Episodes

Stuck in a rut? Feel like you are on a professional plateau and not sure where you are going? Wonder if you are “traveling” on the right personal or professional path? Do you have clarity on your goals? If you have or are asking yourself these questions, good. That means you are human and you want grow and develop. I mean, if you didn’t have these questions, you would probably be okay with the rut and plateau. I am an overachieve and never satisfied with the status quo. There are pros and cons...

So, you're thinking about making a transition. But where do you start? Which strategies should you focus on first? - We live in the information age. Every generation after us will have more information and faster access than ever before.

So, here we are - July 2021. Is the economy back? Well, there are probably way too many factors at play to truly allow that to be a binary YES or NO, BUT at the Cameron-Brooks June 2021 Career Conference, the average number of interviews per JMO was 1...

Problem solving and project management are closely related, but they are not exactly the same. Personally, I differentiate them this way: Problem: I am getting one result when I am expecting or need a different one. Project: I like quality guru, J.M. Juran’s, definition “a problem that has been scheduled for a solution.” This podcast is not about how to solve problems or manage projects but rather how to answer questions about them in an interview and how to differentiate. We would have to wr...

Welcome back! I am excited to bring you my conversation with Cameron-Brooks alumnus, author, business leader and all-around good guy, CORY BOUCK! Our conversation weaves in and out of how Cory’s military experience has impacted his business career, how he’s propeled himself into greater levels of success, leadership, and career progression advice/observations (i.e. does your career need to be a ladder?). Cory shares his career journey during the podcast, so we will hit the highlights, here. Cor...

What are the most common resume writing mistakes and how can you avoid them? - Cameron-Brooks is a professional services firm and resume writing and consultancy falls under the term “services”. It’s actually one of the key steps before attending a Con...

Are you still in the military and either anticipating attending a Cameron-Brooks Career Conference or considering if a partnership with Cameron-Brooks is worth your while? If so, you’ve landed on the right podcast! In this episode, Joel interviews 4 recent alumni who attended the April 2021 Career Conference. Here is their background: Jeanece Kelly: CAPT, Air Force Force Support David Addams: MAJ, Army Aviation/Acquisitions Dorothy Krebill: CPT, Army Signal Jason McCarty: CPT, Army Infantry/...

Welcome back to PART 2 of our Frequently Asked Questions conversation! We covered the first set of FAQs on podcast episode 121. Our goal for these episodes is to help officers who are considering a transition (or who are curious) learn more about Cameron-Brooks as a transition resource. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) we cover: Timing – when should you start? What’s normal? As we discussed in Episodes 114 and 116, our purpose is to help officers “transition” and in doing so, avoid the early ...

Welcome back to another addition of the podcast! Many of the people who have chosen to partner with Cameron-Brooks already know much about our model – who we are, what we do, how we do it and our relationship with the companies who come to us seeking to hire Junior Military Officers. That said, even people who know a lot about who we are had to start somewhere. That start is usually defined by doing research and that research often includes an informational phone call with a team member at Came...

Welcome back! On this episode of the Cameron-Brooks podcast, we continue our series of interview tips to help elevate your interview game. Of course the ultimate goal in moving from the military to Corporate America is to chose the best opportunity amongst many and avoid any early career “do-overs.” More on that HERE and HERE and HERE! For now, here are the three most common reasons that we see as to why people get ruled out of interviews. Rapport! All too often I see an officer so focused on d...

I am frequently asked, “How do I answer the interview question, ‘What are your short- and long-term goals?’ when I’m not sure what I want to do for a career in business right now?” Over the past few years, we’ve written a couple of blog posts on this topic. One of the comprehensive posts was “Tips on Answering ‘What Are Your Short and Long Term Goals?'” in May of 2015. I encourage you to read this particular post and listen to the podcast where I expound on why recruiters ask this questions and...

