When it comes to hiring, veterans are often overlooked. Many organizations have worked very hard to bring their unemployment numbers closer to other groups with some success. However, there is one related group of candidates that is even more often overlooked: military spouses. This episode will examine why that is a mistake on the part of employers.
Our first guest is Lida Citreon, founder of LIDA360 (https://www.lida360.com/). A leader in reputation management and personal branding, Lida has worked with hundreds of international business leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals, designing and promoting authentic, passionate, and intentional reputation strategies that drive results. She also focuses on building up veteran and military spouse talent.
We are also joined by Tina Flores, SPHR and 16 year military spouse. Tina knows all about the struggles that mil spouses face as she’s seen and lived it all. She has had to give birth (2x) without her husband present, she’s had to let go of her former life during a move (New State didn’t recognize a former state’s law school…) and safe to say she’s been married to a man who has been home less than he’s been away. More recently in her career, she has been focused on the more human side of business and has found her happy place in human resources. She’s been performing HR-ish roles since 2011, but has recently made it her mission to focus on this niche as sourcing, cultivating, training, and reviewing teams is where she belongs.
Finally, we are also joined by Kayla Eberhardt. She is Program Coordinator, Entrepreneurship at the Institute for Veterans & Military Families (https://ivmf.syracuse.edu/). She is responsible for the coordination and support of objectives related to the growth of the Coalition for Veteran Business (CVOB) and the Center of Excellence in Veteran Entrepreneurship (CoE). Kayla brings a unique perspective to her role through her knowledge as both a former military spouse and daughter of a veteran entrepreneur.