Virtual military spouse symposiums and military spouse career events are all the rage these days as more and more military families transition out of the service. Now the Defense Department's military family support office is getting in on the game with what they hope will be an interactive and helpful summit for spouses regardless of their current career situation.
The four day Virtual Military Spouse Symposium, May 15 to 18, will have 24 sessions broadcast by the DoD between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. Attendees can hit all of them or just some of them -- and the ones they miss will be archived and posted to re-watch within a month, officials said.
But this hardly looks to be your typical military spouse DoD webinar. With partners from military friendly corporations like Starbucks, to the head of LinkedIn's veteran programs, to yoga and culinary experts from the DoD, the symposium will include a wide variety of presentations and help, all linked to assisting spouses in their careers and work-life balance, officials said.
"While the Department of Defense Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program is focused on spouse employment ... we know there's more to supporting military spouse employment than just the job search," said Lee Kelley, a DoD military community and family policy official who is helping organize the summit.
Spouses who register for and attend all of the sessions during the symposium will receive a certificate of completion, which, in the right circumstance, could come in handy on a resume later, Kelley said.
The symposium will cap May 18 with a virtual job fair from 3 to 4 p.m. ET on the SECO Facebook page, the largest such event the office has ever hosted, with eight employers already signed-up -- and more expected.
Although the event is meant for spouses and DoD ID card holders, there is no registration gateway, so anyone can sign-up to attend, including military significant others who haven't yet tied the knot.
To register for the event and see all the sessions, go here (you may have to let your browser have a "security certificate" exemption before it will go through). We'll definitely be dropping in on at least a few!
