I Inc and Beyond

Welcome to a more empowered way to pursue both your career and your life skills.

We want to invite US Veterans and Returning Citizens, along with anyone else who might be interested,  to follow our Podcast.  We will talk about how we approach career planning from a different perspective than traditional career planning processes and then go deeper into the development of valuable life skills. 

It is important that everyone be able to pursue a lifestyle that feeds their soul, draws on their personal strengths and addresses a real need in today's world.   

This podcast will be going into more detail about these concepts as well as providing access to other individuals who have been successful in their career quests. 

We hope that you want to become part of our movement.  

Interview with Tyrone Miller - US Vet with experience at Ford, WCCC as a teacher and as an Independent Contractor

Tyrone Miller served in the Navy for six years, spent over 40 years at Ford, taught at WCCC and has done independent HVAC contracting work. 

He talks about the importance of education, leveraging your experience in your career, loving what you do, finding a good fit between you and your career, always focusing on the customer, knowing how to deal with change and being a savvy business person. 

A tall order but a lot of great content and suggestions for how to be successful and he is still plugging away at 75.  

Hope you enjoy listening to him.  

Learning to Survive, Adapt and truly Flourish when confronted by change

Change Management is actually a bit of an oxymoron.  

We really do not manage change but rather manage how we deal with change. 

Whether you are being discharged from the military, or are a returning citizen, you are probably being confronted with major changes.  

This podcast will introduce you to a model called: Survive, Adapt and Flourish. 

It is a way to help you deal with the inevitable "Valley of Despair" that we all tend to experience when faced with change in our lives. 

Don't be a victim of change.  Embrace it and use this model to help you be more in control when confronted by change. 

 

Interview with Grayson Wilson - Army Vet and a wonderful person

Grayson has gotten through some tremendous challenges but now he is dedicated to helping veterans see that there is hope, and with a plan, can take control of their careers and their lives. 

I hope you enjoy listening to him and if you have any comments, please share them with us. 

Take care and be safe.  

Creating your own personal brand

Jeff Bezos is quoted as saying that "your personal brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room". 

We all have a personal brand.  The key is to decide what you want yours to be and then nurture it. 

Just like companies nurture their brands, you want to give yours the love and attention that it deserves. 

Take some time to reflect on what is important to you, write it down, and then craft an elevator pitch that reflects your brand.  Then, you are ready to use it when you are working on your resume, or participating in a networking event, or even answering questions in an interview.  

Let your brand guide and inform your decisions that you are in integrity with what you hold as important in your life. 

Good luck.  

Interview with Geoff Devereaux - Director of "No Veteran Left Behind"

Join us to hear from Geoff about the History of No Veteran Left Behind and their focus on helping Veterans, especially cope with mental health and substance abuse issues as well as helping Returning Citizens re-engage in the community. 

Geoff is also very active with the Round Table events sponsored by the University of Michigan - Dearborn.   

We also have a chance to chat about the I Inc model and how it can support vets and returning citizens become more of a full, well rounded person. 

We also discussed Warriors to Work program – and his partnership with Mark Meadows of VA Detroit providing needed services to many of our Veterans. 

Between "No Veteran Left Behind" and "I Inc." we are proud to be able to provide opportunities for veterans and returning citizens to become more empowered and entrepreneurial in their lives. 

For more information on "No Veteran Left Behind", you can read about it in Facebook. 

For I Inc., check out the following web page:   https://sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/mike-callahan/

Understanding the idea of a Personal Value Proposition (P.V.P.) and how to ensure you have a strong one.

Hear Mike Callahan discuss the idea of a Personal Value Proposition and how it is critical in creating your personal career Sweet Spot and telling a compelling career story.

The P.V.P. is a concept that many people struggle to truly understand and yet it is critical in being able to articulate the potential value that you can bring to a given employer.   

Mike explains a simple concept involving price and value, that we can all relate to, in helping understand the idea of your value proposition. 

He also builds the context of People, Customer and Business in helping you frame your Personal Value Proposition in a tangible manner.   

 

Big Interview. Available to veterans at no cost. Check it out

We are pleased to be able to offer a free training system for veterans and returning citizens that features a new and innovative way to help you prepare more effectively for a job interview. 

Big Interview is an online system that combines training AND practice to help improve your interview technique and build your confidence. 

Big Interview offers a variety of tools including:

• Challenging, virtual mock interviews for all experience levels and hundreds of industries

• A database of thousands of interview questions with tips on how to answer them

• The ability to rate and share your interview answers for feedback

• A comprehensive video training curriculum covering all aspects of landing a job

• A step-by-step interview Answer Builder for crafting answers to behavioral questions

• A Resume builder and Resume Curriculum

Go to the following website to register for access to Big Interview:

 https://tinyurl.com/VetsandRC

Interview with Tom Pitock, Veteran Affairs Coordinator for the University of Michigan - Dearborn

Tom Pitock is the Veteran Affairs Coordinator for UM-Dearborn. Originally from Carleton, MI, He has over 22 years of military service, retiring from the United States Coast Guard in 2008. He has over a decade of experience in higher education as a Veteran Education Professional. He represents military-affiliated students and promotes programs and services to ensure consistent veteran-student support.

Tom shares his experiences making the transition from the military to civilian life and has several suggestions for how veterans can make that transition more smoothly. 

I also want to remind our listeners that we are running the Career Planning workshop again in June starting on June 15th.  There is no charge and all of the required materials are provided.  If you need more information, you can go to the following website to register for the workshop:

https://sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/mike-callahan/mid-career

Thanks again to Tom for taking the time to meet with us.  

Interview with Chaka McDonald, Veterans and Military Families Navigator for Oakland County, Michigan

If you are a veteran, a family member of a veteran, or even a friend of a veteran who might need some help, you really need to listen to this podcast. 

Chaka is a wonderful person and also a tremendous resource for the veteran community.  

He helps veterans and their families with just about any challenge you can imagine a veteran might face from housing, to education, to careers, to personal life needs.  He is your man!

He can be reached at mcdonaldc@oaklandCHN.org or by calling 248-764-4443.  

One of his key suggestions is to not wait until the situation has become critical.  If you feel that he can help you, reach out to him.  He predominately is supporting veterans in Oakland County, Michigan but he can either help you or refer you to another navigator in one of the other counties in Michigan.  

By the way, Michigan and Texas are the only states that have navigators so take advantage of this opportunity.  

Thanks again to Chaka for taking the time to participate in this interview.  I am sure that you will gain a lot of valuable information from it.  

Good luck.