Welcome back! This is the continuation of our conversation with Cameron-Brooks President and CEO, Chuck Alvarez all stemming from Episode 114. In that podcast, Chuck took a look back at 2020 and a look forward to 2021. From that conversation, he further defined the JMO “transition” in Episode 116 and is back to talk more about comparing options in the process. Chuck has personally helped over 5,300 officers move from the military to Corporate America. On this episode, he sheds light on the benef...

On the forefront of every job seeker's mind? How to interview during a global pandemic. Let's introduce you to Madeline Calves. She is a former USMC Communications officer who attended our very first virtual Career Conference in April 2020. -

Welcome back! In this episode we are continuing the conversation with Cameron-Brooks President and CEO, Chuck Alvarez. In Episode 114, Joel Junker interviewed Chuck as they explored how Cameron-Brooks helped Junior Military Officers (JMOs) move from the military to Corporate American in 2020 (during a global pandemic.) Chuck also looked forward to 2021 and shared his predictions on how things would shape up. In that episode, Chuck defined the word “transition”, or at least how we define that wor...

Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Cameron-Brooks Podcast. I caught up with Cameron-Brooks Alumnus, Dave Hanson, who transitioned from the Army to Love’s Travel Stops in 2015. As one of the first Cameron-Brooks Alumni to transition to Love’s, Dave knows a lot about career management to include self-development, being a giver and the value of the part-time MBA. As we got into the dialogue, I initially thought this episode would be about being patient, being a giver and then you will...

Well, here we are! The beginning of 2021. What were you thinking about one year ago? I'll share what I was thinking about: I had big goals for growing our reach with JMO candidates. Our client companies had predicted a lot of openings throughout 2...

One of the most common idioms in the English language is, "Don't put all of your eggs in one basket." When discussing our partnership agreement with military officers, this phrase comes up quite often. - We tackled the topic of our partnership during ...

Several years ago I received feedback from a leadership assessment that in an attempt to help my team members solve problems, I was actually making them feel “less than” and defeated. Team members would bring me problems or challenges, and loaded with so much experience, I thought it best to give them advice on how to solve it. Instead of listening and asking questions, I’d send them on their way better off with my wisdom! As I listened to this feedback, I was dumbfounded on one hand and felt k...

Did you know that less than 8% of the people who make New Year's - Resolutions keep them to the end of the year? Today on the podcast, we encourage you to be the 8% with the will-power supercharger emotion: gratitude. -

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive as a military recruiting firm? - Do you have a partnership agreement? - We encourage military officers to ask this question (check out our full list of recommendations,

Welcome back! We have a special treat for the podcast. On this episode, I interview Cameron-Brooks team member, Hope Drury. Hope wears multiple hats in the organization including advising JMOs on how to prepare to transition, helping spearhead our marketing and social media programs, and also plays a key role in the JMO resume writing process. Hope is a native of Fredericksburg, Texas and graduated from Texas A&M University. In the five years since starting at Cameron-Brooks, she has worked abou...

There are many former military officers who are now at the C-Suite level. Some Cameron-Brooks Alumni who have made the C-Suite level include Debra Crew, the former CEO of Reynolds American, Inc. and now President of Diageo North America; Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi; Roland Smith, former Chairman and CEO of Office Depot; Howard Friedman, President and CEO of Post Consumer Brands; Andy Callahan, CEO for Hostess Brands; Chris Hsu, former COO and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and current founder a...

What is a self-evolved leader? We tackle this exact question and cover the importance of elevating your leadership in this episode of the Cameron-Brooks podcast. Our guest speaker and subject matter expert is Dave McKeown. Dave has spent his career working with leaders and leadership teams to help them elevate their focus, develop their people and get more done. He helps individuals, teams, and organizations achieve excellence by doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well. Dave is the CEO of...

For 21 years I have partnered with Junior Military Officers (JMOs) making a transition to business. One of the top reasons JMOs want to make a transition? They want a promotion and responsibility based on performance. Some think that means they will transition right out of the military and take a big step up in responsibility. In my experience, I have found that to be far from reality. Instead it takes two virtues, humility and patience. First, you need to build a foundation of success and then ...