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BY Cameron-Brooks

Meet Danielle Granville – Cameron-Brooks Team Member

Danielle Granville joined the Cameron-Brooks team in March 1998 after graduating Magna Cum Laude from Texas A&M. Her awareness of Cameron-Brooks, however, goes all the way back to high school.

Cameron-Brooks did a presentation to students her senior year on Roger Cameron’s book, Your Career Fast Track Starts in College. They offered free books to anyone who would write an essay about career goals, and Danielle says “If it was free, it was for me.” Inspired by the book, Danielle excelled in college and was set for a job interview out of state when an ad in the local newspaper for an opening with Cameron-Brooks caught her eye.

Destiny prevailed and Danielle Granville joined the Cameron-Brooks family right in her hometown of Fredericksburg, Texas.

How has your role has evolved?
I started as a recruiting assistant in 1998 and wore a dual hat as a member of the Career Conference follow-up interview team. I’ve worked on special marketing projects and been a recruiting team leader, working primarily with our junior military officer candidates researching options and determining if partnering with Cameron-Brooks was in their best interests. In October 2009, I stepped into the role of full-time resume consultant, capitalizing on over 10 years of experience in working directly with transitioning military officers and gaining an in-depth understanding of how their backgrounds relate to Corporate America.

Why is the resume part of a military transition so critical?
I feel the resume is the link between complex military backgrounds and business. Since officers will generally not be driving tanks, shooting guns, nor flying fast jets after they transition, the connection from what they have done in the military to what they will be doing in business is often not readily apparent. A great resume that succinctly and accurately captures a junior military officer’s accomplishments in ways a civilian can understand can drastically shorten the distance of the leap from one sector to another.

What is the difference between a good resume and a great resume?
A good resume describes someone’s roles and responsibilities. A great resume shows impact and results (accomplishments), effectively explains scope, and translates experience into concepts to which anyone can grasp and relate.

What are your top one, two or three resume tips for anyone considering a transition?

1. Start early. The strongest resumes tend to be ones in which an officer was able to build accomplishments in the military with a connection to a future business role in mind. Starting early makes the connection easier.
2. Be thorough. Read through evaluations as a reminder of why you are a mover and shaker in the military and then tell us about it. Oftentimes, I hear “well I was just doing my job.” True, but what officers accomplished and processes they improved as they were “just doing their job” in the military has a lot of value to the business world.
3. Show results. Show results. Show results.
   Military careers are chock full of tangible, often quantifiable results that can be difficult to capture in roles outside of the military, so it sets officers apart from civilians seeking the same positions.

What is your favorite part about working for Cameron-Brooks?
I love being able to bring value to military officers who have done amazing things in their careers and selflessly defended our country.   It is extremely humbling—and rewarding—to have something to bring to the table to help these unassuming heroes transition from incredible military jobs to remarkable new careers in business. I may not be able to accurately calculate firing directions for Howitzers or direct complex evolutions for nuclear submarines, but I can write a “mean” resume and tell people about it.

What is your best piece of advice for any JMO considering a transition?
There is no substitute for hard work and putting in the due diligence to be successful. Become a student of the Development and Preparation Program and read the books so you understand your target audience. While many of the exercises and information seem intuitive, wrapping your brain around your methodology and how you accomplish/improve things AND then practice verbalizing it pays huge dividends when you are sitting in front of a civilian who may know little to nothing about what you did in the military.

What is your most memorable Cameron-Brooks story?
I often discover nuggets of information that officers don’t initially include on their resumes, like being part of the team that captured Osama Bin Laden, being in the first tank that rolled into Baghdad for Operation Desert Storm, or “driving” the USS Bainbridge and making the Somali pirates’ lives “difficult” while the ship’s commander negotiated the release of Captain Phillips of the US-flagged cargo ship – MV Maersk Alabama (later became a major motion picture). The officers with whom we have been blessed to partner have been featured in everything from HBO documentaries (The Battle for Marjah) to articles in national magazines and newspapers like The Wall Street Journal. Officers do so many “cool” things in the eyes of the public, but these humble heroes often just think about it as “another day on the job.”   Getting the inside scoop on what actually happened in these high-vis events versus what the media portrays is fascinating.

Tell us about your passions outside of the office
I love spending time soaking up the sun and outdoors with my 2 children while we feed the cattle, hunt and fish on our family ranch in Luckenbach, Texas. In my copious spare time, I enjoy reading, church functions, crafting, working out, softball and volunteering for various service organizations. If it’s football season, you’re sure to find me under the Friday night lights at FHS and glued to a screen or journeying to Kyle Field on Saturday to cheer on my Texas Aggies.

Tell us one thing on your bucket list.
I would love to travel to Europe for an extended trip and dive into my family’s history. I love history in general and would enjoy seeing sites in person that I have been reading about for decades.

Now that you’ve met Danielle Granville, go meet the rest of the Cameron-Brooks team!