefer to take a career skills course? (number in order of preference with 1 being most prefered and 4 the least)] 1 2

1

3

2

0

0%

3

3

50%

4

0

0%

3

2 ­ important 3 ­ least import…

50%

C. Education (career skills workshops) [Please rank each idea in order of importance to you (1 being the most important).]

4 0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2 ­ important

Pick up or download a workbook to complete at my own pace [3a. Where would you prefer to take a career skills course? (number in order of preference with 1 being most prefered and 4 the least)] 1 2 3

1 ­ most important

0

0%

2 ­ important

1

16.7%

3 ­ least important

5

83.3%

1 ­ most impor…

2.5

1

2

33.3%

2

2

33.3%

3

2

33.3%

4

0

0%

3 ­ least import…

Are there any features that were left out that you would like to see?

No NO

4 0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

Do you have any other comments and or suggestions?

Great work, I like the concept.

3b. Would you pay for this service? Why or why not?

NO

Not if not working Maybe, depending on the quality of materials.

Number of daily responses

Yes Yes for a reasonable service fee

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sAHXNz5RieKB6WT0s8OoQTYgZHq6QKs6jM7SYiLuQ3I/viewanalytics

132

7/9

Figures 158–159. PDF print of Google questionnaire prototype results. Author’s image.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sAHXNz5RieKB6WT0s8OoQTYgZHq6QKs6jM7SYiLuQ3I/viewanalytics

8/9

10/30/2016

MilSpo Career Solution A - Google Forms 4 3 2 1 0

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sAHXNz5RieKB6WT0s8OoQTYgZHq6QKs6jM7SYiLuQ3I/viewanalytics

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Figure 160. PDF print of Google questionnaire prototype results. Author’s image.

133

APPENDIX E: WORKING WALL IN PROGRESS

MAP OF THE RESEARCH SPACE (8-9 MONTHS PRIOR TO PROJECT START)

Figure 161. Research matrix and questions mapped. Author’s image.

134

Figure 162. Sketch of the research space. Author’s image.

Figure 163. Identified scope of study then organized research into AEIOU buckets. Author’s image.

Figure 164. Draft sketch of research map space prior to digital rendering. Author’s image.

135

PRIMARY RESEARCH (WEEK 2 INITIAL INTERVIEWS, ACTIVITIES, AND SURVEY RESULTS)

Figure 165. Interview and visual storytelling activity working wall. Author’s image.

136

Figure 166. Survey results working wall. Author’s image.

MARKET RESEARCH (WEEK 3)

Figure 167. Working wall of competitors. Author’s image.

137

Figures 168–173. Competitor screenshots captured by author.

138

Figures 174–181. Competitor screenshots captured by author. Competitor screenshots captured by author.

139

RESEARCH SYNTHESIS (WEEK 4)

140

Figure 182. Working wall from a distance. Author’s image.

Figure 183. Interview data working wall. Author’s image.

141

142

Figures 184–187. Interview data working wall close ups. Author’s image.

Figure 188. Visual storytelling activity and interview data working wall. Author’s image.

143

Figure 189 Visual storytelling activity and interview data working wall up close. Author’s image.

144

Figure 190. Survey data working wall. Author’s image.

145

Figures 191–192. Survey data working wall up close. Author’s image.

146

Figures 193–194. Survey data working wall up close. Author’s image.

147

Figures 195-196. Survey data working wall up close. Author’s image.

148

Figures 197–198. Survey data working wall up close. Author’s image.

149

Figures 199–200. Survey data working wall up close. Author’s image.

150

MIDTERM PROCESS BOOK & INITIAL CONCEPT EXPLORATION (WEEK 5)

Figure 201. Defining career and portable careers. Author’s image.

151

152

Figure 202. Initial concept exploration working wall. Author’s image.

Figures 203–204. Initial concept exploration working wall details. Author’s image.

153

154

Figures 205–206. Mapping opportunities for design notes. Author’s image.

EXPLORATION AND PROTOTYPING (WEEK 6)

Figure 207. Identifying PMI on idea A-social network. Author’s image.

