Cassandra Glubzinski's Relaunch Success Story

Relauncher of the Month

May 2023

Cassandra Glubzinski relaunched as a Military Outreach Coordinator at John Deere after a 12 year career break. As a Military Outreach Coordinator, she's responsible for coordinating the recruitment of transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses.

Cassie's marriage to an active-duty Army officer involved six different homes and three amazing children. Initially when her husband was posted in Hohenfels, Germany, it was Cassie's first experience with overseas duty stations. She learned that unless you speak the host language, it's very difficult to get a job. She filled her days with volunteer work, learning opportunities and couponing.
After her husband returned from his first deployment, they shuttled between duty stations in Arizona, New York and Maryland. Cassie continued to volunteer with groups/organizations like- Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC), the Family Readiness Group (FRG) and Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS)

At this point, her career break was over a decade long. She knew she needed to either go back to school or pursue certifications to show that she was serious about reentering the workforce.

She further connected with her network to schedule informational interviews. She learned that Certified Financial Planning (CFP) was a good fit for her, given her banking experience. Knowing how many military families struggle with finances, she knew that she could fulfill her passion of helping others in the military-connected community.

Click here to view the one-page profile we compiled to highlight Cassandra's career path!

After graduating from the MBA program in January 2022, I earnestly started my job search. I filled out many applications and tossed my resume around like confetti. I had no idea about tailoring resumes or customizing cover letters. Consequently, all my efforts resulted in no promising job leads. It wasn’t until a trusted friend encouraged me to approach my job search as the highly educated and skilled professional that I was, that my mindset shifted and my return to work really started. I took a LinkedIn class and updated my profile to include my #careerbreak. I didn’t want to hide the fact that I spent several years parenting my children and in volunteer roles that really enriched my skills and network.

We caught up with Cassie to dive a little deeper into her relaunch story and the advice she has for other relaunchers...

How did you update your skills in preparation for your relaunch?

To increase my career options, I sought out an MBA program that was an approved Certificated Financial Planner [CFP(R)] education program

For the next 20 months, I spent 50-60 hours a week on school work while balancing my family responsibilities. This was in the midst of COVID shutdowns when my kids were learning from home, and my husband was tasked with leading the efforts for COVID-positive cadets. It was a stressful time but it set me up for a successful career reentry.

After graduating from the MBA program in January 2022, I earnestly started my job search. I filled out many applications and tossed my resume around like confetti. The last time I was looking for a job, I just walked into an office, filled out an application, sat in on a couple of interviews and was hired. I had no idea about tailoring resumes or customizing cover letters. Consequently, all my efforts resulted in no promising job leads.

It wasn’t until a trusted friend encouraged me to approach my job search differently that my mindset shifted. I took a LinkedIn class and updated my profile to include my career break. I didn’t want to hide the fact that I spent several years parenting my children and in volunteer roles that really enriched my skills and network.

How did you decide where you wanted to work when you relaunched?

I got intentional with networking and targeted my job search efforts towards a company whose mission and culture were important to me. I had been following John Deere for many years.

My grandfather was a tobacco farmer turned construction professional that only used John Deere equipment, and he was an avid lifelong fan of the brand.

What resources did you use to help you relaunch?

I learned about a networking event where members of the military community could network with employer representatives of John Deere. I prepared for the event by doing a lot of research about the company and opportunities that were available. The day of the event, we were in “the homeless phase” of a PCS (Permanent Change of Station) where we stayed at a hotel and with family until we got the keys to our next house at MacDill AFB, Florida.
Despite the less than ideal office surroundings, the virtual networking event was a success and I was able to chat with people at John Deere. I let them know that I was so interested in working for the company that I was willing to learn whatever was needed to do a job and that I would take just about any role available in order to get my foot in the door. That willingness was appreciated, and led to an offer to work in a brand-new military outreach role at John Deere. I relaunched my career on July 13, 2022

Once you get an opportunity to talk with someone at your workplace of choice, be professional but human. Being excited about an opportunity is great and shows an eagerness to join a mission beyond getting paid. That excitement will naturally show itself, and it can help set you apart from other candidates. You can showcase your knowledge of the company while still being teachable.

What is your advice for other relaunchers?

Take the time to research and find the company you want to work for because if you get the job and it's not a good culture fit or the team is just not working well together, it becomes a burden to go to work. Suddenly the thing that you love becomes the thing that you hate.

Once you get an opportunity to talk with someone at your workplace of choice, be professional but human.

Being excited about an opportunity is great and shows an eagerness to join a mission beyond getting paid. That excitement will naturally show itself, and it can help set you apart from other candidates. You can showcase your knowledge of the company while still being teachable.

Did this story motivate you or inspire you!?

Do you have a relauncher success story of your own to share with us and the rest of the relauncher community?

Sharing your inevitable success is a great way to give back as your story will inspire and motivate other relaunchers, especially if your story is not the typical story that is told.

It is our hope that all relaunchers are able to see themselves reflected in relauncher success stories as we all know how important representation is. We respectfully ask you to share only the details of your relaunch you are comfortable sharing, but to indeed share your story with us so we can be sure to document and feature a more diverse population of relauncher experiences, backgrounds and identities.