“Not every conversation that you have should up with a hiring "yes or no" decision at the end of it. You've got to spend some time going out there and finding what's out there. The right job is out there for everybody. It's a matter of us finding it."– Dan Piontkowski

Dan is the Manager of Sourcing for all the hourly roles at Marriott in the US. He has worked in a variety of recruiting capacities at Amazon, KPMG, Hewlett-Packard, and Booz Allen Hamilton to include leading and launching many of the veteran recruiting pipelines and initiatives. Dan started out as a Corporal in the Marine Corps, before going to the Naval Academy and then serving as a Surface Warfare Officer. His last tour in the Navy was as an Officer Programs Recruiter stationed at Penn State that got him hooked on recruiting.

The top reason to listen to this episode is:

1. Job Search - Dan has worked with some of the best companies in the world, and has some great advice on common pitfalls veterans can avoid in their job search and interview process
2. LinkedIn Advice - Dan leverages LinkedIn quite a bit in his job, and has some tactical advice for how veterans can best utilize LinkedIn in advancing their civilian career
3. Recruiting - for veterans interested in Recruiting as a possible career, Dan provides an overview of what this job looks like. He also talks about how his involvement in recruiting within the military helped prepare him for and inform his decision to pursue this as a civilian.

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Selected Links

• Related podcasts
  • Liz McLean - Dan got her her first job, and she provides another great perspective on recruiting
  • Sam Bond - I reference how Sam found his job at Lyft through staying in touch with his network in an authentic way
  • Networking is a Contact Sport: How Staying Connected and Serving Others Will Help You Grow Your Business, Expand Your Influence -- or Even Land Your Next Job
  • The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts - recognizing how people you work with like to be acknowledged as a means of building allies and strengthening your network
  • The LinkedIn Group, The Veteran's Mentor Network, Dan talks about being the most active group on LinkedIn

Show Notes

• 2:07 - Dan's background
• 2:44 - Dan's decision to leave the military and how he approached this decision
• 3:48 - Dan's first job search and what he learned from this
• 8:20 - Based on Dan's experience and having worked with many different veterans, some common mistakes he sees veterans make in their job search
• 20:35 - What Dan does as a recruiter, and what his job looks like on a typical day
• 26:40 - Advice for how veterans can best utilize LinkedIn
• 31:14 - Other resources Dan would recommend for veterans
• 34:27 - One piece of advice Dan would give to someone on Active Duty on how to prepare for their career transition
• 38:43 - Final words of wisdom