155

156

Figure 208. Identifying PMI on idea B-employer outreach. Author’s image.

Figure 209. Identifying PMI on idea C-education workshops. Author’s image.

157

Figures 210–212. Listing PMIs for each idea before organizing in process book. Author’s image.

158

ASSESSMENT AND VALIDATION (WEEK 7)

Figures 213–214. Sketching out the wireframe and laying out the pages to navigate the site. Author’s image.

159

Figure 213. Re-writing the value proposition. Author’s image.

160

Figure 214. Mapping the business model canvas. Author’s image.

161

REFINING THE PROTOTYPE (WEEK 8)

Figure 215. Refining the prototype, selecting wireframe pages, and listing the adjacent online and offline activities. Author’s image.

162

BUSINESS AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (WEEK 9)

Figures 215–218. Writing out the goals and objectives with strategies. Author’s image.

163

Figures 219–221. Writing out the goals and objectives with strategies. Author’s image.

164

Figure 222. Organizing the goals and objectives with strategies. Author’s image.

165

Figure 223. Organizing the goals and objectives with strategies. Author’s image.

166

Figure 224. Organizing the goals and objectives with strategies. Author’s image.

167

References

References ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Bernard, H. R., & Ryan, G. W. (2003). Techniques to Identify Themes in Qualitative Data. Field Methods, 15(1), 85-109.

This article is about some of the most fundamental tasks in qualitative research. Outlined are a dozen techniques used by social scientists to discover themes in texts.

The techniques shared here will help during the data analysis and processing phase of this project. They are tools to help do better research.

Blakely, G., Hennessy, C., Chung, M. C., & Skirton, H. (2012, March). A systematic review of the impact of foreign postings on accompanying spouses of military personnel.

Nursing & Health Sciences, 14(1), 121-132. doi:10.1111/j.1442 2018.2011.00659.x Military spouses frequently cope with separation. This study reviewed the impact of foreign relocation to accompany a service member, and utilized 12 databases and other resources.

It produced four key themes: functioning of a military family on an international posting, loss, wellbeing and support.

This study will help to define the perceived emotional and psychological effects of the military lifestyle.

Castaneda, L. W., & Harrell, M. C. (2008, April). Military Spouse Employment: A Grounded Theory Approach to Experiences and Perceptions. Armed Forces & Society (0095327X), 34(3), 389-412. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from Academic Search Complete.

This study summarizes the input from more than a thousand military spouses who participated in interviews for this research on military spouses motivations for work and their perceptions of how the military lifestyle has affected their employment. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to examine the data. The findings demonstrate that most military spouses believe that the military has a negative effect on their employment.

This article supports the need for effective change and will help understand what motivates military spouses in their search for employment.

The information found in this article will help to form a base model for job search strategy to apply design management methods to.

Cooke, T. J., & Speirs, K. (2005, June). Migration and Employment Among the Civilian Spouses of Military Personnel. Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), 86(2), 343-355. doi:10.1111/j.00384941.2005.00306.x

Gati, I., & Levin, N. (2014, June). Counseling for Career Decision-Making Difficulties: Measures and Methods. Career Development Quarterly, 62(2), 98-113. doi:10.1002/j.21610045.2014.00073.x

This article compares civilian husbands and wives of military personnel with being a tied migrant. The results of the study provide evidence that being a tied migrant is disruptive to both labor-market status and hours worked, proving the assumption that wives are harmed because of their disproportionate status as being tied to the military service member.

This study gives another perspective of the obstacles military spouses face, and will support future primary research conducted for this project.

Eubanks, T. (2013, March). Life as a Military Spouse. Urologic Nursing, 33(2), 97-99. doi:10.7257/1053-816X.2013.33.2.97 This article helps to define the psychographic profile of the military spouse: she embodies honor, courage and commitment.

These are values military spouses need to assist them in being strong and resilient. Military spouses also assume various coping skills, which may cause personal sacrifices to be made in support of the service member.

Each military spouse has his/her own individual characteristics.

This information will be helpful in creating a variety of personas.

