Meet a Team Lead Thriving at Instant Teams

It’s no surprise that Instant Teams is known for (and so very proud of!) hiring the best military spouses for meaningful remote work. But, what is surprising for some learning about the company is that we also hire candidates without military affiliation. It’s a topic that comes up so often that we’ve added it first on our company’s FAQ list. 

Embracing Unique Talent  

Although Instant Team’s core mission is to employ military spouses, sometimes amazing and talented people without a military connection find their way to the organization, driven by their need for high-quality remote work.

And, if they’re the type of person who says this about their reasons for working with Instant Teams:

“My life has always been about helping people, and one of the things I enjoy about Instant Teams is their focus on helping people.” 

It’s hard to pass on someone with a servant’s heart looking for a satisfying work life with a purpose.

When the perfect candidate comes along, and he isn’t a milspouse, you embrace the diversity, appreciate his story, hire him as a Remote Team Member, and watch him grow into a successful Team Lead less than a year later.

This is a snapshot of Caston Countz and his Instant Team’s success story. 

He’s Relatable But Different  

Take a quick look at Caston’s professional and personal resume—military spouses will find it’s completely relatable. There’s a wealth of diverse experience, but it all points to helping others.   

• Highly educated. He has a Master’s Degree in Religious Education and Bachelor’s Degree in History and Political Science. 
• Excels at teaching. He has 20 years of experience as a minister. 
• Embraces creativity. He spent ten years as a musician writing in Nashville. 
• Entrepreneur. He created a business teaching kids piano and voice lessons.
• Constant learner. He was the Operations Manager for six radio stations.
• Relocates as needed. He moved with his wife to become caretakers for her mother.

While all military spouses can appreciate his experiences, far fewer can relate to Caston’s experience working for a predominantly female-led and operated organization as a male coworker. The simple fact is that most military spouses are women, so it makes sense that many of his Instant Team family are women. 

When asked about his status as a male colleague, he thoughtfully paused and said, “That’s never really been something I’ve given a lot of thought. If you’re competent and you’re good at what you do, I want to know why, and I want to know what I might learn from it.” 

Caston credits his ability to comfortably work as one of the few male employees to the strong female family influences growing up. He also credits his wife of 15 years, who he says is very independent, has had multiple successful careers, and currently works at home as a children’s book author and illustrator.

The Roads Leading to Instant Teams 

The pandemic has left no one untouched in some way, Caston included. In part due to Covid, he left his job as the radio stations’ operation manager and set out to find a new career path. He needed one that would eliminate long hours away from home, improve his mental health, and allow more flexibility for life’s big and small events like meeting his new grandchild and meeting his wife in the kitchen for lunch dates each day. 

Remote Work Is Here to Stay

It was obvious to Caston that remote work was here to stay, and he wanted to work for a company that embraced remote work trends and was a leader in work-from-home technology. The unexpected bonus, for him, was the idea that Instant’s Team’s mission was securing employment for servicemembers’ spouses around the world. 

Self Awareness and Personal Strengths  

Caston knew he needed a work-life change and had the self-awareness to recognize his 

strengths: a strong work ethic, adventurous spirit, readiness to learn, and last but not least, zero inclination to retire. In fact, he has every intention of growing and upskilling with Instant Teams for years to come. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he proclaims to be “a bit of a hermit” and loves the work-from-home lifestyle. 

The Need for a Compassionate Culture 

The work experience Caston brought to Instant Teams screamed ‘remote work success’ because he honed soft skills like creativity, innovation, and curiosity to support those in need. But, he also realized when you’re looking for the perfect job, you also need to dig into your ‘whys.’

Caston is quick to mention that Instant Teams’ compassionate culture was one of the first things that drew him to the company; he sensed the leadership invested in their employee’s well-being. At heart, Caston is a helper and knows compassion is a must-have quality for his work in the insurance industry so he knew the position with Instant Teams was a perfect fit. 

Instant Teams was invented to help military spouses manage the challenges their servicemember’s career puts in their employment path, but when the right candidate creates the right story, there’s a bit of kismet that can’t be denied. 

Caston’s search for quality remote work with a lean toward helping others started with a stumble onto a LinkedIn page. Think of what Instant Teams can do for you after taking the first steps toward your remote career.