Cameron-brooks

What is a transition strategy? Do you need one? We tackle this topic on our most recent Cameron-Brooks podcast episode. Today, we're hosting another round-table discussion with Joel Junker and Pete Van Epps to share with you our THREE game-changing strategies for junior military officers looking to make the jump to business and WHY it's important to have transition strategies put in place. Deciding to step out of a career in government and into a career in the private sector is a BIG step. Our team works hard to provide different career planning strategies to the officers in our program ... and today, we wanted to SHARE some of these strategies with YOU. Everyone knows the old adage, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." One of the biggest missteps we see officers make when approaching a transition is assuming your military experience is sufficient preparation to successfully move to Corporate America AND/OR not starting transition research far enough in advance. Having a strategy is KEY to putting th

Welcome back to the Cameron-Brooks podcast. Today we're publishing one of our MOST DOWNLOADED episodes, "From USMA to Infantry Officer to Iraq to Senior VP of Supply Chain in Switzerland," with Steve Joachim. From the original podcast blog text, Joel wrote: Steve Joachim, USMA ’97, Iraq War Veteran and Cameron-Brooks Alumnus, talks about how he created a patent with other engineers on a surgical device that cuts through bone and helped turn around a declining medical device company. Steve rose to the Senior Vice President of Supply Chain for an $800+ million medical device company and shares how his career journey led him to live in Switzerland. This episode was originally published in 2016 - Steve has since moved companies and is now the Vice President of Operations at Oryx Additive. After re-listening to this episode, I can see why it's one of our most downloaded. Joel leads Steve through an ADVENTURE of a career journey. And I use the word "JOURNEY" with intention. Steve's career has taken him all ov

Welcome back! I am glad to introduce you to Lauren Kordzik. Lauren is an Associate Principal at Cameron-Brooks. Her role in the company is to work directly with companies who want to hire Junior Military Officers (JMOs). During our conversation, she shares more about why companies hire from Cameron-Brooks. Lauren has an interesting background - she came to Cameron-Brooks after successfully starting her career in the FBI. The bulk of our conversation centered around her role at Cameron-Brooks and her interaction with companies.  Her insight is valuable because most officers never really see the "client-side" of Cameron-Brooks until they attend a Career Conference. Lauren provides excellent perspective on how she helps companies better understand a JMO's background, why companies want to attend a Conference and how Cameron-Brooks vets companies who attend the Conference. She also explains the advantage of being a Cameron-Brooks candidate and shares the top Development Candidate competency that companies expec

Transitioning from military officer to business leader is a big change.  Military and business careers present different professional and personal cultures.  For example, they compensate and promote differently, and although the skills and experiences relate across the domains, functional experience rarely does.  It is a big change to leave the military and enter civilian life and a business career.  Change equals uncertainty, and often uncertainty creates caution, doubt, lack of confidence and sometimes these mindsets lead to fear.  This fear can then inhibit us from pursuing our authentic goals and, in this case, keep a junior military officer from taking the jump from military to business. To address this challenge, I spoke with Dr. Amber Selking, author of Winning the Mental Game, The Playbook for Building Championship Mindsets which goes on sale TODAY!  Amber holds a PhD in Applied Sport and Human Performance Psychology, where she did her dissertation on NFL players transitioning from their NFL playing

Today on the podcast, we're featuring a special discussion revolving around one of the most frequently asked questions that we are asked by Junior Military Officers: How much money can I make? A concern we often hear from military officers who are considering a transition is salary. Transition Coach, Rob Davis, covers the topic of compensation and salary in Corporate America. This topic often plays a significant role in the transition process for officers in our program, from just starting to consider options outside of the military to interviewing & deciding where to start the next chapter of your career. During our conversation, we discuss what kind of factors play into salary, the varieties and types of compensation, and other variables that can play into compensation when making a transition to Corporate America. After today’s discussion, we hope you’ll walk away with… - A better understanding of how compensation is structured in Corporate America. - What variables you could expect to factor into sala

