Cameron-brooks

On this episode of the podcast, I interview Austin Welty about his Conference preparation experience. Austin is a former USMC Infantry officer who attended the January 2019 Career Conference. After the conference, he launched his career as an Operational Team Leader at PACTIV. Austin has been a long-time listener of this podcast.  As a result, he suggested we do an episode about Conference preparation from the perspective of someone who recently attended a Career Conference. So, we did just that with Austin. Austin shares his first-hand Conference experience by walking us from weeks before the Conference up to the present. He talks about his journey from admitting he wasn't sure of his transition options to explaining the interest he received at his Career Conference interviews, and finally to where he is today. It's great perspective for anyone in the process of transitioning and preparing for a Career Conference. Enjoy! Pete

Are you a JMO considering a military transition?  Well did you know that one tire on a wheel loader for mining equipment retails for over $75,000?  Did you also know that the type of tire a farmer uses on their equipment significantly impacts future crop yield due to soil compression? Until I interviewed Mike Morookian, Regional Sales Manager for Michelin, for our podcast, I had no idea either.  Who knew the vast complexity of tires and their value in the mining, agriculture and transportation industries?  Mike had no idea either prior to starting with Michelin.  I even joked with him during the podcast that when he considered a JMO transition from the Army, I bet he never said to himself, "I want to transition from the Army and sell tires."  In fact, I doubt any person has ever thought that. Mike says he did not fully understand all of the opportunities available to him until he attended the Cameron-Brooks Conference.  He chose a career with Michelin in the Sales Leadership Development Program. He said 6 m

Welcome back! On this most recent podcast episode, we feature Ben Sewell's JMO transition from Army officer to Account Manager in Corporate America. Ben made the transition from the military to Corporate America in 2014. He's in an Account Management role at Altec. In this episode we discuss: What Altec is and what they do (learn more on their YouTube channel) Ben's customers and how he brings value to them Some of the best things about being in an account management/business development role How his military background connects to what he's doing now A specific deal he's worked on recently A typical day-in-the-life for Ben Career progression We feel Ben's experience transitioning from an Army officer to an Account Manager is so helpful to getting an inside look at a specific slice of Corporate America. Therefore, we hope it helps in your learning and discovery process during the JMO transition from the military to corporate career. Would you like more information on how to best transition to Co

Do you know the difference between a Job Fair and Hiring Conference? Unfortunately, many JMOs mistakenly think all transition searches and services are the same.  The reality is: most of these searches and services are Job Fairs that end up being more of a networking event instead of an interviewing opportunity. Cameron-Brooks breaks this mold. We defined the Career Conference and Career Search process. At our Career Conferences, JMOs interview for open positions with hiring managers, and the companies and candidates are matched based mutual interests and requirements.  In this podcast, Cameron-Brooks Alumnus, Kris French, explains the difference between the Job Fair search and a Cameron-Brooks Career Conference.  He knows because, before partnering with Cameron-Brooks, he went the Job Fair route with the Service Academy Career Conference. Kris is an USMA 2013 grad with a degree in Engineering Management and a former Army Engineer.  He is currently an IT Project Manager with ExxonMobil at their new campus

Welcome back to the Cameron-Brooks podcast on JMO transitions! This episode features Chris Wilkerson, a former USMC Combat Engineer Officer who transitioned in 2015 and went to work for Davita Kidney Care. Davita is a healthcare company focused on providing a suite of dialysis services to patients with End Stage Renal Disease. What did Chris know about kidneys or dialysis as he was exiting the military? Not much. What did he know about leadership, problem solving and process excellence? A ton! As a matter of fact, one of the main reasons he chose Davita was because the role gave him an opportunity outside of the military to focus on skills that he'd honed in the USMC. In this episode, he shares insight into his company and "a day in the life" of a Regional Operations Director. One of the key drivers of his performance centers around teammate retention and he also recommends the book Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay. To learn more about JMO transitions with Cameron-Brooks, visit our website

