Our Podcast

BY Maddie Reese

E244: Inside a JMO Career Conference (with Three August Alumni)

Join us for inside a JMO career conference with three alumni from the August 2026 Cameron-Brooks Career Conference, hosted by Cameron-Brooks career coaches Brock Dudley and Geoff Fries.

Peter Carver and Jonathan Guilbe are both headed to Flowserve, in the nuclear engineering valves division in Raleigh. Bryan Bornn is going to Pacifico Energy in Dallas, building power infrastructure for data centers.

What does a Career Conference actually look like?

The August 2026 numbers:

• 47 companies
• 34 candidates
• 409 interviews across two days
• About 12 interviews per candidate
• 29 Cameron-Brooks alumni came back as hiring managersAlmost half of the companies in the room had a Cameron-Brooks alum conducting screening interviews.
  

  Why is that meaningful?

  We’re fortunate to partner with so many Cameron-Brooks alumni who have gone on to become hiring managers. And many of them, along with their companies, come back to hire more JMOs from the Cameron-Brooks program.

  Why do they come back?

  A big part of it comes down to the success of these placements. Great JMOs. Great companies. Proven track records of success and career advancement.

  Simply put, companies see firsthand how strong Cameron-Brooks alumni are as leaders, and they want to hire more people like them.

  That’s part of what makes Cameron-Brooks so special. It’s not just a network. It’s a community of people who continue to support each other, hire each other, and help the next group of JMOs succeed.

What helped them prepare?

All three landed on the same short list.

The interview prep worksheet. Peter called it the highest-value tool he used. It forces you to pull the competencies out of a job description before you walk in.

Reps with other people. John attended nearly every optional session and met with his study group around them.

Practicing with a real role in mind. Bryan had his regular answers down. He hadn’t practiced them with an actual job description in mind until the conference got close.

What surprised them?

The interviews were more conversational than expected. Bryan said practice felt rigid by comparison, and the real thing flowed better.

Location mattered less than they thought it would. John ranked Texas low on his list. He is moving to Dallas. Peter nearly took a role in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a place he had not heard of before the conference.

Their advice was consistent. Focus on the role and the company first. Let location and compensation enter the decision once you have offers in hand.

If you’d like to learn more from other recent alums about their experience, you can listen to the following alumni roundtables:

• June 2026 Career Conference
• April 2026 Career Conference
• February 2026 Career Conference
• November 2025 Career Conference
• August 2025 Career Conference 

At Cameron-Brooks, we help junior military officers transition from the military into business careers. If you are thinking about finding a job after the military, we would like to talk.

If you have any questions, we’re happy to help. For those of you in our program, we know how daunting the process up the career conference can be. We are here for you and we’ve got your back. In the meantime, practice in your study groups, stay active in discord, and attend your interview workshops.

And if you’re new to Cameron-Brooks and are looking to explore your transition to the business world, we’re happy to talk.

Follow Cameron-Brooks on LinkedIn.

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