Episodes

The November 2026 Career Conference is in full swing, and we are bringing back one of our top episodes. Joel Junker, Senior Vice President and Partner of Cameron-Brooks, sat down with special guest Frances Cole Jones, the author of How to Wow: Proven Strategies for Selling Your (Brilliant) Self in Any Situation. In this episode, they address the following question: How can a junior military officer impress a corporate recruiter? Schedule a free coaching session Here’s a note from Joel about his...

How Stoicism Can Help Your Military Transition: A 4-Step Guide for Officers If you’re a current or former military officer, there is a strong chance you have a copy of Meditations, The Enchiridion, or Admiral Stockdale’s writings on your bookshelf. Stoicism has many applications to life as a military officer. But how can it help you with your military transition? Stoicism helps your military transition by separating what you control from what you do not. You cannot control the hiring market or...

Join us for inside a JMO career conference with three alumni from the August 2026 Cameron-Brooks Career Conference, hosted by Cameron-Brooks career coaches Brock Dudley and Geoff Fries. Peter Carver and Jonathan Guilbe are both headed to Flowserve, in the nuclear engineering valves division in Raleigh. Bryan Bornn is going to Pacifico Energy in Dallas, building power infrastructure for data centers. What does a Career Conference actually look like? The August 2026 numbers: 47 companies 34 c...

Twice a year, Joel Junker sits down with our CEO, Chuck Alvarez, to talk about what’s actually happening in the business world and what it means for officers getting out. They’ll be discussing the JMO job market in 2026. Chuck leads the client side and has been doing this for more than 30 years. Joel leads the candidate side. This one covers a lot of ground. Chuck opens with the hard part. Geopolitical tension is as high as he’s seen in his lifetime, and that makes it difficult for companies ...

TALK WITH A COACH How can I go from junior military officer to the C-suite? In interviews, JMOs often get asked where they see themselves in ten or twenty years. The honest answer, the one most people keep to themselves, is often: running the place. Matt Beliveau actually did it. He got there by learning a new function from the ground up, staying long enough to build real depth, and understanding the difference between a mentor and a sponsor. Twenty-five years ago, Matt left the Army and st...

What Actually Happened at the June 2026 Career Conference Thirty-seven officers. Three hundred eighty-four interviews across two days. Every single officer pursued by an industry-leading company for the follow-up process. Two weeks later, most of the officers knew where they were launching their business careers. In this episode, Cameron-Brooks transition coach Brock Dudley sits down with two recent alums to talk through what the June conference was actually like and what they would tell an o...

In this episode, Joel Junker sits down with Saša Mirković, author of The Inspire Code, to talk about freedom, the importance of trust and conflict, and how leaders can build teams that can run without them. Saša’s story doesn’t start in the boardroom. It starts in Sarajevo. He survived the siege of the city in the 1990s, served two years in the military, and came to the United States after the war. In 1998, he applied to 385 jobs. He got one reply. He eventually landed at American Express Fin...

We are bringing you a special encore episode following a truly historic time in America: our 250th birthday. In honor of this milestone, we thought we would talk about another type of founding: the founding of Cameron-Brooks. In this episode, you will hear from our very own Mary Lou White. She is one of the founding members of Cameron-Brooks and has been helping Junior Military Officers transition from the military to Corporate America for over 50 years. Here she will talk about Cameron-Brooks’ ...

In this episode, Lauren Kordzik sits down with Cameron-Brooks alum George Pesansky to discuss what his 30 years of hiring and building teams taught him about JMOs, and why the best companies keep coming back to hire these great leaders. George Pesansky came through Cameron-Brooks in 1996 as an Army officer. He didn’t know exactly what was next. He just knew he was ready for something new. Thirty years later, he’s built a company, hired JMOs, and coached leaders inside some of the most complex ...

It’s a tale as old as time. You launch your Zoom interview, you’re looking sharp, and you see the hiring mangers on the screen in front of you. And after some brief small talk, the interviewer looks at you and asks, “So, tell me about yourself.” This deceptively simple question can be a make or break to your interview. It sets the tone and helps build that first impression. So, where do you start? Do you share everything about your background? Should I start with childhood? Just focus on your m...

The April 2026 Cameron-Brooks Career Conference has officially come to a close. We had 48 interviews, 51 companies, and 540 interviews over two days. Every single candidate was pursued. Every single candidate who entered the follow-up process received an offer. In this episode of the Cameron-Brooks podcast, Brock Dudley sits down with three recent alums to talk through what actually happened at conference and what they’d do differently if they were starting over. Learn how these three officers ...

30 Years of Conferences: What Michelle and Candy Want Every Officer to Know For more than 30 years at Cameron-Brooks, Michelle Spisak and Candy Belcik have worked with thousands of military officers navigating the transition from active duty to corporate America. In this mini episode of PCS to Corporate America, they share the honest, practical advice they wish every officer heard before starting their transition. Here are the key takeaways: 1. Lead with your leadership. Your degree matters l...