Welcome back! I am glad to introduce you to Steven Sandoval. Steven is a former USMC Aircraft Maintenance Officer (F-18 Hornet) who launched his business career in 2018 as a Manager of Customer Service and Support at Textron Systems, a division of Textron. An interesting aspect of this episode is we recorded it just after he received and promotion to a Director-level position and was back at the Career Conference interviewing JMOs to backfill his position! Steven makes some great points about his decision-making process early in his business career that you can use and look forward to in your own journey.  Here are three key takeaways: Location Preference: Steven was just promoted to a Director position and he is relocating his family from Virginia to Boston. He admitted that he never would have even considered a position in Boston at his Career Conference in 2018. Why the change? His response was profound. He said, "Your perception changes so much when you are in control over it (location.) It is so differ

What are some of the biggest interviewing mistakes JMOs should avoid when transitioning to business? What are some tips for avoiding a verbal professional faux pas? We can help. After 50+ years of coordinating interviews with officers in our program and our client companies, we've learned a thing or two! Our team puts together five conferences per year, each averaging 500+ interviews over the span of two days. The success rate of our officers? For the past year, we've been sitting at 100%. Every officer in our program receives a personalized transition preparation experience, ranging from individual career coaching phone calls to mock interview preparation. However, we do know that interviewing comes with its challenges. We work hard to ensure officers in our program avoid some of the more common interviewing mistakes we've seen over the years. These are some of the most common interviewing mistakes we see JMOs make along with tips on how to avoid them. Self-Deprecation. Be sure to avoid any phrases

Internships vs. Recruiting Firms. What’s Right for You? (Part 2) We recently hosted a roundtable discussion, covering the topics of choosing to engage in an internship vs. utilizing a recruiting firm on the podcast. Joel and Pete listed the pros and cons of each, as well as detailed what options might be right for you. We'd recommend listening to that episode before tuning into "part 2"! During this mini-episode, we cover how an internship can align with the Cameron-Brooks program and what a day-to-day could look like. The topics include: The true purpose of the Skillbridge internship How Cameron-Brooks qualifies as a Skillbridge program The Developmental and Preparation Program (DPP) and how it forms and contributes to transition/interviewing curriculum What the day-to-day of an internship could look like for you How to inquire about getting the ball rolling with Cameron-Brooks We've had a number of officers complete their Skillbridge program through Cameron-Brooks! And - all of them have a

Recruiting Firms vs. Internships. What's Right for You? Today we wanted to discuss a hot topic as of late: internships. Traditionally, there were just a couple of avenues in which an officer could initiate and facilitate their transitions (like personal networking, recruiting firms, transition assistance classes, etc.). Now we've started to see and hear more about different military internship programs. The Dod has started a program called Skillbridge that seeks to help facilitate the transition and subsequent employment of military members as they leave the service. Many officers we speak with have questions about how an internship could potentially work in tandem with a recruiting firm. So how does an internship work vs. a recruiting firm? And what are the pros and cons of both options? During our rountable discussion, we talk about some pros of completing an internship with a company: - Perceived certainty - Immediate control over location - And more... As well as some cons. And some of the pro

Welcome back to Part 2 of the conversation that Cameron-Brooks Senior Vice President, Joel Junker had with alumni Melodie Nye, Carl Case and Mike DeBock. In this episode, we hear more from our alumni around the area of work/life balance. Joel specifically leads the discussion around: What are your personal hacks/habits for self-development?  We go through valleys or slumps where we are at risk of making a poor career decision. How do you overcome that and use that for career progression? What does work/life balance look like in your world?  Words of wisdom/parting advice.  There were also several authors, books on podcasts mentioned through the conversation including: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch Start with Why by Simon Sinek Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh The Dip by Seth Godin Atomic Habits by James Clear Podcast: How I Built This with Guy Raz Podcast: Exponential Wisdom by Peter Diamandis and Dan Sullivan Author: John Maxwell If you are interested in exploring your option

