…As I prepare to transition, I often reflect on the challenges we have faced as a military family, and the challenges I have personally faced during my career.  Unfortunately, I never completed my bachelor’s degree because I spent my whole career putting the needs of others before my own.  If I could go back, I would still not change a thing.  I love to care for, help and serve my Marines, Sailors, and their families.  I believe that people are our most important asset.  My passion is to help people realize their potential.  My purpose is to help organizations take care of their most important asset – their people.

I have found my transition to be extremely difficult.  Most Fortune 500 companies do not have Military Talent Managers and the companies that do, understaff the position.  To add to that, most of those companies do not understand what service members bring to their organizations.  In the 1980s around 60 percent of all Fortune 500 CEOs had military experience.  But in recent years, only 8 percent do.

This is where Candorful comes into my journey.  They provided me with much more than just a realistic interview experience.  They listened to me!  They listened to my journey!  They listened to my transition challenges!  Most importantly, we collectively made sense of my military experience as a Battalion Sergeant Major in the United States Marine Corps!  The results were interviews with PwC, USAA, Liberty Mutual, Sherwin Williams, CVS, Zymeworks, Slalom and Fikes.

My family and I will forever be grateful for what Candorful has done for us.

Recent Candorful Alum & Dad & Husband
Currently: Manager, Human Resources Business Partner – CVS Health

I conducted my first mock interview with Michael S who volunteers his time with Candorful. Michael provide me some excellent feedback from our session. All I can say is it was an awesome experience. It really assisted me in understanding the interview process and making me feel more comfortable talking about myself and what I could bring to an organization. I have two more mock interviews and I am really looking forward to them. Thank you Clifton Cooper for bringing this excellent resource to light and thank you Pat Hubbell for assisting veterans in our journey to the civilian side.

I had a fantastic week of interview practice with #Candorful members Pat Hubbell, Justin and Erik. Thank you all so much for offering this free service for veterans. I really learned a lot!”

I finished up my 3rd practice interview with Candorful this morning.  I highly recommend using this service to improve your interview techniques and build confidence. Pat, Kim and Mike did an outstanding job.

Transitioning? Don’t neglect to prepare for one of the biggest steps in the process- the interview! Contact the great folks at Candorful and get the help/preparation you need!

*”With the interview process being so different for company to company, I found that the assistance I got from Candorful really provided me a well-rounded look into what I might see. The multiple interviewers and perspectives really helped prepare me for anything I could possibly see and then some when it came to my job interviews!

“Today I had my second of three practice interviews with Candorful. What a great opportunity provided by Pat Hubbell and team with free interview preparation. I can’t thank her and the team enough! The process of joining Candorful and setting up interviews was super easy and Pat worked with me to get the practice interviews done quickly The interviews themselves so far have been professional and extremely realistic as if you’re applying for the job. This only helps to work out the nerves and rehearse answers prior to the real thing. Not only that, you get instant feedback and constructive criticism from your interviewers, which 9/10 times you won’t get from a real job interview, and this only helps make you better for your next real job interview Please check them out if you haven’t already!”

“When I separated from the military, I knew that I needed to prepare for a different culture of resumes and interviews. My military transition counselor recommended Candorful as a cost-effective way to build my confidence and refine my experiences to succeed in the civilian marketplace. Initially, I struggled to put my military career into words and contexts that resonated with my civilian peers. I worried that I would not do well in my interviews or that my resume would be incomprehensible even though I was the right person for the job. I signed up for my first Candorful interview with a volunteer mentor from a different industry than what I was interested in. In just 30 minutes, he reassured me that my military experience can be translated well and that he would help me with both the resume and the interview. He created a mini schedule for me to practice my interviews and develop my resume. We also covered common mistakes that Veterans made and tools to avoid them. I was so empowered that I quickly signed up for the next available session with Candorful. In total, I received four different interviews from four different mentors. They all helped me build my confidence and show my experience. They all tailored their support and guidance to my needs and my career aspirations. I walked into my interviews for a fellowship placement, and I emerged with three offers! I am so grateful to the four mentors I had and to Candorful for connecting me with the right people to help me reach my professional goals”

“I read about it, I talked about it, I even watched some video clips that had good tips on it. My confidence was still lacking as the interview loomed closer. There are just some things you need to do in person to get the experience needed for the level of confidence it takes to get the job you want. And I didn’t have it.

As a transitioning senior military officer, I know the TAP program prepared me for a lot of things. There are a lot of organizations that help veterans and I gratefully used several of them. There are none like Candorful and they are filling a gap the in the jobseekers preparation that is being missed everywhere else.

I finally landed the interview for the job I really wanted. As much as I had read about interviewing, I had not done it in over 20 years and other than a few slides, it wasn’t covered in TAPs. I contacted Candorful and they immediately set me up in their unique and amazing interview coaching program.

The three professional video interviews were exactly what I needed. I received immediate verbal feedback followed up within an hour by written feedback. I was able to compare my progress as I advanced to each interview. This allowed me to see areas that I needed to work on and areas that I had improved.

*I got the job! I walked into the interview very confident and well prepared. I can’t thank Candorful enough for their expert coaching and the great service they provide!”