Fountain, C. (2005, March). Finding a Job in the Internet Age. Social Forces, 83(3), 1235-1262. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from Academic Search Complete.

This article covers how conducting a job search over the Internet is a trade-off between quality and quantity of information. It gives substance to the Internet as a job-search strategy and assesses whether searching online increased the short-term probability of finding a job.

This article is about career indecision. It discusses the use of three unique career indecision assessments and how they can promote the effectiveness and efficiency of face-to-face career counseling.

The ways these assessments can contribute to facilitating career decision making are explored with a case study example, and could prove useful in the ideation and refinement stage of this project.

Gleiman, A., & Swearengen, S. (2012). Understanding the military spouse learner using theory and personal narratives. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, 2012(136), 77-88. doi:10.1002/ace.20037 The military spouse student is a unique population that can be an overlooked source for study. Specific examples of how one can better understand and serve them are included in this article.

This information will help to provide insights for personas and empathy mapping. It will also provide insight to where, how and why some military spouses choose to start or continue their education.

Harrell, M. C. (2001). Army Officers’ Spouses: Have the White Gloves Been Mothballed? Armed Forces & Society (0095327X), 28(1), 55-75. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from Academic Search Complete.

The article presents information on research regarding the life and role of army officers’ spouses, and how this role has become time consuming. Military has the tradition of demanding adjustments from the families that often transform per the needs 169 27

of the military service. These wives often suffer a role strain due to the demand of the responsibility given them.

This will provide insights to the career decision-making process, and understanding why military spouses make the choices they make in sacrifice to the needs of military tradition.

Hisnanick, J. J., & Little, R. D. (2015, July). Honey I Love You, but ‌ Investigating the Causes of the Earnings Penalty of Being a Tied-migrant Military Spouse. Armed Forces & Society (0095327X), 41(3), 413-439. doi:10.1177/0095327X13512620 Prior research of being a tied-migrant has focused primarily on the working wives of servicemen. This case is about the husbands of servicewomen.

This study will give another point of view, and perhaps another persona, to represent a population of male military spouses that are often forgotten.

Lindsay, C., Greig, M., & McQuaid, R. W. (2005, January).

Alternative Job Search Strategies in Remote Rural and Periurban Labour Markets: The Role of Social Networks. Sociologia Ruralis, 45(1/2), 53-70. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9523.2005.00290.x This paper examines the informal methods, especially social networking, of job search strategies used by unemployed people. The analysis is based first on survey research then followed up with a series of twelve focus groups. The results suggest the need to address the problems faced by disadvantaged job seekers who are currently caught between lack of social network relations and the absence of local public employment service facilities in more remote communities. Many military installations are located in communities with limited local employment resources.

This paper will provide guidance on developing strategy on how to work with local communities. It will also afford observation of a job search strategy that cannot necessarily be casually observed in context without making the subject nervous.

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Maury, R., M.S., & Stone, B., Ph.D. (2014). Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF): Military Spouse Employment Report. 1-96. doi:10.15845/njsr.v4i0.264.s38 The data provided by this report covers the demographics of the target audience, including what types of jobs respondents held, and if their chosen field required any licensing or certification. It also offers conclusions to the reasons why military spouses are unemployed or underemployed. Most importantly, the study also gives insight into what programs offered have worked or not.

All of this information is key to increasing knowledge and awareness of military spouses’ needs and experiences. It also provides practical recommendations supported by the data collected to positively impact career trajectories of military spouses.

Mendel, J., MDes, & Yeager, J., MDes. (2010). Knowledge Visualization in Design Practice: Exploring the Power of Knowledge Visualization in Problem Solving. Parsons Journal for Information Mapping, II(3), 1-4. doi:10.1007/1-84628-579-8_5 This paper is about using visualization as a design activity for problem solving. It includes the four phase problem solving model which is similar to the analysis-bridge, Kumar and KaiserIDEO models.

With large amounts of data to be processed for this project, the models described in this study will help to bring order to come up with relevant and meaningful solutions through analysis, synthesis and insight generation.

Payne, D. M., Warner, J. T., & Little, R. D. (1992, June).