Welcome back! We recently surveyed our alumni, asking about topics for our annual virtual leadership panel. We cover a variety of leadership topics during these panels, but the two most popular topics centered around career management and work/life balance.  We have a special 2-episode podcast series featuring three great alumni stretching back all the way back to 2004.  Melodie Nye is a former Air Force Intelligence Officer who transitioned in 2010 and launched her career at Kraft Foods as an Associate Product Director. She is currently a Senior Marketing Director at Mars Petcare.  Carl Case is a former Navy Surface Warfare Officer (Nuclear) who transitioned in 2010 and launched his career at Ernst and Young (EY) as a Senior Consultant. He is currently a Partner at EY and leads the Financial Crimes Compliance Technology Practice.  Mike DeBock is a former Army Aviation Officer who transitioned in 2004 and launched his career at NextEra Energy as a Procurement/Commodity Leader and is now the Executive Pres

Welcome back to a special episode of the Cameron-Brooks podcast! During this discussion, our CEO, Chuck Alvarez, and Senior Vice President, Joel Junker, sit down to review the year that was 2021 and forecast trends for 2022. Reflecting on the last 12 months, we've all continued to navigate a virtual world and live with continual ambiguity. However, one thing is for certain: this past year kept surprising us. Chuck and Joel will review 2021 as a whole and look forward to trends for 2022. The topics will include ... Why 2021 was so unique from a job-market standpoint (perhaps the most unique in our company's history) What traits our client companies look for in Junior Officers when hiring for their next generation of talent The theme of hiring leadership talent Tips on how to mentally prepare for a transition Defining the military to business transition (and why it's SO important to define this early in the process) How defining your "why" can impact your military transition and career traject

Welcome back to another installment of our Conference Alumni Series. On this episode we hear from 4 recent Cameron-Brooks alumni who attended the November 2021 Career Conference share their conference experience. We really like bringing these conversations to you. It is one of our attempts to try and remove uncertainty from the transition process and ultimately give you confidence through this process. And what was really remarkable about the November 2021 Career Conference was that 77.8% of all interviews at the Conference resulted in the pursuit. That means that after the interview, the company expressed interest in having another interview. That is the highest pursuit rate in the 50+ year history of Cameron-Brooks! There are multiple factors that contribute to such an impressive conference result, but one of the key reasons is that the officers who attended the Career Conference were prepared to meet hiring managers in Corporate America.  On this episode, you will meet:  Natalie Snyder, a former Army E

Today on the Cameron-Brooks podcast, we're tackling a NEW topic that can be half of the equation when officers consider making a transition. SIGNIFICANT OTHERS. We're always believed that significant others make a SIGNIFICANT difference in the transition decision and process. And, at Cameron-Brooks, we like to ENCOURAGE involvement from significant others from the very beginning. It's a large life decision and requires a lot of thought, reflection and research. As we discuss the role of spouses and significant others in the transition decision, we thought "what better way to share tips and tricks than by hearing from the spouses of our own alumni?!" So I want to introduce you to my colleagues and new Cameron-Brooks teammates: Julie and Val! Julie and Val both had their spouses come through the Cameron-Brooks program, so they have first-hand experience in the transition experience as a spouse. We wanted this particular episode to cover the idea of, "... my significant other is thinking about making a tr

We speak with thousands of military officers every year about making a transition, and we've picked up on a couple of patterns. Our ultimate goal at Cameron-Brooks is to help ensure the long-term success of our candidates and our client companies. We've found that military officers who really set themselves up for success avoid this one thing when making their transition. The career do-over. Establishing a solid BASE of business experience the 3-5 years after making a transition is critical to building out your career progression. You wouldn't bake a wedding cake and stack the smallest layer on the bottom. The bottom layer is the largest to ensure its stability. Approach your career strategy with the same idea! Our candidates are searching for the long-term opportunities that will present both a good challenge and a reward. So, how do you avoid a career do-over? We've published a document that discusses exactly which mistakes to avoid and how to avoid them. You can download the document, here. We also tackle

