Regional Sales Director

South Central
US Marine Corps, O-4

For any veteran seeking assistance in the transition from government service to private sector employment, I strongly encourage you to contact a recruiter at Orion International and begin a dialogue. I retired from the United States Marine Corps in February 2014 after serving 20 years and attaining the rank of Major. I attended the Transition Assistance Program and followed the advice of the counselors and expected to quickly be offered a position and receive a salary comparable to my military pay during the last year of service.

I was quickly brought back to reality after sending out at least a dozen tailored resumes with no responses. I learned that most companies utilized automated systems to filter applicants, and the chances of receiving a call-back from a response to a job posting are very low. I became disillusioned with the process and decided to take a few months to relax and think about what I truly wanted to do for a follow-on career.

It was during this down time that I was contacted by Orion International. Recruiting Manager Todd Phillips listened to my desires and took me through a mock interview, which was an eye opener for me. I had interviewed and hired government civilians while in uniform and thought I needed no help getting through and interview; boy, was I wrong. Todd provided me with great advice to include the STAR model for responding to questions and helped me to more succinctly describe highlights of my 20 year military career.

Once I found a position with a company that interested me, the Orion team went into action sharing with me details about the company, the position, and salary expectations. I experienced some feedback delays from the company after my and second round of interviews, and Ned Freeze, another Orion recruiter, helped clear the communication log jam and keep my application moving through the system.

I am confident that, had I not been working with Orion, my application would have been lost in the shuffle at First Data. I also know that my interviews would not have been nearly as strong without the coaching Todd provided, and I am certain the salary offer would have more than likely come in thousands of dollars lower than it did.

I have been with First Data about seven weeks now, and it is a great fit. First Data is very pleased with the skills and expertise I brought with me and has expressed a desire to find others like me. In closing, I strongly encourage any veteran seeking private sector employment to not "go it alone." Stick with the tried and true "Battle Buddy" concept, and let Orion International fill that role.