PCS to Corporate America

Our January 2025 Post Conference Review is live, and I always look forward to the weeks following a Career Conference and visiting with our recent alumni. It’s the culmination of an incredible amount of effort both from the candidates and our team. Seeing these talented JMOs, some having spent over two years in the Cameron-Brooks Development and Preparation Program, receive offers and make career...

Leaving the structured world of the military for the uncertainty of civilian life can be a daunting task. In this episode of the PCS to Corporate America Podcast , I speak with Mike Sweeney , a former Army junior military officer (JMO) who successfully navigated this transition over 20 years ago. Mike shares his insights and experiences on how defining goals, embracing preparation, and learning le...

Learn how Fran Lawler went from JMO to C-Suite. This former officer is an incredibly successful leader. She is a 1995 West Point Graduate, served six successful years in the Army as a Medical Service Corps Officer, and transitioned to a business career in 2001 through Cameron-Brooks . She earned her MBA at Harvard and has held high-level human resources roles, including several Chief Human Resourc...

Welcome back to another Post-Conference Recap. For the November 2024 Career Conference, we had three of our most recent alumni on a webcast to share their experiences about the Cameron-Brooks process and where they chose to launch their careers. Aine Armstrong – LT, Navy Supply Officer Maria Blom – CPT, Army Engineer Officer Haadi Elsaawy – LT, Navy Surface Warfare Officer They each offered great...

Welcome to another episode of the PCS to Corporate America Podcast . This is a special episode for me. I recently completed my MA in Organizational Leadership at Gonzaga University . I significantly changed as a leader and person as a result of this program. The Leadership and Hardiness class co-taught by Dr. Adrian Popa and Kelsey Solberg , which I took this past summer, particularly impacted me....

Happy Holidays from the Cameron-Brooks Team ! In this podcast, Cameron-Brooks team members from our company’s candidate and client sides share lessons from 2024 and what we look forward to in 2025. As usual, you will hear from Transition Coaches Brock Dudley and me (Joel Junker) , as well as two new voices from our client side, Lauren Kordzik and Megan Miller . We will feature them more in o...

In July of this year, I climbed Mount Adams in southern Washington, just across the Columbia River from Hood River, OR. I did this climb as a part of my Leadership and Hardiness class at Gonzaga University for a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership . I complete my degree four days after this podcast publishes! I learned much from my classmates, Team Denali, whom I prepared and climbed with,...

As we reflect on what makes Cameron-Brooks not just a company, but a community, one word comes to mind: gratitude. Every day, we are reminded of the extraordinary individuals who make our mission possible, and today, we pause to acknowledge the contributions that drive our success. We’re grateful for the dedication of our team. At Cameron-Brooks, every role is crucial, and the commitment our team...

What does a post-military career in Operations look like? In today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape, companies must find ways to optimize their operations, minimize costs, and meet customer expectations more effectively. The competitive advantage for any company is getting the right product, to the right customer, for the right price, at the right time by using the most cost-effecti...

Roughly half of the military officers who attend a Cameron-Brooks Career Conference are married when they are PCS’ing to Corporate America. Though we do not measure it, my guess is another 25% of the unmarried officers are in a serious relationship where their significant other plays a major role in the transition. Making the move is a team effort and a big deal. We know that firsthand becau...

Welcome back to another Post-Conference Review. For the August 2024 Career Conference, we had three of our most recent alumni on a webcast to share their experiences about the Cameron-Brook process and where they chose to launch their careers. Marina Muenster – LT, Navy Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer Ryan De Franco   – LT, Naval Aviator David Lara – CPT, Army Air Defense Artille...

Joel and I teamed up to talk about one of our favorite topics: Leadership! As some may know, Joel is currently a graduate student in the Gonzaga Master of Organizational Leadership program. He’s taken a couple of classes in heartiness and resiliency and read the book Leading at the Edge by Dennis Perkins,  so I gave it a read! In this episode, we discuss a couple of key leadership strategies that...