What do business leaders have in common? They read. For the first 20 years of my life, I was not a reader.  I paid the price.  My verbal, reading and writing standardized test scores were average.  This was an indicator that I was missing out on a whole world of development and education out there.  Not until my spring break as a sophomore in college did I start reading.  I picked up a novel by John Grisham called, The Firm.  Not exactly a professional development book, but it kick-started my love of reading and took off from there.  Now, I have insatiable appetite for all kinds of books. If you want to be a leader, you need to be a reader (read this article by Forbes for additional reading).  Why? The business world and leadership is dynamic.  One way to not only keep up but to stay ahead is to connect with experts.  Most of us cannot schedule a meeting with a leadership expert like Jim Collins because we don't have the network to get in with him; we can't interact with a manufacturing and process improveme

When I ask officers in the military what they are looking to do when they get out of the military, I often hear something like, "I want to do something I am passionate about." When I follow up with a question, "Like what?" I typically don't hear a clear and specific answer. I think I know why. When a leader really examines what they are passionate about it's NOT a hobby like golf or surfing. It IS typically LEADERSHIP. I speak to former military officers all the time and the thing that I hear over and over again is they are passionate about leading teams, solving problems, leading projects, thinking critically and making a difference. Whether that is a medical company, a consumer packaged goods company or another company. That is exactly what the guest of this episode, Stevie Solano, said. Stevie is a former Air Force Aircraft Maintenance officer who transitioned in early 2018 and went to work at USAA in a business analyst role. In this episode we talk for a moment about her Air Force career, her experien

Welcome back for a special episode! Rob Davis, Transition Coach, interviewed 5 recent alumni of the August 2021 Career Conference for our post-August 2021 Conference review webcast. At the time of the interview, all alumni guests had already accepted an offer for employment. We really enjoy doing this type of episode because it gives those who are planning to attend a future Career Conference (or those who are curious about the details of the conference) a "peek over the fence" to how exactly everything went down. In this episode, Rob spends a few minutes sharing the "statistics of the Conference" - average number of interviews, pursuit rate, the companies who attended and the positions offered (see much more about this here). He also shares the interview schedule of a candidate from the Conference. Hearing the breadth of companies that just one officer interviewed with is very interesting. The variety of interviews coupled with the fact that no two officers had an identical schedule highlights that the care

Twenty years ago, Matt Beliveau transition from an Army Officer to a Human Resource Specialist at General Mills.  Today, he is the Chief Human Resources Officer of Sarah Lee Frozen Bakery.  To thank all of those who helped him along the way, Matt wrote the following post on LinkedIn.  It is definitely worth 3 minutes of your time to read. After reading his post, I reached out and invited Matt to be a guest on the podcast and share his leadership lessons. It was clear Matt knew that the transition from the military is more complex than just finding a "job" in the right location and having a paycheck.  Additionally, to make it to the C-Suite level, he managed his career well, finding mentors and sponsors while taking a proactive approach. In the podcast, Matt describes the complexity of the JMO to business leader transition that includes changing identity from military officer to civilian, learning a whole new functional role and finally a new company culture. Being a CHRO, Matt has great perspective on work

Welcome back to the Cameron-Brooks podcast! I am excited to bring this particular episode to you, because we have the pleasure of bringing back Chuck Alvarez, Cameron-Brooks CEO. Chuck has been with Cameron-Brooks for over 25 years, the last 9 of which has been at the head of the organization. He has personally helped over 2,500 JMOs move from the military to Corporate America, so he brings a wealth of insight and perspective to the conversation. Back on January 4, 2021 our Senior Vice President, Joel Junker, interviewed Chuck - his first appearance on the Cameron-Brooks podcast. In that episode (114), Chuck looked back at the year that was 2020 (and the massive ups and downs that occurred) and looked forward to 2021. He took time to fully describe the word "transition" as it relates to the JMO and how valuable comparing multiple opportunities in an interview process can be to finding the right career. That episode spawned two more episodes on each of those topics - Episode 116: Defining the JMO Transition a