Cameron-brooks

Two weeks before former JMO Jenna Sanders attended her Career Conference, she wasn't considering sales as a possible career opportunity.  Based on the companies attending her Conference, I called and asked if she would consider a few sales interviews.  A few specific sales positions really fit her personality and interests; most importantly, because she was conducting a joint search with her spouse, Bryan, it would provide them with more overlapping locations. Jenna listened to me with an open mind, although she still had some reservations.  In addition to her other interviews in Team Leadership and Business Analysis, Jenna interviewed for a few sales positions and received several offers.  She chose a sales position with Textron Aviation.  She has since moved on from Textron and is now the VP of Sales at VistaJet. In this podcast you will hear about how she applies her experience as an Army JMO to succeed in her career.  You will also hear my envy when discussing her client engagements.  She has been to th

In this episode, I interview Cameron-Brooks alumnus John Edwards on the keys to building your professional network. John is a former USMC Logistics officer who transitioned to Corporate America in early 2014. He started his career working for an integrated solutions company focused on supply chain and packaging in the wine industry.  In his four years post-military, he has been very successful and has been promoted multiplies times. In this conversation, we walk through his career path and some of the projects and teams he's led. He also shares his thoughts on specific actions he's taken to be successful and gives some great advice which will be beneficial to both those already working in business, as well as JMOs considering making the transition. He also recommends multiple books: Getting Things Done by David Allen, Grit by Angela Duckwork and Mindset by Carol Dweck. He said all three of those books have been instrumental in helping him in his career. I enjoyed talking to John and think you'll benefit from

On this episode, I interview Dustin Mackie with Avalution Consulting to learn his 3 Keys to Success as a Managing Consultant. Dustin is a former Army infantry officer who transitioned to Avalution in 2013. He shares what it's like to work at a consulting firm focused on business continuity and mitigating IT disruptions within an organization. He then shares some ideas about what has made him successful thus far in his career and mentions some courses through Coursera (and another) and EdX that he has taken to help him be a better leader. He's also taking a course through Syracuse's Onward 2 Opportunity program. I had a great conversation with Dustin and we discussed a lot of helpful insight regarding his transition and career. If you are interested in learning more about a transition from the military to Corporate America, pick up a copy of PCS to Corporate America from Amazon. If you want to know more about Cameron-Brooks, visit our website here. Enjoy, Pete Van Epps

Time flies. Most are familiar with the saying. I have worked for Cameron-Brooks for 18 years now and, as far as I know, there isn't another professional out there meeting with JMOs considering a career transition with more time in the industry than me.  Yet, I still think I just started in this industry and have so much to learn. But even with that in mind, over the years, I have developed a few key JMO transition and career tips to help you on your path. In this podcast episode, Pete Van Epps interviews me about my background, Cameron-Brooks' experience and advice on making the transition, and succeeding in a business career.  While the interview lasts more than 30 minutes, my advice to transitioning officers or former military officers now working in business is pretty simple: Humility.  If you are not humble, life will humble you anyway.  Take time to learn from others and find mentors.  Realize you ALWAYS have a lot to learn. Go hard.  If you have humility, drive, work ethic, and energy to reach e

In this episode, I interview Sean Cooke, a Senior Compliance/Audit Engineer for Medtronic. Before transitioning to Corporate America, Sean was a US Army Engineer officer. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from The Catholic University of America and initially transitioned into a Design Assurance Engineer role with Medtronic. In this episode, we focus on overcoming obstacles in your first year of work outside of the military, taking ownership of your professional development and the keys to career progression in the business world. Head over to Cameron-Brooks.com or read PCS to Corporate America for much more information about Cameron-Brooks. Pete Van Epps

David Koch is an IT Project Manager at Godiva.He is a former USMC Communications who made the transition from JMO to a business career in 2013. David is leading multiple high-level projects for Godiva as his company continues to use technology to bring their world famous products to their customers. In this episode, the main thrust of the conversation is how David makes an impact at work by focusing on the people with whom he works, being authentic and leading with leadership. David makes the point that although he did have IT experience when he transitioned to Godiva, the real reason he's been successful thus far is because he recognizes that the most important aspect in any situation is people. We also talk about the advantage he sees in working with other former JMOs. In a future episode, we'll have David and two other former JMOs on to talk about their initiative to bring more military leaders into their organization.  I hope you enjoy David's experience and insight. Pete