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Many Junior Military Officers (JMOs) transitioning to business are curious about what to expect in an interview and what hiring managers want to see or hear. From a high level, they wonder how they should communicate their experiences to business leaders. Then they even worry about the more minor details. Do they call the hiring manager by their first name or more formally? Do you have the same questions?

Hear Directly from a Hiring Manager





You can listen to this podcast and hear directly from Erik Fihlman, who has hired JMOs for his global company for over ten years. Erik is also a former Navy officer, so he has been on both sides of the interview.



You will be surprised to learn that the most essential characteristic Erik looks for is someone who can carry on a conversation. This will blow the paradigm that an interview is a recruiter or hiring manager working down a list of questions; all the candidate does is provide answers. Instead, Erik explains he wants to speak to candidates who can share ideas back and forth, is naturally curious, and quickly builds rapport. He does not want a one-sided conversation.

Attitude is More Important than Credentials

Many JMOs think that knowing how to do the job is most important. Erik says that is not the case. He explains that he wants a winning attitude more than anything else. Someone optimistic who can succeed in adverse circumstances. He said he wants someone to collaborate with people within and outside the company. Erik, like many hiring managers who recruit from Cameron-Brooks, says he and other leaders in the company will teach the JMO how to do the job well.



Want to learn more about how to succeed in the interview? Contact Cameron-Brooks, and we can walk you through a 50+ year proven preparation program that will ensure you succeed in the interview and in your career.



To stay connected, we encourage you to check out our website and YouTube Channel and follow us on LinkedIn.



If you're interested in learning more about your transition options, please feel free to contact us.



You can also check out our Transition Guide on "3 Game-Changing Strategies for JMOs Making the Jump to Business" for additional transition tips.



To stay connected, we'd recommend subscribing to our YouTube Channel and following us on LinkedIn.



 

We are honored to bring this episode to you. You might say it's a story of "hoops to heroes". Last year, Melissa Miles, Cameron-Brooks alumnus from 1994, approached Cameron-Brooks and shared with us a project that she and West Point teammates Melody Lutz and Dena Caradimitropoulo were working on. Melissa (Miss) and Dena were USMA class of ’81, and Melody was USMA class of ’84. Miss, Melody and Dena were among the first graduating classes with women at West Point (the first class with graduating women cadets was the class of 1980.). Basketball was the first varsity athletics team that women formed at West Point. Those three, along with many others, were pioneers as some of the original members of the Army Women’s Basketball team.

A few years ago, Miss and Dena formed a nonprofit organization with the purpose of commissioning a professional writer to tell this special story, as seen through the eyes of West Point leaders, team supporters, coaches, and Army women’s basketball players. It covers from the start of the program in 1976 to the present day. It also covers players’ military and professional careers and contributions. Among the book’s themes are leadership, service to country, resilience through adversity, athletic accomplishment, diversity, inclusion and more.

The story of women at West Point has been told from several angles but never from the viewpoint of the Army women’s basketball team. It tells the story of how the team helped acclimate women to the academy, gain their acceptance and further the institution’s athletic and academy ideals — literally going from hoops to heroes.

In addition to Miss and Melody, Royd Lutz, USMA ’84, also joined the conversation. He and Melody were classmates and have been married for nearly 40 years. He, too, is a Cameron-Brooks alumnus (1989) and brings an excellent perspective to the conversation as someone who had a front-row seat as women started attending West Point and the Army Women’s Basketball team was formed. Fun fact: Royd and Melody’s son, Cliff, is also a Cameron-Brooks alumnus (2017).



I hope you enjoy listening to the history of Army Women’s Basketball. You can grab a copy of the book, as well as learn more at www.hoopsandheroesbook.org. We plan to record additional episodes in the future highlighting more stories and experiences from the book. For now, enjoy!



If you’re interested in learning more about your transition options, contact us.



You can also check out our Transition Guide on “5 Common Mistakes Junior Military Officers (JMOs) Make Transitioning and How to Avoid Them” for additional transition tips.



To stay connected, we’d recommend subscribing to our YouTube Channel and following us on LinkedIn.

Welcome back for another special episode where we will give you keys to interview success! Rob Davis interviewed 3 of our most recent alumni from the April 2023 Career Conference for our post-April 2023 Conference review webcast.  At the time of the interview, all three alumni had already accepted an offer of employment.  These episodes are particularly valuable as it allows those who are planning to attend an upcoming or future Career Conference a glimpse behind the curtain to how everything transpired.  It is also helpful for those just curious about how a Cameron-Brooks Conference runs.



