Field Service Engineer

West
US Navy, E-6

I enlisted in the Navy in September of 1983 and stayed in through 2004 working to achieve success at various commands. In the process, I overcame various hurdles in pursuit of ever changing goals. During my military career, I was honored to perform as an Interior Communications Electrician with leaders and peers that made me a better person. These men and women taught me the meaning of honor, courage and commitment. My separation from the military in 2004 was both bitter and sweet at the same time. I had heard of Orion International during TAP class early in 2004, but it would be about four more years before I would use their services. I was overseas when I began my process for separation from the Navy in July 2004. To tell the truth, I was more than a bit worried about what the future would hold for me. The Navy was my life, and I was proud to be called a 'Lifer'. I started looking right away while on terminal leave in August of that year for a job. Through some networking, I got picked up by a great company to be a consultant. I enjoyed working for that company but was laid off in October 2007.

From October until I met Jim Lewis in February/March 2008, my life hit one of its low points of all time. I had lost my job, so I went and submitted resumes every week and had four different online resume sites working for me, but I couldn't find anything other than part time work. (I was working three separate jobs to make ends meet.) I went through more interviews than I care to recall in which I was either not a good fit for the company or they were not a good fit for me.

At this point a good friend of mine suggested Orion. I had thought Orion was for retired officers, which I was not, but my friend said I was mistaken and that I needed to give Orion a try. Once I met with Jim Lewis at Orion, things moved very fast. Jim got me started with little things at first like grooming my resume. He reminded me that the job for me was out there and not to take just anything. I got set up with a hiring conference in April and went through the preliminary steps prior to attending, like company research, revising my resume again, and talking over and over again with Jim about proper approach plans for each different company.

Before the actual interviews, I had narrowed my primary choices down to three. The amusing thing is that my new employer was not one of those, because I had no thought of them until the first day of the conference when I heard a brief outline of what the company was about. Amazing how these things can happen. I had good interviews with my top three choices but had a fantastic interview with OSI Rapiscan. After the interviews, not just Jim but other members of Orion inquired as to how the interviews went and how they could help. I ended up having two more interviews with all three of the companies before I had to start making any decisions. Meanwhile Jim and the staff at Orion had me set up for more interviews with another company, as well.

Even though I was still talking to other companies and keeping my options open, I really liked what OSI Rapiscan seemed to be about and how I could be a part of it. I spoke with three different people at OSI and hadn’t heard back from them yet when Jim called me from Orion and said, “Did you know you have an offer from OSI Rapiscan?” Wow, that was fast! I reviewed the offer of Field Service Technician and looked at what I needed and how I fit into their company. I decided we were a great match and accepted the offer. I have now moved forward in a very positive way.

So far this company and I are really good for each other, and I have great hopes for the future. It is unbelievable how many resources Orion puts at your disposal, as well as how much assistance they provide. Don't get me wrong, there is still a lot of work you have to do on your own, but I know I would never have gone this direction or met with so much success without the great support team at Orion.