Labor Relations

West
US Army, O-2

Orion International has no competition in my opinion! I am currently in the Reserves and was demobilized from Active Duty in September 2007. I came across Orion when I was browsing on the Internet when I began searching for jobs in January. I was very skeptical about going to a hiring conference because so many of the hiring conferences I attended previous to my working with Orion were not worth my time. Therefore, I didn't attend the Orion conference scheduled in January, but I did receive phones calls from Orion informing me about a job that might fit my needs. I had several phone interviews, and that's when I realized that Orion was definitely worthwhile.

So, with no luck with other job search engines, I decided to attend an Orion hiring conference in February. The event was well organized. There must have been over 20 companies who were available for interviews. One thing I learned from the conference was that candidates should try and get interviews with as many companies as possible. I only interviewed with three, and I regret not getting to know all the companies Orion had to offer.

My primary POC with Orion was JP Sniffen, though I was assisted by the rest of the staff including Katrina Ross and Genna Clough. The Orion team was GREAT! After the hiring conference, I called JP, and he right away suggested Pacific Maritime Association as an option. They had been at the conference I attended, but I hadn’t expressed interest in interviewing with them at the time. He mentioned that it might be something within my scope of experience. After researching the company, I wasn't fully convinced that the position was right for me. But, at the urging of the Orion staff who thought I would be the perfect candidate for the position, I went for it. I had nothing to lose.

After the interview, to my surprise, I was very interested in the job, as I realized during the interview that the position was similar to my past jobs. By the end of the day, I received a phone call for a second interview. As with the first interview, the second was a success. I received an offer later that evening. I felt fortunate that the Orion staff took the time to play matchmaker and steer me along the road of opportunities. The rest was up to me. The folks at Orion are great at what they do. As much as I talk about and praise the organization, I'm surprised I'm not working for them!