Hello! And welcome back to another episode of the Cameron-Brooks podcast: helping you find the best JMO job after leaving the military. In this episode, I interview Mike Wilkinson. Mike is a former Navy Surface Warfare Officer with a Bachelors and Masters in Communication.  Mike transitioned out of the Navy through the Cameron-Brooks Career Search process in 2016. Mike launched his post military career with Altec Industries which is a privately held company that is a leading supplier of products and services for the electric utility, telecommunications, contractor, lights and signs and tree care markets. They design, manufacture and sell products and provide services to more than 100 countries throughout the world.  Like many Cameron-Brooks Alumni, Mike shares in the podcast how he never considered such a company prior to the Cameron-Brooks process.  He chose Altec because of their strong values and culture.  In the podcast Mike explains that location was important to him and his spouse, Martelle.  However,

Hello! And welcome back to another episode of the Cameron-Brooks podcast for transitioning JMOs. On this episode, I interview Angela Jung. Angela is a former Army Military Intelligence officer who transitioned to Russell Reynolds Associates in January 2015. She launched her business career as a Research Associate and has been promoted twice since then! We start the episode by talking about her company and her career progression. From there, we get into the "The World Is Your Oyster" discussion where she describes the control she has experienced over her career and the difference between career management in and out of the military. She also shares advice on how to see your military background and a technique for connecting to functions in Corporate America. She gives some great advice and I think you'll appreciate her insight. To learn more about the Cameron-Brooks experience for transitioning JMOs, visit our website and check out PCS to Corporate America. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Li

Welcome back! During this podcast episode, I interview Dee Rodriguez. Dee is a former USMC Infantry Officer who transitioned to Corporate America in 2015. He launched his career at Preferred Materials where he started as a Project Manager. Dee has an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering and is working in the horizontal construction space. In this episode, Dee shares his transition experience, why he chose Preferred Materials, and how to define leadership in the day-to-day. As we got into the discussion about "a day in the life", Dee made an excellent point about how to find and define leadership experiences in the day-to-day work of a JMO. This is an especially important point because I find some JMOs struggle with seeing how their experience is relevant to a career in business. Dee breaks this down very nicely. He also gives some good advice about making it a point to learn exactly how your company earns revenue (he references The Goal) and also why it's so important to work with team members across th

Welcome back to the Cameron-Brooks podcast! We have a special year in review  episode as Joel Junker and I review 2018 and take a look back on the year we experienced at Cameron-Brooks. In this episode, Joel and I dig into the quality and quantity of companies who filled important and complex leadership roles in 2018. More than 100 different divisions of companies made offers to our clients across five conferences last year. On average, 45 interview rooms were in full use during these conferences, with companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, Stryker Medical, and more. We explore the complexity of those roles and the fact that companies are looking for great leaders AND team players AND those who are adaptable AND analytical AND have learning agility AND...  When Corporate America hires military officers into roles typically reserved in for industry-experienced hires, they are looking for something special. Lastly, we touch on corporate leadership rotational programs and explore the pros of

Listeners often give me feedback that Cameron-Brooks Podcast Episodes are "fresh" and "not canned or rehearsed."  When Pete Van Epps and I interview our Alumni for these episodes, we do not prepare them ahead of time and only edit episodes when the alumnus asks us to.  We want to ask the questions and then let the  Cameron-Brooks Alumnus provide an honest answer from his or her experience. Keep in mind this concept of allowing our Alumni to be honest in the podcast as you listen to C-B Alumnus, Josh Halu, explain how hard it was for him to agree to partner with Cameron-Brooks 5 years before he made the transition.  Because the Cameron-Brooks Partnership Agreement asks JMOs to wait until after the completion of our Career Conference before they contact other companies or recruiting firms to set up interviews, Josh feared he would be missing out.  Yet, instead he trusted Cameron-Brooks and the process.  Because of his trust, the line up of companies for Josh's January 2016 Conference "shocked" him.  He could n

When I speak to Junior Military Officers (JMOs) with engineering degrees, they often want to avoid doing engineering related work because they believe that companies would only hire them for their technical knowledge.  When I ask them to explain more about their perception, they voice concerns about being “stuck” or “pigeon holed” into one specific technical area within a company.  While companies absolutely need technical experts and engineers who want to further their expertise, the development positions Cameron-Brooks represent for those with engineering degrees are multi-dimensional where JMOs use their leadership, problem solving, project management and technical skills.  They also have the opportunity for promotion and increased responsibility throughout their company. In this episode, Scott Grigg, Cameron-Brooks Alumnus from November 2015, describes how he has used his Aerospace Engineering education and military leadership experience as a Development Candidate with Eli Lilly, an industry leading phar