When Cameron-Brooks partners with a military officer, we really do view our relationship as a partner. I know when many officers find Cameron-Brooks, whether through an internet search, on social media or just through word of mouth, they often approach us with an immediate and short-term need. Namely, they are getting out of the military and want to find meaningful work that will allow them to use...

When a military officer leaves the military in search of a high-potential leadership career in corporate America, there are many ways they can use their leadership experience to launch their business career. One area where officers have launched their careers and accelerated is in the career field of business analysis. This is the career field where you will provide program, process, or project le...

When I interview junior military officers (JMOs) to determine their fit with the Cameron-Brooks program , I ask them to describe their leadership style. They often label their style as “I am a servant leader.” When I help the officers in our program prepare answers to the question, “What is your leadership style, or similarly, how do you build a team?” I hear much of the same, such as, “I use a se...

Let’s talk about a post-military career in professional sales. Business-to-business (B2B) sales is one of the most important functions in the business world. It is where a company that makes a product or service interfaces directly with a customer. As the name suggests, B2B sales is all about selling products and services to other businesses in order to help them meet their professional goal...

I think one of the hardest parts of the transition from the military is the unknowns and uncertainty about what is next. Not everyone experiences this uncertainty. Many JMOs who move from the military have their immediate future locked up, whether they choose to attend a full-time academic program such as an MBA or law school or if they work in a general schedule (GS) role for the government agenc...

We started this podcast 8 years ago on May 26, 2016 and as we’ve reached our 200th episode, we are extremely grateful for the officers with whom we get to work with on a daily basis.  We’re grateful to serve JMOs! We started the podcast with the goal of providing another avenue for military officers to hear and learn more about making the move from the military to the business world. F...

Welcome back! As Transition Coaches, a topic that we often help officers think through as they are making decisions about getting out of the military is short-term thinking versus long-term career thinking. It is completely natural for officers leaving the military to focus and think in the short term. They have a future date in which they are going to exit the military, usually with in the next 1...

Welcome back! This is the second installment in our Career Field series podcasts. In our first episode ( Episode 192 ), we featured three Cameron-Brooks alumni who explained their careers within the Engineering Management Career field. In this episode, we invited two of our alumni who launched their careers within Manufacturing. After listening to them, you’ll have a better understanding whe...

Welcome back! This episode continues our Post-Conference Review series. As many of you know, Cameron-Brooks holds five Career Conferences per year. After every Career Conference, we lead a webcast with a few of our most recent alumni to let them share their experience with the Conference and the follow-up interview process. Hear some real JMO transition stories. We continue to conduct these webcas...

Let’s talk about the value of the Cameron-Brooks Preparation Program. The number one feedback comment I hear from Cameron-Brooks Alumni is, “I wish I had started preparing earlier.” Regardless of whether the officer started 12 months or 2 months before interviewing, they all wish they had more time. Another common feedback comment I hear is, “The transition from the military to a business le...

Harry Truman, the 33 rd President of the United States, said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Therefore, JMOs should read. Leaders read because they continuously pursue learning and development. They know they never “arrive” and know everything. Additionally, whether they are politicians, business people, military leaders, teachers, or wherever they lead, they know thei...

Welcome back! Today you’re going to get three tips to manage your career after you transition to business. I am glad to introduce you to Kingsley Spiller . He’s a former Army Infantry officer who moved to corporate America in 2016. He spent his time in the Army as a Platoon Leader, Executive Officer, and Battalion Logistics officer and finished up his career with a deployment to Afghan...

Welcome back! We recently wrapped up our January 2024 Career Conference. The primary takeaway from the Conference is that companies remain motivated to pursue JMOs for their important leadership openings, and the prepared candidate will succeed at the Career Conference. Diving deeper, the key takeaways were: The Economy The economy tends to be a question on JMOs’ minds. Specifically, is the...