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MSEJ
2013 Military Service Employment Journal
Web Site Design By Kellie Gunderman, CASY-MSCCN

TM

Veteran Success Story

Jim Popielec, U.S. Marine Corps


By Kellie Gunderman, MSEJ Assistant Editor


Jim Popielec realized he wanted to join the military at 18 years old.  While considering his college options, he visited the Naval Academy.  “It was just different than any other college I looked at.  I knew I wanted the challenge of going to school there.”  Following his college years, James entered the Marine Corps and served 24 years as a Logistics Officer.


When Jim was two years away from a potential exit from the Marine Corps, he began attending Transition Assistance Program (TAP) classes (or ETAP).  Even though he made the decision to serve six more years, he found those classes extremely valuable.  “Every time, I learned something new and it helped me focus on what skills I could bring to the civilian market and how I could package myself.”  These types of assistance programs were also helpful in helping James overcome his most difficult challenge: learning how to interview and sell himself.  “My advice is to practice interviewing.  Find a career center on base and do practice interviews with feedback.  You rarely get feedback on an actual interview.”


As Jim progressed through his employment search, he began reaching out to any veteran services that crossed his path.  Then, he found Corporate America Supports You (CASY) and began by taking a FREE virtual training entitled “How To Lock That Job - Interview Techniques That Work For You” with Training Manager, Co-Founder and Editor of the MSEJ, Amy Rossi.


“I took an online seminar on resume writing and interviewing, and they were both fantastic.  Sometimes they reinforced what I was doing, often times they helped me focus on what I needed to improve upon.”


Prior to working with CASY, Jim had tried other veteran employment assistance programs but admits that the CASY instructors made all the difference.  “The instructors with CASY are top notch, no matter who I dealt with.”











With a new-found sense of confidence in his interviewing abilities, James accepted a phone interview for a management position.  It went so well that he was flown to Pittsburgh, PA to meet the recruiter face-to-face to interview for a position that was higher than the one he had originally applied for.  It was two weeks before Duquesne Light extended an offer to James.  “... Although I was confident I would get an offer, it was a very anxious time.”  Jim is now the Director of Operations Services for Duquesne Light, overseeing the logistics for the company.  He feels that he is a perfect fit for this job due to the positions he held during his military career.


Though relocating for a job is never easy, especially with a son in his senior year of high school, Jim and his supportive wife are making it work.  With the competitive employment environment he was facing, expanding his search was necessary.  “We decided my wife would stay in Virginia Beach with our sons until the end of the school year.  I am missing out on a part of their lives.  However, we are treating this like another military deployment which is allowing this to be much more bearable.”


Jim tells the Military Service Employment Journal that his advice to other veteran applicants struggling to find that perfect job would be to keep a positive attitude.  “Do something every day towards finding that next opportunity and be open to opportunities you might not have considered at first.”