Milicruit Partners with Military Friendly Employers to Support Military Families

CHICAGO, May 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Blue Star Families 2010 Military Family Lifestyle Survey, 49 percent of spouses felt that being a military spouse had a negative impact on their ability to pursue a career. Additionally, of the 61 percent of spouses not employed outside the home, 48 percent wanted to be employed.  In conjunction with the Joining Forces Initiative launched by the First Lady and Dr. Biden to give service members families the opportunities, resources and support to make the deployment of their loved ones a little bit easier, UBM's Milicruit presented the inaugural Military Spouse Appreciation Day Virtual Career Fair on Friday, May 6, 2011 in partnership with event sponsor Sears Holding Corporation.

Over 2,600 military spouses registered for the Military Spouse Appreciation Day Virtual Career Fair and more than 1,800 spouses attended.  On average, attendees visited nine booths with an average dwell time of 62 minutes.

The virtual career fair empowered spouses to meet and interact with military-friendly employers committed to hiring military spouses.  These businesses recognize the talent and value military spouses bring to the workforce.  Spouses who participated were able to build a profile which included their resume, walk the career fair floor, visit employer booths, view/apply for jobs, chat with recruiters and video interview.

Military spouse Melissa D said, "I thought it was great. Saved me a lot of time in searching for job openings, I was able to chat with someone to answer my questions and now all I have to do is follow up. This experience was much better than a live job fair because I didn't even have to leave the house."

The virtual career fair, which was free of charge for the job seekers to attend, represented over 12,000 jobs from 22 employers throughout the nation.  Several included Veterans Affairs- Vet Success, Citi, Verizon, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Tobyhanna Army Depot, FedEx Services, Rockwell Collins, Progressive, Waste Management, U.S. Secret Service, PepsiCo, Walgreens, U.S. Department of Treasury, FedEx Office, Amazon, ACS, A Xerox Company, Military to Medicine, Graybar, CB Richard Ellis and Sears Holding Corporation.  

"The United States would not be a free nation without the support of the military and their families.  When the men and women of the armed services go to war, their families do as well," said Kevin O'Brien, Vice President, Milicruit.  "It's a tremendous responsibility for military spouses to care for their families when their partners are at war. We created this virtual career fair targeted only to spouses to thank them for their contributions to the defense of our nation.  For military spouses our environment is a gateway to new career opportunities as well as a cost-effective and convenient solution for recruiters to seek new talent."  

In support of military spouses, Milicruit will offer two military spouse focused events per year. The next military spouse virtual career fair will take place in the fall.  In addition, Milicruit will host the Veterans Virtual Career Fair on June 23, 2011. For additional information, visit www.veteranscareerfair.com.

The Military Spouse Appreciation Day Virtual Career Fair was the first virtual career fair in Milicruit's perpetual environment, which is now open to all military personnel, veterans, and military spouses with high speed internet access, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The virtual career fair environment has been developed with the support of Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Wounded Warrior Project, Veterans Affairs - Vet Success, IAVA, Hire Heroes USA, Military Channel and the Student Veterans of America.

For additional information on Milicruit, UBM Studios or to purchase a virtual career fair, contact Kevin O'Brien, at (215) 525-5776 x101 or [email protected].

UBM produces virtual career fairs in education, chemical, technology and military in Asia, Europe and North America.  

To follow Milicruit on Twitter, visit Milicruit, to follow on Facebook visit Milicruit and to follow on LinkedIn, visit Milicruit Virtual Career Fairs.

About Milicruit

Milicruit is the recognized leader of virtual career fairs for military veterans, powered by UBM Studios.  Milicruit brings employers who are committed to helping veterans find suitable employment after serving the country together with military veterans and their spouses seeking suitable employment.  Given the large number of veterans looking to reenter the civilian job market, Milicruit allows employers and job seekers to meet and interact in an online setting.  For additional information on Milicruit, visit www.milicruit.com.  

About UBM plc

UBM plc (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetization of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities -- from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists -- with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to www.ubm.com.

Contact
Kevin O'Brien
UBM's Milicruit
(215) 525-5776 x101
[email protected]

SOURCE UBM Studios; Milicruit