Tied Migration and Returns to Human Capital: The Case of Military Wives. Social Science Quarterly (University of Texas Press), 73(2), 324-339. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from Academic Search Complete.

This is a case study of military wives assessing the pattern and causes of tied migration as it relates to earnings. The frequent rotation of military personnel provides an opportunity to study the consequences of tied migration on a group of women whose moves are anticipated and largely independent of economic

factors. The effect is the inhibition of full use of previously acquired skills causing them to curtail return to education, experience and previous occupation.

This article gives insight to why military spouses give up or abandon previous career choices, and may help to define what drives them towards a search for a portable career.

Phillips, A. S., & Phillips, C. R. (2000). Using skills gained through voluntarism in job searches: A workable strategy.

Journal of Business & Psychology, 14(4), 573. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from Academic Search Complete.

This article is about various aspects of voluntarism. It integrates career-development voluntarism research with recent work from the job search literature. The paper includes specific suggestions for obtaining volunteer experience that targets employer-identified desirable job skills. Voluntarism is an alternate path many military spouses choose in lieu of salaried employment.

Examining the research in this paper may be applied towards mapping out the process and career development path of the military spouse.

Plantier, J. H., & Durband, D. B. (2007, December). 2007 Outstanding AFCPE Conference Paper: Assessing the Use and Usefulness of Current Financial Resources for Civilian Military Spouses. Journal of Financial Counseling & Planning, 18(2), 76-88. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from Academic Search Complete.

Most military installations have the resources available to operate as an independent community. However, access to these resources tends to promote societal disconnection leaving the military spouse with many misconceptions when it comes to certain life skills such as a job search. This study found that military spouses preferred to seek assistance from formal, nonmilitary resources and informal resources such as family and other military spouses.

The findings in this study provided implications for marketing to this population which could be helpful in determining how to reach military spouses with the design management solution to seeking a portable career.

Runge, C. E., Waller, M., Mackenzie, A., & McGuire, A. C. (2014, December). Spouses of Military Members’ Experiences and Insights: Qualitative Analysis of Responses to an Open-Ended Question in a Survey of Health and Wellbeing. PLoS ONE, 9(12), 1-18. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0114755 There are few studies on the experiences of spouses of military members, most of which are focused on the adverse impacts of deployment. This research enabled access to perceptions and insights on a broad range of topics, and uncovered issues of importance to spouses of military members that were not included or identified in a quantitative study. Most importantly, the findings provide a platform from which to explore the impact of military life on the non-serving spouse’s career.

This data will help to augment the primary research to be conducted for the project since it covers a wider range of military spouse demographics (including all branches of services) versus solely the army.

Schwartz, J. B., Wood, L. L., & Griffith, J. D. (1991). The impact of military life on spouse labor force outcomes. Armed Forces & Society (0095327X), 17(3), 385-407. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from Academic Search Complete.

The research presented in this article focuses on spouse employment and the underlying determinants of Army spouse labor force outcomes. Spouse employment is an important factor in a soldier’s commitment to military life, job performance, military readiness and retention.

Understanding the factors responsible for spouse work outcomes can help guide this project to improve these outcomes.

Sterrett, E. A. (1998, June). Use of a Job Club to Increase Self-Efficacy: A Case Study of Return to Work. Journal of

Employment Counseling, 35(2), 69-78. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from Academic Search Complete.

This study links self-efficacy theory with job club methodology.

Job club methodology is a practical strategy for group job search with specific activities designed to teach participants how to successfully conduct their own job search.

Design thinking may be applied to the methods used in this study to formulate new ways to conduct a search for a portable career.

Stiehm, J. (2000, August). Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women’s Lives. Millennium (03058298), 29(2), 489-491. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from Academic Search Complete.

This book asks “If a woman is ‘married to the military,’ who is the husband?” It examines the military spouse role in relation to Jane Austen’s assessment of being married to a military man in the nineteenth-century. The military spouse is defined by society by her relationship but also by her membership in a world insulated from the “real world.”

military are included. Family responsibility variables such as number of children and financial resources operate as barriers to the job search.

