PCS to Corporate America

Military to business transition doesn’t have to be risky — especially if you have the right partner who knows how to make the transition successfully.  However, it does require one to step outside of your comfort zone. Cameron-Brooks Alumnus, Mike Burns , is a former Navy Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer who made the successful transition in 2014.  On this episode of the podcast, he shares ho...

Welcome back! On this episode of Above and Beyond, I interview Hunter Barns . Hunter is a former Navy Submariner who transitioned into a Senior Business Analyst role (one of several possible consulting careers for military officers) at Kearney , a global management consulting firm in 2014. Hunter launched his career as a consultant focused mostly on the analytical piece of consulting before transi...

Late last year, LinkedIn published the Veteran Opportunity Report with some concerning statistics.  Around 33% of veterans report being underemployed and 70% describe taking a step backward in responsibility when moving to the business world from the military.  The number one reason this occurs is that many companies do not understand the value veterans bring to their organization.   The majority...

Welcome back! In this episode we feature Jonathan Brewer . He is a former Army Field Artillery officer who transitioned to Corporate America in 2018 and is an Account Manager for Anderson & Vreeland .  When Jonathan came to the Cameron-Brooks Career Conference , he had 15 separate interviews and just about every company expressed interest in having him out for a follow-up interview. At the Con...

In this podcast, Pat Moesta shares the interview advice he would give other JMOs when preparing for their transition. Pat made a successful transition into the business world as a Brand Manager at Stryker back in 2017.  He is a USMA 2012 grad and a former Army Infantry officer.  When Pat attended the Cameron-Brooks August 2017 Conference, he converted 13 interviews into 9 company pursuits and had...

Welcome back! This episode is a bit different than our normal podcast. For this episode, Joel Junker is on the other side of the microphone. He shares his insight on how to answer the simple, but very important interview question “Tell Me About Yourself”. If you were ever going to rank people who give interview advice, Joel should be at the very top of your list. Not only did he transi...

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Cameron-Brooks Podcast. In this episode, Kilian Wald, Associate Finance Manager at Stryker , joins me for a conversation about his transition from an Army Air Defense Officer to a development candidate career in Finance with Stryker Medical .  In less than two years with Stryker, Kilian has already been promoted and earned a special assignment for...

Welcome Back! In this podcast episode, I interview Kirby Rolfe (Kastner) . She is a former Army Transportation officer who transitioned to Corporate America in  August 2016. She launched her business career with Boston Scientific as a Senior Production Planner. We had a great conversation and covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time regarding career management. She started by explaining w...

Welcome to another episode of the Cameron-Brooks Podcast!  Have you heard about Big Data, Data Analytics or Artificial Intelligence ?  Wonder why it is so important in business today? Curious how JMOs can break into big data career fields ? In this episode I interview Cameron-Brooks Alumnus, Jason Papale, who is a Senior Operations Business Analyst at USAA .  Most are familiar with what USAA does,...

Welcome back! I’m excited to bring you my conversation with Brian Fitzg erald . Brian is a former Army Infantry officer who transitioned to an Engineering Project Management role within Boston Scientific in 2016. We started the conversation by discussing Brian’s transition. He had 12 interviews at the Cameron-Brooks Career Conference and all of the companies he interviewed with express...

Several listeners have requested to hear about what it’s like for a JMO to work in the hi-tech industry.  In Episode 81, Cameron-Brooks Alumnus, Eric Dvorak, describes his work with the Corning Emerging Innovations Group .  We wanted to follow that episode up with another alum in the hi-tech industry but with a different type of company and business sector. Chazz Hoskins is a former Air Forc...

Welcome back! On this episode you will meet Eric Dvorak and learn about making an impact with no industry experience. Eric is a former Air Force Civil Engineer. He transitioned to Corning in 2015. Corning is one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science, with a 168-year track record of life-changing inventions. Corning applies its unparalleled expertise in glass science, ceramic...

What are the secrets for a JMO to launch a successful business career?  In our latest podcast, we hear from a Cameron-Brooks alumni on his secrets to success. Dave Dostal is a former Naval Aviator who now leads transformation and operational excellence improvement projects at Medtronic , one of the world’s largest medical device companies. Dave made the transition from the Navy to Medtronic...

Welcome back! On this episode, I interview Amber McColl . She is a former Army Intelligence officer who transitioned in 2015. Amber launched her career at EY as a Senior Consultant. She excelled in that role for two years  and then transitioned to an Operations Manager position. Much of our conversation centers around career management and the secret to managing your career. She highlights some ke...

We sometimes have to explain to JMO’s that just because you have never heard of a company does not mean that they don’t offer great potential career opportunities. Top companies you’ve never heard of can often present tremendous career opportunities. After all, not all Fortune 500 companies sell consumer products and services and are household names. If we stick only to what we know, we miss...

Welcome back! On this episode, I explore the role of grit in business success as I interview Cameron-Brooks alumnus Paul Young . Paul is a former Army Armor and Adjutant General officer who transitioned after Company Command. He launched his business career at All Risks as a Broker. He started in a business development role and he explains the grit and determination he needed to grow in his compan...

When one thinks of a military officer, a Marine Corps officer nonetheless, one does not immediately think of empathy in leadership. Empathy, the ability to share the feelings and understand another person, is a valuable trait.  In fact, this is what Chris Parks, Cameron-Brooks Alumnus from our January 2018 Conference, says is critical to business leadership.  In this podcast, Chris shares that his...

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 prepa...

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. ...

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 an...

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 Sear...

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 mi...

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...

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 co...

The junior military officer transition can be risky.  You are changing industries, companies, positions and most likely location.  You have to resign 4-9 months in advance without a job already in hand.  A lot can happen in that time to the economy and the job market.  If you have a family or a spouse/significant other, they may depend on you for income and benefits.  No wonder you might feel a li...