Field Engineer

West
US Navy, O-3

It's clear to me that Orion has a large network of client companies in many regions of the country and that they work hard to make the best matches for employers and job seekers.  I'm very glad I was able to work with Orion and get the job I wanted in my geographic area for a very competitive salary.  I'd recommend them to anyone who is considering transitioning out of the military; it's like having concierge service in your career search.

JP Sniffen was my Orion recruiter, although I had contact with others including Gino Marchetti and Jay Koranda.  All were former military officers and knew just how to relate to me.  JP really knew what things were like from my perspective, and I felt very comfortable telling him what my needs were.

I was in contact with Orion for only a few short weeks before I attended my first hiring conference in Seattle, Washington.  It was my first time interviewing for a job in many years.  I'd been preparing for the transition before then, but that hiring conference was the testing ground for what I thought I'd learned.  I interviewed with three companies.

Unfortunately, two of the positions I interviewed for were not good fits for me, and the third opted to pursue other candidates.  About five weeks later, I returned to Seattle for a second hiring conference, where I interviewed with only one company, and this time I got the job.  It was a very good fit for me.

I'm starting work as a Field Engineer with Washington Closure Hanford, performing environmental cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Washington.  I'll be able to capitalize on my engineering background developed in the Navy and will also be in a leadership position. I'll be responsible for the technical aspects in leading a crew of cleanup techs.  Although the leadership aspect will call for some different skill sets than I practiced in the Navy, the job is remarkably similar to a division officer billet in a lot of ways.

Quite a bit of my skill set as a nuclear operator is a direct translation to what I'll be doing with Washington Closure Hanford.  Also, my experience working on my boat during its availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is probably what really landed me this job, since industrial safety and work environments are similar in both places, and having the chance to interface and work cooperatively with civilian contractors was valuable.

I'd tried to work with other recruiting firms before, but some of them were not responsive to my communications and made me feel like I wasn't a priority. Some would not work with me since I wanted to move to a specific geographic area.  Orion was the only recruiting firm to make me feel like my priorities were their priorities.  Orion was the right partnership opportunity for me.