Lessons from Cameron-Brooks Alumni on Military to Business Transition Success

Each Cameron-Brooks Career Conference represents a major career event for our JMOs. In these military to business transition successes, officers together years of military service and months, (maybe even years of preparation in the Development and Preparation Program). Then, they interview with Industry leading companies in business. Our JMOs at the August 2025 Career Conference averaged 10.3 interviews over a two-day period. Additionally, every single JMO was pursued into the follow up process.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with my teammate Geoff Fries and three Cameron-Brooks alumni who attended the August Conference. In this episode, they share their experiences and insights pre-conference in DPP, during the conference, and during the post-conference where they earned offers, evaluated them and made a decision to launch their next career.

Together, we unpacked their stories and explored what their preparation, mindset, and execution looked like resulting in their military to business transition successes.

Below, I’ll highlight their lessons, strategies, and mindsets – from early preparation to behavioral interviews and ultimately into final decision-making.

Meet the Alumni: Three Distinct Paths to Success

Before diving into strategies, here’s where these three standout officers landed:

• Matt Dahlager, an Army Military Intelligence Captain, joined Ubicquia, a smart grid technology company that leverages sensors and AI to improve energy infrastructure. He’ll serve as an Area Sales Manager for the Ohio River Valley region.
• Spencer Preston, a former Marine Corps officer, accepted a role as a Summit Fellow at USAA in San Antonio, Texas. He’ll rotate through key leadership areas such as CEO staff, property and casualty operations, or CFO development roles.
• Weslee Warren, a Navy Surface Warfare Officer, joined Corning Optical Communications in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he’ll work as a Technical Program Manager driving fiber-to-the-premises projects and collaborating with engineering and product teams.

Building a Foundation: Start Early

One of the strongest themes in our conversation was the value of time spent in DPP. On average, candidates spend about 11 months preparing through the Cameron-Brooks program.

• Spencer prepared for 38 months.
• Wes spent about one year.
• Matt invested nearly two years.

During that time, Cameron-Brooks was able to meet them multiple times for in person and virtual preparation sessions, which allowed them to:

Build Trust with Cameron-Brooks
Early engagement allowed each candidate to develop a trusted relationship with the Cameron-Brooks team – vital since our team members advocate for each candidate directly with partner companies. Conduct Self-Assessment and Reflection
Before they could tell their story to companies, they had to understand it themselves. This meant revisiting military experiences in order to translate their military experiences into relevant business leadership accomplishment with clear impact and results. Leadership, problem-solving, mission alignment, etc. and how that translates into private-sector value. Learn Business Skills and Apply them
They didn’t just study business – they applied it. By integrating recognized industry concepts that they learned in DPP such as Lean Six Sigma into their current military duties, they created concrete examples that later became powerful interview stories.  Invest in themselves
Hundreds of hours of practice, reflection, and preparation went into preparation before the Conference. Learning to Speak the Language of Business

Each alumnus emphasized how critical it was to learn the language of the Business. 

Their Go-To Learning Tools:

• Books and Business Education: They read extensively – diving into leadership, finance, and operations management books, reviews, articles, white papers, and texts.
• Free Online Learning: YouTube finance tutorials, LinkedIn Learning, and Khan Academy were popular for brushing up on business fundamentals.
• AI-Powered Study Support: Interestingly, several used ChatGPT to help build personalized study plans or summarize key business concepts, allowing for faster learning retention.
• Company Awareness: They researched what each company valued most – whether that was data-driven decision-making, innovation, leadership pipeline development, or customer culture.

This preparation helped them walk into interviews speaking confidently about business.

Interview Excellence: Turning Preparation into Performance

Every Cameron-Brooks candidate knows the power of the “Tab Five”: our structured interview preparation framework. But Spencer, Matt, and Wes all agreed: you must be able to “eclipse” Tab Five. You must be able to go beyond the framework and have a real, human conversation. These 3 were able to get into the interview and successfully:

Show Genuine Interest – Be curious about the company’s mission, market, and challenges. Connect Your Background – Translate military experience into business results (leadership, problem-solving, project management). Demonstrate BLT – Believability, Likability, and Trust. In the end, people hire people they trust. Focusing on the Company’s Needs

This is always a tough one, but sequencing the search. One of the hardest things to do is shifting the mindset. Start with the company’s problem and think like a problem solver. Take the “get hat” off, and put the “give hat” on.