Our featured alumni included:



Taylor Compton:  Navy Submariner, USNA '15 Applied Mathematics



Javy Rodriguez:  Army Infantry, USMA ' 16 Economics



Zach Thompson:  Army Armor, USMA '15 Military History



In this episode, Rob spends the initial part of the webcast covering some of the details, statistics, etc. about the April 2023 Career Conference and sharing some of the companies that attended the Conference, types of roles represented, and even locations of the roles.  He also shares a sample interview schedule of a candidate from the April 2023 Career Conference.  It is valuable and interesting to hear about the variety of companies and positions that an officer could interview with. The fact that no two officers had an identical schedule demonstrates the Career Conference is personally tailored to each officer's qualifications and preferences.  This ain't no job fair!



Some of the specific topics that were covered in this April Career Conference Recap included:







Key best practices leading up to the Conference that allowed the alumni to be successful.

Did the Conference meet, exceed, or fall short of expectations?

The biggest surprise from the Conference.

Were the alumni's preferences with regard to industries, positions, and location taken into account?

How the follow-up interview process works.







The panel fielded questions from the live audience along the way, which really brought a ton of perspective to the conversation.



If you want to learn more about how Cameron-Brooks can help you in your transition process or more keys to interview success, please contact us.



To stay connected, we encourage you to check out our website and YouTube Channel and follow us on LinkedIn.



You can also check out our Transition Guide on “3 Game-Changing Strategies for JMOs Making the Jump to Business” for additional transition tips.

Welcome back! We are pleased to welcome Connor Pratt to the podcast. Connor is a former USMC Logistics officer who attended the Cameron-Brooks Career Conference in January 2018— and the perfect example of how a prepared officer has options when making the transition to business. He spent eight years in the USMC and held many positions, including Battalion Maintenance Management Officer, Platoon Commander, Battalion Motor Transport Officer, and Joint Logistics Directorate Officer. Connor has a degree in Marine Transportation from the US Merchant Marine Academy. When he attended the Career Conference, he interviewed for roles in Team Leadership and General Management, Business Analysis, and Business-to-Business Sales.

Breaking Down Misconceptions

At the Career Conference, Connor interviewed with 15 different industry-leading companies, including Boston Scientific, Corning, Kaeser, and Altec. He intimately chose to work for Globus Medical, a world-leading spinal and trauma medical device company. He started his career in a business-to-business sales role, and we spent the first part of the conversation diving into his day-to-day work life. Because many Junior Military Officers have a skewed view of what life is like starting in a sales role, it is always good to hear from someone who has been at it for many years now and understand their perspective on the nature of the work.

A Prepared Officer Gets Results

Connor spent 13 months in the Cameron-Brooks Development and Preparation Program© (DPP) before attending the January 2018 Career Conference. During that time, Connor participated in a robust professional reading program, learned about the different career field options available to him, created a relevant and specific professional resume, and prepared to interview with multiple hiring managers. Through that in-depth preparation process, Connor attended the Career Conference and got every company he interviewed to pursue him. In this episode, he explains how he thoroughly engaged in the DPP to get those kinds of results.

Have Friends and HAVE FUN!

Connor's friend, Chris Wilkeson, attended the November 2015 Career Conference. The two pieces of advice that Connor gives that helped him to be more successful through the process are: 1) keep in contact with those who went before you and 2.) have fun. The first seems logical; the second seems counter-intuitive. That said, the officers that are more successful at the Career Conference are those who are prepared and, thus, have the mentality to have fun. At the Conference, you will meet a wide variety of interesting and experienced business professionals. Those officers who see that as an opportunity tend to have more success through the process; that is just more fun!



To stay connected, we encourage you to check out our website and YouTube Channel and follow us on LinkedIn.



If you're interested in learning more about your transition options, please feel free to contact us.



You can also check out our Transition Guide on "3 Game-Changing Strategies for JMOs Making the Jump to Business" for additional transition tips.



To stay connected, we'd recommend subscribing to our YouTube Channel and following us on LinkedIn.

If you are a JMO, do you have what it takes to be a Development Candidate?



I interview thousands of JMOs a year who tell me they want to leave the military and continue their leadership career in business. They express the desire for increased responsibility and the opportunity to grow and develop to reach their full potential. They want to become a part of the top 10% of leaders in corporate America. I get excited; they describe what Roger Cameron labeled the Development Candidate in the early 1970s when he helped companies discover the JMO.

Ability to be a Development Candidate

When Roger created this Development Candidate concept with his client companies 50+ years ago, he said it takes two things to be a Development Candidate: ability and desire. He then went on to say that ability is the easy part. Ability is the track record of success over time. A JMO who has been a leader and top performer in college and in the military, demonstrated by academic success and military evaluations, has the demonstrated ability to go on to a successful business career.

Desire to be a Development Candidate

The more challenging part of the equation is the desire. Too many JMOs want to be a Development Candidate but are not willing to make the necessary investments to become one. Specifically, in this podcast, I explain that I am hearing more and more JMOs say they want to be a Development Candidate but are unwilling to flex on exploring opportunities outside of their ideal geography. Roger would say that this has always been the challenge for high-potential JMOs, but I feel it has even become more so due to the recent pandemic and job boom.