WELCOME BACK! This episode features Peter Sceusa. Peter is a former Army Air Defense Artillery officer who transitioned to business in early 2014. Peter started his post-military business career at the consulting firm, PwC as a Senior Associate in Compliance and Data Analytics. He quickly learned the ins-and-out of that part of their business and shares some key insights on the podcast on how to get up to speed quickly in an unfamiliar environment. He specifically mentions using Coursera as a great platform to expand your knowledge in different areas. Peter also shares some interesting perspective into the world of consulting and why he chose PwC after the Army.  One of my favorite parts of the conversation came toward the end when he talked about what he focuses on regarding career growth, development and taking ownership of his career. He shares some excellent advice, including using your strengths immediately when joining a new team. He also shares how companies are  harnessing the power of the JMO, who

Welcome back! On this episode, I interview Melanie Mansbach, a JMO who transitioned to the biotech contract manufacturing industry. She is a former Army Aviation officer who transitioned to Lonza in 2016. She is managing a technical team of people who essentially produce very technical and intricate pharmaceutical products. Lonza a 120 year old Swiss company. They are a contract manufacturer for the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world. For the first half of the podcast, Melanie gives an in-depth description of what biotech contract manufacturing is and what she does in her Manager role. She has a lot of different responsibilities and it is very interesting to hear how her role relates to her military experience. We also get into the discussion of finding meaning in what she does, as well as and working with other JMOs at Lonza. Melanie has also been back to a Cameron-Brooks Conference as a Hiring Manager and gives some great advice to JMOs as they are transitioning and preparing to interview in

Location, location, location. While those are typically the top 3 criteria for opening up a retail business, it commonly seems like top criteria for a JMO transition. Yet, when JMOs narrow down a search based on location, they miss out on exploring many unique opportunities. Paul Speckin is Cameron-Brooks Alumnus who attended our April 2018

A lot of JMOs wonder why they should partner with Cameron-Brooks versus other recruiting firms or striking out on their own. They also wonder why they should enter a Cameron-Brooks agreement and wait to send out resumes or contact other companies until after the Cameron-Brooks Conference. In other words, they wonder, “How does this benefit

Welcome back! On this episode I interview Scott Holtman. Scott is an Operations Manager at a leading textile manufacturer. He's a former Navy E-2 Pilot who transitioned in January 2014. On this episode, we explore how to see an acquisition as an opportunity as well as: The value of conducting a broad career search and leading with your leadership strengths The large overlap of Manufacturing and Naval Aviation Scott's day-in-the-life and career progression as a Safety Analyst and Operations Manager What it's like to go through an divestiture and acquisition Scott shares some excellent insight about where he sees his career going, and I think you will be energized from his experience. His story is an interesting one, especially the twist and turns that led him to his current company after attending one of our Cameron-Brooks conferences. We also get into the conversation of what it's like to go through an acquisition process and what kind of opportunity can be present as a result.  We don't get a chan

Welcome back to the Cameron-Brooks podcast! On this episode you will meet Ashley Philbin, who talks about her first year in Corporate America. She is a former Army Ordnance officer who transitioned from the military after finishing an EOD Company Command. She had a perfect Cameron-Brooks conference, with 13 interviews and 12 companies that pursued her.

Welcome back! On this episode, I interview Trey McAfee. Trey is a former Army Chemical Corps officer who transitioned from the Army in early 2015 and is currently a Plant Manager at Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope. Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope is a company that primarily makes commercial glass for some very interesting and beautiful buildings across America. Trey was recently promoted and moved cross-country from Arizona to New Jersey. He attended our January 2015 conference, before starting his career at Oldcastle. I really enjoyed the conversation with Trey because we ended up talking about a broad range of topics, but tended to center most around making a difference every day. Trey has a really interesting background. We discussed: His partnership with Cameron-Brooks and why he choose to transition from the military. What 21st Century manufacturing is really like. His first year at Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope. The difference between production ("back end") and customer-facing ("front end") operations.