Karen Francis is the Installation Program manager for IVMF’s Onward to Opportunity – National Capital Area Region. She is a veteran spouse – Army Spouse and Army Mom. She loves working with our military spouse community and became a career coach to do so.

In this episode, Jen Pasquale is joined by the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families’ (IVMF) Karen Francis, Installation Program manager for IVMF’s Onward to Opportunity – National Capital Area Region. Karen takes a deep dive into IVMF’s professional development support program, Onward to Opportunity (o2o.) She highlights the significance of practicing patience when pursuing certifications. It can be advantageous to prioritize securing a job in your desired field first, evaluating its suitability, and then leveraging certifications to enhance your competitiveness within the organization. The conversation delves into how certifications can assist military spouses in demonstrating their value and showcasing their experience, despite resume gaps resulting from frequent relocations. Several popular certifications such as PMP, AWS Cloud, and Security Plus are mentioned. The episode offers an overview of available resources to aid military spouses in narrowing down career choices, obtaining certifications, and establishing connections with recruiters and hiring directors.