The information in this study will be useful because it focuses on the lower average family income service members. One other source covers the life of officers, who are on the higher end of the pay scale. This will also help to define the wicked problems military spouses face.

Yankow, J. J. (2004). The Geographic Mobility of Displaced Workers: Do Local Employment Conditions Matter? Review of Regional Studies, 34(2), 120-136. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from Academic Search Complete.

This study investigates whether low density of local employment and low average wage levels are associated with shorter wait times to migration. The information in this article will help to fill the gap regarding local employment conditions as they vary from one location to the next. It is for this reason that military spouses seek career portability. Understanding if or why they matter will give insight to whether or not local employment conditions are realistic or a perceived notion.

The military spouses’ perception of self, and society’s perception of the military spouse, will help to shape and define personas and construct empathy maps.

Trougakos, J. P., Bull, R. A., Green, S. G., Macdermid, S. M., & Weiss, H. M. (2007, October). Influences on Job Search Self-Efficacy of Spouses of Enlisted Military Personnel. Human Performance, 20(4), 391-413. doi:10.1080/08959280701522114 This cross-sectional study examines antecedents of the job search self-efficacy (JSSE) of spouses of enlisted military personnel. Individual circumstances either impact an individual’s mastery beliefs about job search skills or act as barriers, which can impede job search activity and efficacy through a form of resource drain. Mastery mechanisms of current employment status, education level, financial resources, and use of employment assistance programs offered by the

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References LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Market analysis: 2 x 2 axis chart A..................................................................... 24 Figure 2. Market analysis: 2 x 2 axis chart B..................................................................... 25 Figure 3. Market analysis: 2 x 2 axis chart C.................................................................... 26 Figure 4. Market analysis: 2 x 2 axis charts A, B, and C overlapped.............................. 27 Figure 5. Market analysis: 2 x 2 axis charts B, C, and A overlapped............................... 27 Figure 6. Project positioning: Zag steps............................................................................28 Figure 7. Research space map part 1................................................................................36 Figure 8. Research space map part 2............................................................................... 37 Figure 9. Consent form........................................................................................................38 Figure 10. Interview questions............................................................................................ 39 Figure 11. Interview & visual storytelling activity.................................................................41 Figure 12. Online survey questions.....................................................................................42 Figure 13. Data processing & analysis: summary of results collection methods 1 & 2................................................................................................................44 Figure 14. Data processing & analysis: summary of results collection methods 1 & 2 continued...............................................................................................45 Figures 15-17. Data processing & analysis: summary of survey results collection method 3.......................................................................................................46 Figure 18-22. Data processing & analysis: summary of survey results collection method 3 continued..................................................................................... 47 Figure 23. Data processing & analysis: common key words and themes wordle...........48 Figure 24. Less than half of all military spouses are employed, and they are well educated.................................................................................................49 Figure 25. “93% of military spouses are women”..............................................................49 Figure 26. More than half of military spouses are age 31 and over..................................49 Figure 27. “5 million total service and family members”....................................................49 Figure 28. Average monthly income is $1500-$4300 (depending on pay grade and years of service)..................................................................................................................49 Figure 29. Super woman multitasking illustration (Freepik.com, 2015).............................49 Figures 30-32. Photographs of military spouses. Author’s images..................................50

