Instant Teams Success Stories: Meet Grace
Obtaining remote work is a goal for many within the military-connected community. This is often due to the facts of military life: frequent moves and time apart from family due to deployments and trainings, all while juggling the day-to-day responsibilities of home life.
But for Grace, a determined military spouse, landing a remote job with Instant Teams was about so much more than the opportunity to have a sustainable career that would meet her family where they’re at. In fact, her starting role as a Guide (and now Skills Trainer for remote team members and team leads would give her the chance to focus on meaningful work while she faced one of her toughest personal battles to date.
A Snapshot of Grace
Grace is no stranger to the challenges of being a military spouse. In the last five years alone, her family moved every nine months.
Every nine months, Grace uprooted with her husband and their three children to a new duty station location. So it’s no wonder why she told herself she wouldn’t have a career. At the time, it was what she described as a hopeless situation. She never thought there was an option for viable remote work for driven, military-connected individuals like herself, and believed the only option was a string of temporary employment options.
That was until she connected with Instant Teams through the VirtForce Facebook group.
Instant Teams was hosting a rapid hiring event in November 2020, seeking to fill 100+ remote positions, with hiring taking place on the spot. Grace thought it was too good to be true that she could land a remote position that would provide for her family.
It can be difficult to spot what’s real and what’s fake in the world of remote job opportunities. While she considered backing out of the event — “I triple guessed it” — she decided to take a chance. Today, she’s glad she did. Not only has Instant Teams allowed her to find work she’s passionate about but also work that, in her words, would get her through a really difficult time.
Rising Up in the Face of Adversity
There are many unique traits that military-connected individuals possess, one being a keen ability to embrace change in the face of adversity. Grace certainly embodies this trait tenfold.
In August 2020, she was diagnosed with cancer. As a military spouse and mother of three, finding a career might not be easy following such difficult news in the midst of a pandemic.
But as you might’ve already gathered, Grace is far from ordinary.
How she handled the situation and took matters into her own hands shows how extraordinary she really is.
At the Instant Teams rapid hiring event, she was hired on the spot as a Guide. Her resolve to not set limitations on her skills and achievements helped propel her from a Guide to a Team Lead, Team Lead Educator, and now, a Skills Trainer!
What began as a role that matched her skills and experience has evolved into Grace discovering and living out what she loves to do each day as an RTM with Instant Teams.
“I think I work way too much because I’m obsessed with training others and having a career. Now, on the road to being cancer free, I’m trying to learn to balance remote work life and family life. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean your family shouldn’t get that feeling of you ‘coming home’ from work.”
Striking an effective work-life balance is an important goal, especially upon obtaining a remote position you love as much as Grace. What’s her biggest piece of advice for those looking to find similar success as a remote team member with Instant Teams?
“Have an open mindset to embrace change – just as you do in your military life. You can go a long way.”
In the end, finding a remote position with Instant Teams has given Grace the opportunity to do work she’s deeply passionate about, all while helping her navigate a trying time. And long-term? She’s equipped to take on another relocation whenever it comes her family’s way, knowing she has a career that’ll go with her in her journey as a military spouse.