Tom Morin went from Army Infantry Captain to the Leadership Program at Extant Aerospace. Matt Horsley went from Marine Corps Logistics Officer to Financial Leadership Program at BD. Josh Klimek went from Army Infantry Captain to Operations at Macerich. Three incredible officers. Three success stories. All Cameron-Brooks, Inc. alums. These are just three of the officers are launching their business careers after our conference. On average, each officer had ~11 interviews. Most officers accept...

Military to Corporate Leadership: Dave Parmly on Navigating Career Transitions, Integrity, and the Trusting the Process With over 40 years of experience spanning the US Military, KFC, Pilot Company, and CSUSA Shoffner, Dave Parmly has navigated multiple career transitions and leadership roles. Each of these transitions required preparation, trust, and the willingness to listen and adapt. In our latest PCS to Corporate America podcast episode, Dave shares the leadership principles that guided h...

The Power of Mentorship From Military to Corporate America: Leadership Lessons in From A Supply Chain Leader, Jim O’Rourke Transitioning from military service to corporate America isn’t just about landing a job, it’s about preparing for a completely different operating environment. In our latest podcast episode, Cameron-Brooks alum Jim O’Rourke shares how humility, mentorship, and leadership frameworks helped him build a successful supply chain career after the military. Why Military Transitio...

A Year-End Look at the JMO Transition Market As the year winds down, a lot of Junior Military Officers are asking the same thing: What does the market actually look like right now? And what should I be doing about it? In the latest Cameron-Brooks podcast, our CEO, Chuck Alvarez, and Senior Vice President, Joel Junker, break down where things stand at the end of 2025. The short answer: the market isn’t easy, but there are still great opportunities out there. Uncertain Economy There’s no questio...

Check out our latest Alumni Panel after the November 2025 Career Conference. Brock Dudley sits down with: Cody Williams (Army Air Defense, Major | Caterpillar, Senior Production Manager) Ian Burgess (Air Force Intelligence, Captain | Twist Bioscience, Account Manager) You cannot control the market, but you can control how prepared you are. Cody and Ian started early, stayed open to learning, and trusted the process. In turn, their preparation led to fantastic, well-aligned career launches. T...

How Process Thinking Will Supercharge Your Military to Business Transition On this episode of the Cameron-Brooks Podcast, Senior Vice President Joel Junker sits down with Phil Ranck, founder of Lean Alaska and a retired Army CW4 logistician. Phil shares how Lean Six Sigma helped him shift from “fix the person” to “fix the process. Additionally, he shares why that mindset is critical for junior military officers (JMOs) moving into business leadership roles. More specifically, if you’re preparing...

From Army Artillery Officer to Managing Director in Consulting Lauren Kordzik, Principal at Cameron-Brooks, sat down with Cameron-Brooks alum Pat Curran to discuss his leadership journey from the military to consulting. When Pat left the Army in 2013, he had a strong operations background and years of leading teams under pressure. After active duty, Pat started his business career at EMCOR and later continued to grow his career at CBRE and through his MBA at Penn State. Today, he serves as Man...

In this episode, I sit down with Cory Bouck—former Navy Naval Flight Officer, Cameron-Brooks alum, and author of The Lens of Leadership: Being the Leader Others Want to Follow. Together, we explore how military-honed leadership translates into exceptional business results. Today, Cory is making a significant impact in the private sector at Johnsonville Sausage, where culture, coaching, and performance go hand-in-hand. Importantly, this is a great example of self-transcendent military leadership ...

Lessons from Cameron-Brooks Alumni on Military to Business Transition Success Each Cameron-Brooks Career Conference represents a major career event for our JMOs. In these military to business transition successes, officers together years of military service and months, (maybe even years of preparation in the Development and Preparation Program). Then, they interview with Industry leading companies in business. Our JMOs at the August 2025 Career Conference averaged 10.3 interviews over a two-day...

A Journey Toward Self-Transcendent Leadership In January 2023, I began a long-term goal to earn a Master’s degree. Initially, my intentions were to learn, grow, and yes, to “check that box” that I had a Master’s degree. While I did all three of those things, earning my degree in December 2024, what really happened is that I examined my leadership, who I was, who I was becoming, how I impacted others around me, and how I wanted to lead for the rest of my career. As I look back, I learned that ena...

2025 Mid-Year Review: How Junior Military Officers Can Win in Today's Market As we've passed the midpoint of 2025 and we look towards the end of 2025, our CEO, Chuck Alvarez, and Senior Vice President, Joel Junker,

Cameron-Brooks June 2025 Career Conference Review: Insights for Your Military-to-Business Transition Transitioning from the military to a professional business career is a pivotal moment for any Junior Military Officer (JMO). At Cameron-Brooks, our mission is to help JMOs navigate this career transition with clarity and confidence through a three-step approach: 1) Prepare 2) Search 3) Launch Our June 2025 Post-Conference Review offered a deep dive into the April Career Conference results an...