Figure 33. Data analysis: observations of career and family timeline..............................51 Figure 34. Insights mapped to design ideas......................................................................55 Figure 35. Visual display of relationships between proposed design ideas....................56 Figure 36. Venn diagram of how proposed design ideas combined create value.......... 57 Figure 37. Idea A and key activities.................................................................................... 59 Figure 38. Idea B and key activities...................................................................................60 Figure 39. Idea C and key activities....................................................................................61 Figure 40. Idea Q and key activities.................................................................................. 62 Figure 41. Final diagram for idea Q and key activities......................................................65 Figures 42-45. Basic components of the network wireframe page sketches.................66 Figure 46. Initial network user flow..................................................................................... 67 Figure 47. Additional basic component wireframe page sketch......................................70 Figure 48. MilSpo Careers Network Business Model Canvas...........................................71 Figure 49. Prototype development: Zag steps 1-9............................................................. 73 Figure 50. Prototype development: Zag steps 10-17......................................................... 74 Figure 51. Reframed product space and interactive flow overview................................. 76 Figure 52. Mock up of final prototype sample layouts on a mobile device...................... 77 Figure 53. Value proposition model.................................................................................... 78 Figures 54-56. Final prototype start and create profile pages........................................ 79 Figures 57-59. Final prototype user profile and exploration pages.................................80 Figures 60-62. Final prototype user’s network overview pages for each MilSpos and employer recruiters..............................................................................................................81 Figures 63-67. Final prototype sample responsive Web (mobile view) layouts..............82 Figure 68. Reframed product (network) space and interactive flow activity detail........83 Figure 69. Mock up of final prototype sample layouts on laptop and mobile devices....85 Figure 70. List of primary goals and objectives for the MilSpo Careers Network...........85 Figure 71. Marketing mix (strategy) for the MilSpo Careers Network...............................86 Figure 72. Business implementation plan for the MilSpo Careers Network..................... 87 Figure 73. Risk analysis for the MilSpo Careers Network.................................................88 Figures 74-78. Signed consent forms................................................................................. 93 Figures 79-83. Signed consent forms................................................................................94 Figure 84. Kerry...................................................................................................................85 175

Figures 85-87. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Kerry’s interview................. 95 Figure 88. Ava via FaceTime.............................................................................................. 97 Figures 89-90. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Ava’s interview................... 97 Figure 91. Amanda............................................................................................................ 100 Figures 92-93. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Amanda’s interview.......... 100 Figure 94. Genevieve........................................................................................................ 102 Figures 95-97. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Genevieve’s interview....... 102 Figure 98. Isabel................................................................................................................ 104 Figures 99-101. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Isabel’s interview............. 104 Figure 102. Happy............................................................................................................. 106 Figure 103. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Happy’s activity and interview............................................................................................................... 106 Figure 104-105. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Happy’s activity and interview................................................................................................................107 Figure 106-107. Happy’s visual life and career timeline...................................................107 Figure 108. Nicole.............................................................................................................. 108 Figure 109. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Nicole’s activity and interview............................................................................................................... 108 Figure 110-111. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Nicole’s activity and interview............................................................................................................... 109 Figure 112. Nicole’s visual life and career timeline............................................................ 110 Figure 113. Kellyn................................................................................................................. 110 Figure 114. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Kellyn’s activity and interview................................................................................................................ 110 Figures 115-116. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Kellyn’s activity and interview................................................................................................................ 112 Figure 117. Kellyn’s visual life and career timeline............................................................. 112 Figure 118. Liz...................................................................................................................... 113 Figure 119. Thumbnail scan of transcribed notes from Liz’s activity and interview................................................................................................................ 113 Figures 120-121. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Liz’s activity and interview................................................................................................................ 114 176

Figure 122. Liz’s visual life and career timeline................................................................. 114 Figure 123. Andi.................................................................................................................. 115 Figure 124. Thumbnail scan of transcribed notes from Andi’s activity and interview................................................................................................................ 115 Figure 125. Andi’s visual life and career timeline.............................................................. 116 Figures 126-130. Thumbnail scans of transcribed notes from Andi’s activity and interview................................................................................................................ 116 Figure 131. Amanda’s visual life and career timeline........................................................ 118 Figure 132. Amanda........................................................................................................... 118 Figure 133. Thumbnail scan of transcribed notes from Amanda’s activity and interview................................................................................................................ 118 Figures 134-135. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results........................ 120.

Figures 136-137. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results.......................... 121.

Figures 138-139. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results.........................122.

Figures 140-141. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results..........................123 Figures 142-143. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results.........................124 Figures 144-145. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results.........................125.

Figures 146-147. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results..........................126 Figures 148-149. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results.........................127 Figures 150-151. PDF print of Google survey and questionnaire results..........................128 Figures 152-153. PDF print of Google questionnaire prototype results...........................129 Figures 154-155. PDF print of Google questionnaire prototype results.......................... 130.

