Team Leader

Southeast
US Marine Corps, O-2

I left the military in May 2012, but only began my job search in March 2012 after returning from my last deployment to Afghanistan. I was a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps and was an Air Support Control Officer.  I feel that the leadership experience and performing those leadership duties in a highly stressful environment helped me transition to an environment where setting the example and making decisions are key.

I was actually set up originally with Mike Wood, and he brought me out to two events where I received excellent interview prep from Mike and his team. And while I did not find the right match, Mike did a great job listening to what I wanted to do and did not force any interviews on me that I did not want. He even went so far as to take interviews off my schedule to accommodate my requests!  

After going to two rounds of interviews, I received an email from Todd Phillips asking about my interest in a phone interview with Pilkington.  Todd was great communicating what type of position this was and set me up for success with the initial phone interview.  After the initial phone interview, Todd communicated what to expect at the follow-up interview.  Once the offer was made from Pilkington, I was able to go to Todd and let him take a look at everything and get advice, which was key for me as I have never been down this road.  He provided his expertise, and it proved to be very beneficial!  

I am now a Team Leader at Pilkington and will soon be in charge of approximately 20 individuals.  Most Junior Marine Corps Officers have led at the very least 20 individuals, so the job of people management is relatively the same.  The basic leadership skills we learn will pay dividends in a civilian career.

Orion exceeded my expectations namely in the preparation before the interviews.  The small groups allowed me to get unbiased feedback on how I was answering interview questions.  I think being open geographically also really helped me make an equivalent paycheck to what I was used to!  And Orion is concerned about the environment they are placing you in.  

Everyone I have come in contact with at Orion is focused on one thing, and that is getting you the job that you want.  The amount of communication between the job seeker and the recruiter is very good. Both recruiters I dealt with were very flexible in their methods of communication.  I was often unavailable on the phone, but could email very easily.  I appreciated the open and honest communication.  I never felt as though I was being strung along.