The Challenge with Making Location the Priority

During the pandemic, many companies were hiring for remote positions, and most JMOs at a Cameron-Brooks Conference had the opportunity to interview for one. They could have “their cake and eat it too.” Additionally, in 2021 and 2022, the companies that emerged from the pandemic were eager to hire. It was probably one of the hottest job markets I experienced in 23 years at Cameron-Brooks. With that, those JMOs transitioning in 2021 and 2022 had more opportunities to land a great opportunity in an ideal location.



This has all changed, and we have returned to the pre-pandemic market. At the start of 2022, according to Inc. Magazine, 20% of all job postings on LinkedIn were remote. That declined to 13.2% in December 2022. They expect it to trend down as companies start promoting hybrid work in the office three to four days per week. Indeed, many people still work remotely, but companies and even new employees have found it is best to start a new career in person and then later go remote.



Second, the Fed is raising interest rates to increase unemployment, which takes the pressure off wages and reduces inflation. We are experiencing this here at Cameron-Brooks, returning to a normalized number of openings at the Conference (though starting salaries have continued to increase).



So as the economy settles, job openings normalize, and companies return to in-person work, are you ready to adjust your career search strategy to get on board a leading company that will value your unique skillset, invest in you, and hires you into a position that will lead to increased responsibility?

Unpopular but Sound Advice

I realize that my ideas may be less popular and can seem hard. Some reading this or listening to the podcast might think I am only providing this advice because it makes it easier for Cameron-Brooks to work with a candidate. I ask you to take a look at the top leaders in companies. How many returned to their home city out of the military or after college and had their entire career there? Very few. They went to where they could grow, develop, take on challenging assignments, and build their experience.

Many blogs, books, and LinkedIn posts advocate negotiating the initial employment offer.  Their advice sounds well-intentioned and thoughtful on the surface.  They assume the company needs to provide a better offer, is holding back, and wants the candidate to negotiate. These resources provide the questions and statements to ask that will help the candidate earn more base salary, signing bonus, and potentially more vacation. Unfortunately, these well-intentioned advisors do not explain the risks of negotiating. When a candidate negotiates an offer, you are essentially turning down the initial offer and asking for a different one.



For 23 years, I have advised military officers on transitioning well into business.  Transitioning well includes earning and accepting an offer professionally.  When these officers bring up the idea of negotiating an offer, I first want to understand their reasons.  If their primary reason is that is what they are being advised or read, I explain to them the downside before they start a negotiation. I explain that they would essentially be turning down the initial offer.  There is a potential that the company could not just decline your request but withdraw the offer.  I have not personally seen that happen, but I have heard companies consider it.

Put Yourself in the Hiring Manager’s Position

Take a moment to imagine this scenario where you are a hiring manager.  You just interviewed this top-notch junior officer.  You want this person on your team.  You go through the appropriate approvals requesting a specific base salary, bonus potential, and benefits.  You have just expended some of your professional capital to get this offer approved.  You are excited to make this offer to the candidate you like.  Now, you present the offer, and the candidate asks for $10K more, five more days of vacation, or a signing bonus.  How would that make you feel?  Probably not as excited about the candidate anymore.  The relationship is not as strong as it once was.

Negotiating with Multiple Offers

Sometimes candidates want to negotiate offers if they have multiple offers pitting one offer against another, essentially trying to get the companies into a bidding war.  My recommendation is that if they are close, do not do this. Hiring and human resources managers do not want to do this. Sometimes, I support a candidate in asking for additional compensation if two offers are wildly apart; and his or her favorite company is the lower offer.  The candidate can go to the company and say, “You are my top company, is there additional consideration on the compensation?”  This gets the conversation started.  This is another critical point; if they deliver on a higher level, there is an expectation that you will accept.  You asked, you received, and now you have to give back—quid pro quo.



Do not negotiate an offer with companies that are not your top choice.  Be professional.  If you negotiate, you are telling the company they are your top choice. What if they respond positively and you decline the offer? No harm, right? You are not going to work there. Wrong, small world; the business world is even smaller.  Be professional and protect your brand and the brand for military officers entering business careers.

Negotiating and working with a Recruiting Firm

You should not have to negotiate if you are working with a recruiting firm like Cameron-Brooks.  The recruiting firm should work with the companies before they start the interview process to advertise and deliver their best offers.  Are there times Cameron-Brooks’ candidates negotiate? Occasionally, but it is rare because the companies advertise compensation and benefits packages before they interview, and when they offer, they deliver on those ranges.  Cameron-Brooks clients know that hiring candidates who come through our program is competitive.  They do a lot of work before the interview process to pres...