Each company’s job description is, at its core, a problem statement. Successful candidates positioned themselves as the solution. To do so, they focused their answers on how they could help the company win.

Mastering the Follow-Up Phase

Once the conference ends, things move fast. Alumni described it as “a blur” of flights, interviews, and rapid decision-making. They talked about traveling smart, staying organized, and diving deep into research to learn and know the companies better.

The Decision Phase: Choosing the Right Offer

Within just two weeks, each of these officers had multiple offers on the table – a testament to the quality of their preparation and fit.

But making the right choice required more than comparing salaries. It meant aligning the opportunity with personal values, long-term vision, and family priorities.

1. Knowing Your “Why”

Spencer put it best: “You’ve got to know your why. Why are you leaving the military? What did you love about it? And how do you carry that forward?”

He ultimately chose USAA not because of location or title but because it represented challenge and growth – two elements that would stretch him as a professional and a person.

2. Culture and Challenge

All three emphasized company culture as the deciding factor.

• Wes was drawn to Corning because of its culture of innovation and long-term development.
• Matt chose Ubicquia because of the company’s vision and the stability it offered his family.
• Spencer found USAA’s mission-driven environment aligned perfectly with his desire to keep serving in a new way.

3. Stability, Family, and Location

While candidates were encouraged not to lead with location, it inevitably became a tiebreaker once other criteria aligned. They successfully sequenced the search, received offers, and then went into decision making mode. Though it didn’t drive their searches, Wes, Matt and Spencer ALL landed in their desired locations.

4. Systematic Decision-Making

Each candidate used tools like pros and cons lists, financial comparisons, and cultural evaluations to make informed decisions. They also sought counsel – from spouses, mentors, and the Cameron-Brooks team – to ensure they balanced career opportunity with life priorities.

Key Takeaways: Lessons from the Front Lines of Career Transition

The stories of Spencer, Matt, and Wes underscore what we’ve always known at Cameron-Brooks: success in the military-to-business transition isn’t about luck — it’s about preparation and mindset.

Here are their top lessons for future JMOs:

Start Early – Really Early.
Give yourself time to build trust, self-awareness, and confidence. The earlier you begin, the more control you’ll have when the conference arrives. Understand the Company’s Needs.
Don’t just tell your story – tell it through the lens of their problem. Be a “giver,” not a “taker.” Be Open-Minded.
You may start thinking you want sales, operations, or engineering management, but the right fit might surprise you. Spencer originally wanted sales, but he found his leadership home in a rotational executive role. Stay Flexible and Organized.
The post-conference phase moves fast. Travel light, stay ready, and lean on the Cameron-Brooks team. Know Your “Why.”
The most meaningful careers align with your purpose, not just your paycheck. As Spencer said, “You’ll fall in love with a company way faster than you’ll fall in love with a location.” Conclusion: Preparation Is the Difference Between Opportunity and Military to Business Transition Success

At Cameron-Brooks, we often say: you can’t control the market, but you can control your preparation.

The stories of Spencer, Matt, and Wes prove that principle true. Each of them put in the hours, stayed open-minded, trusted the process, and approached the journey with curiosity and humility.

The result? Three unique career launches — each built on a foundation of leadership, preparation, and purpose.

If you’re a military officer considering your next mission, take a page from their playbook: start early, stay curious, and remember that your leadership matters – in any uniform.

This Isn’t Just About Landing a Job – It’s About Launching a Career

This isn’t just about landing a job; it’s about helping talented JMOs create purpose-driven careers and achieve long-term military to business transition success. Every officer who walks through the Cameron-Brooks program isn’t just making a career change. They’re laying the foundation for the next 40 years of leadership, growth, and impact.

For more than 50 years, Cameron-Brooks has helped Junior Military Officers transform their military leadership into business excellence – equipping them with the tools, mindset, and confidence to thrive in corporate America.

If you’re considering your options to stay in the military, or transition out, my encouragement is to start early. Now is the time! You can never time the market, but the right strategy, preparation, and mindset can open doors to exceptional opportunities – and we’ll walk that journey with you every step of the way.

Your transition partner,
Brock Dudley
Associate Principal, Cameron-Brooks
(210) 874-1495

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