Personal Branding Ambassadors Betty Welsh (second from left) and Bonnie Amos (second from right) with their spouses General Mark Welsh (left) and General Jim Amos (right)
Branding is an indisputable part of our everyday lives. Whether you’re picking up a can of soup at the grocery store or shopping for a reliable car, chances are you are constantly sifting through your perspective on hundreds or thousands of brands as you make large and small decisions every day. But while we tend to think of branding as limited to goods and companies, the truth is that the people in our lives each have a distinctive brand, too.
Stranded on the side of the road at 2 a.m. due to a flat tire? You know just who to call – your most dependable friend, the one you know will venture out on the rainiest, coldest night without hesitation when you ask for help. Working through a complex project at work? You always reach out to your most analytical colleague, who has a true knack for breaking down a major task into an achievable, actionable plan. Dealing with heartbreak? You’re already dialing your most empathetic sibling, the one always ready with a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear.
These qualities are more than reputation – they are part of a person’s brand, a reflection of the core values and strengths that make each of us unique. Our brand represents the value we provide to those around us at home, at work, and everywhere in between.
The term personal brand has been bandied about the business community (and the self-help aisle of your local bookshop) for around twenty years. In 2012 Hiring Our Heroes and Toyota recognized the potential that personal branding has to bridge the gap between military experience and civilian careers and launched the Personal Branding Initiative to support our service men and women and their families in their search for meaningful career opportunities.
You see, our service members, whether they served for four years or forty, have a tremendous wealth of experience that makes them an incredible asset for our nation’s employers. They are leaders and team players. They’re adaptable problem solvers. They have honed their skills as learners and teachers. Equally importantly, they are rooted in the values of their service, from honor, courage, and commitment to integrity, service, and excellence. But while service members provide so much value in the civilian workplace, they frequently lack the vocabulary to talk about their skills and experience in a way that hiring managers can understand and relate to civilian careers.
Military spouses face similar challenges. They balance the same family and career challenges their civilian counterparts face with the added uncertainties of military life – deployments that render them not just the head of household but also the sole executor on the home front, moves that necessitate the complete rebuilding of local professional and personal support networks. Military spouses don’t simply confront these challenges; they thrive despite them. As a result, they’re flexible and resourceful. They cultivate persistence and dedication. But they are often hamstrung by resumes that highlight frequent moves and career intermissions without speaking to the tremendous business value and inherent loyalty that they bring to the workplace.
The Hiring Our Heroes and Toyota Personal Branding Initiative is dedicated to providing veterans, military spouses, and employers with tools and resources to help reframe those conversations. Resume Engine, the first digital program debuted under the initiative’s banner, translates service members’ military records into industry-validated language. Career Spark, a second tool designed specifically for military spouses, builds resumes that showcase the skills developed through work and volunteer experiences. A transition education tour and hundreds of workshops on military bases across the country and overseas provide guidance for service members and military spouses working to build and communicate their personal brand to potential employers. Town hall meetings with hiring managers and recruiters engage hiring decision makers on tapping into the veteran talent pipeline.
A little more than a year ago, I was honored to join my friend Sgt. Dakota Meyer as an ambassador of the Personal Branding Initiative. Together, we’ve had the opportunity to travel around the country and meet with service members, military spouses, employers, and military and civic leaders to advocate for veteran and military spouse career opportunities and build avenues for collaboration that bridges the military-civilian divide. It’s been an amazing experience for both of us, and we’re so proud of all the initiative’s good work – and we’re also cognizant of the potential for the initiative to have an even greater impact. So in the coming months, we’ll be growing our team of ambassadors to include additional veteran and military spouse employment advocates. We’ve looked for ambassadors who are, of course, dedicated to our service members and veterans and their families, but who also together represent a diverse cross section of military backgrounds and experiences.
This week, I’m so pleased to have the opportunity to introduce the initiative’s newest Personal Branding Ambassador, my friend Betty Welsh. A military spouse of 39 years, Betty is a true subject matter expert on the military spouse experience. During those nearly four decades, Betty and her husband, General Mark Welsh, executed 23 moves (including three overseas tours) and raised four wonderful children while balancing two careers – his as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and hers in nutrition and fitness.
Like many military spouses, Betty augmented her professional drive with both flexibility and initiative as she forged a successful career path. Her degree in dietetics and certifications in various fitness disciplines led her to opportunities that ranged from nutrition and wellness counseling for a state health department to corporate nutritionist to recreation operations management for a private resort. She worked to create opportunities to thrive as a professional, and now she joins our team of ambassadors to support other military spouses as they seek to do the same.
In the years I’ve known her, Betty has been an incredible advocate for the families of our nation’s airmen, and Dakota and I are proud to join forces with her to champion meaningful career opportunities for all those who’ve worn the cloth of our nation and their families.