Figures 156-157. PDF print of Google questionnaire prototype results............................ 131.

Figures 158-159. PDF print of Google questionnaire prototype results...........................132.

Figure 160. PDF print of Google questionnaire prototype results....................................133 Figure 161. Research matrix and questions mapped....................................................... 134 Figure 162. Sketch of the research space........................................................................ 134 Figure 163. Identified scope of study then organized research into AEIOU buckets......135 Figure 164. Draft sketch of research map space prior to digital rendering....................135 Figure 165. Interview and visual storytelling activity working wall..................................136 Figure 166. Survey results working wall............................................................................136 Figure 167. Working wall of competitors............................................................................137

Figures 168-173. Competitor screenshots captured by author....................................... 138 Figures 174-181. Competitor screenshots captured by author........................................139 Figure 182. Working wall from a distance........................................................................ 140 Figure 183. Interview data working wall............................................................................ 141 Figures 184-187. Interview data working wall close ups..................................................142 Figure 188. Visual storytelling activity and interview data working wall....................... 143 Figure 189. Visual storytelling activity and interview data working wall up close......... 144 Figure 190. Survey data working wall.............................................................................. 145 Figures 191-192. Survey data working wall up close........................................................ 146 Figures 193-194. Survey data working wall up close........................................................147 Figures 195-196. Survey data working wall up close....................................................... 148 Figures 197-198. Survey data working wall up close........................................................149 Figures 199-200. Survey data working wall up close...................................................... 150 Figure 201. Defining career and portable careers........................................................... 151 Figure 202. Initial concept exploration working wall.......................................................152 Figures 203-204. Initial concept exploration working wall details.................................153.

Figures 205-206. Mapping opportunities for design notes............................................ 154 Figure 207. Identifying PMI on idea A-social network..................................................... 155 Figure 208. Identifying PMI on idea B-employer outreach............................................. 156 Figure 209. Identifying PMI on idea C-education workshops.........................................157 Figures 210-212. Listing PMIs for each idea before organizing in process book........... 158 Figure 213. Re-writing the value proposition................................................................... 160 Figure 214. Mapping the business model canvas............................................................. 161 Figure 215. Refining the prototype, selecting wireframe pages, and listing the adjacent online and offline activities..........................................................162 Figures 216-218. Writing out the goals and objectives with strategies...........................163 Figures 219-221. Writing out the goals and objectives with strategies........................... 164 Figure 222. Organizing the goals and objectives with strategies.................................. 165 Figure 223. Organizing the goals and objectives with strategies.................................. 166 Figure 224. Organizing the goals and objectives with strategies...................................167

LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Market Analysis: My SECO.................................................................................... 10 Table 2. Market Analysis: Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) Career Portal.................................................................................................................. 11 Table 3. Market Analysis: Employment Readiness Program..............................................12 Table 4. Market Analysis: Military Spouse Corporate Career Network............................13 Table 5. Market Analysis: In Gear Career...........................................................................14 Table 6. Market Analysis: National Military Spouse Network (NMSN)...............................15 Table 7. Market Analysis: MadSkills....................................................................................16 Table 8. Market Analysis: Blue Star Families Careers........................................................17 Table 9. Market Analysis: Career Spark [a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation].................................................................................................18 Table 10. Market Analysis: LinkedIn....................................................................................19 Table 11. Market Analysis: Après Group.............................................................................20 Table 12. Market Analysis: Monster.....................................................................................21 Table 13. Market Analysis: Indeed...................................................................................... 22 Table 14. Market Analysis: CareerBuilder.......................................................................... 23 Table 15. Research Sub-question 1 Matrix......................................................................... 32 Table 16. Research Sub-question 1 Matrix......................................................................... 33 Table 17. Research Sub-question 2 Matrix.........................................................................34 Table18. Research Sub-question 3 Matrix.........................................................................35 Table 19. Outline of work flows (steps 1–14) for a military spouse user.............................68 Table 20. Outline of work flows (steps 1–14) for an employer user....................................69 Table 21. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the business model..................................................................................... 72 Table 22. Timeline............................................................................................................... 92

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