thedrifter
01-02-07, 08:27 AM
Top Army recruiter succeeds by listening
January 02,2007
Anne Clark
Not so long ago, Steven James was in trouble — drifting from one friend’s house to the next, fired from a fast food job for coming in late.
“My life was going nowhere,” said James, 19. “I wasn’t doing anything with it.”
That’s before he met Jeffrey Sessoms, a retired Marine gunnery sergeant — and one of the top Army recruiters in the country.
Sessoms found the young man’s birth certificate, got him an ID, and offered him a job with purpose.
Now James is a private in the U.S. Army, on leave from basic training, proud in his all-terrain utilities.
“I’ve always wanted to be a soldier,” James said. “So far, it’s everything I was hoping it would be.”
That could be because his recruiter offered no empty promises.
“I care enough about them to tell them the truth,” Sessoms said.
He asks the young people he sees about their career goals. Then they talk about what the Army can give them.
“I’m offering them something they don’t have,” Sessoms said. “(Joining the Army) is a great way to start your life and get the discipline you need.”
That caring, optimistic approach was how Sessoms’ recruiter treated him, decades ago, when he was a Baltimore teen.
The Marine recruiter came to the house to re-enlist his brother.
“I went in (to the service) with open arms,” Sessoms said. “I saw the world, so I was happy.”
Sessoms spent his active duty career both as a Marine recruiter and as a career retention specialist, or a career planner.
Young Marines who faced the end of their enlistment had to see him before separating from the military.
“Basically, I had to resell them on staying in the Corps,” Sessoms said.
One young Marine who’d been deployed for most of his four-year commitment was ready to get out.
Sessoms asked why.
The Marine said that his long absences were straining his marriage. As Sessoms listened, the Marine continued: he also didn’t like his commander and he wanted to stay in CONUS for his next assignment.
Sessoms got the young man transferred to California for a non-deploying billet. The Marine re-enlisted.
But it got harder to sell Marines on staying in because of the increased operations tempo, Sessoms said.
“The Army is larger, so the ops tempo isn’t as demanding,” said Sessoms, who retired from the Corps in September 2004 and went to work as an Army recruiter a month later.
On this New Year’s Day, he was meeting with potential recruits in the armed forces recruiting office on Western Boulevard Extension, in a building shared with recruiters from other military branches.
Even with a war on, the Army and Marine Corps exceeded their recruiting goals last November.
Sessoms contributed to that figure, signing 70 recruits to the Army in 2006.
For that, he was named the country’s top civilian Army recruiter last year working within Serco, one of two recruiting companies. He’s the No. 2 civilian Army in the nation overall.
He’s successful, he said, because he knows the Army well; he also has a comfortable, almost paternal manner that helps young men and women open up.
“(Applicants) are going to come with misinformation and objections,” Sessoms said. “You have to listen to them.”
Like he listened to Jacob Clark, a former Marine who’d struggled in the construction business. Clark, 25, has hip problems that kept him out of the Marines when he tried to re-enlist.
“I talked to Mr. Sessoms, and he worked with me,” Clark said. “I’m excited to get back in.”
Besides candidates who walk in, Sessoms finds potential recruits through his work at local high schools, by telephone and in local retailers.
Sessoms also shrewdly uses the Internet; he found one recruit, DeeDee Volp, after she filled an online survey at www.army.com.
Now the 33-year-old Volp is on her way to basic training, a goal she’s embraced after years of interest.
Sessoms helped her finally make the leap.
“I found him to be straightforward and honest,” Volp said. “He looked out for me.”
Yes, there’s potential for these new recruits to see combat. But they also stand to make high-dollar bonuses, work a job they enjoy, get free college degrees and good health insurance.
Sessoms often gets letters from new recruits thanking him.
“They’ll write, ‘It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for,’” Sessoms said.
“For them, it’s a life-changing experience. And that’s why I do what I do.”
Ellie
January 02,2007
Anne Clark
Not so long ago, Steven James was in trouble — drifting from one friend’s house to the next, fired from a fast food job for coming in late.
“My life was going nowhere,” said James, 19. “I wasn’t doing anything with it.”
That’s before he met Jeffrey Sessoms, a retired Marine gunnery sergeant — and one of the top Army recruiters in the country.
Sessoms found the young man’s birth certificate, got him an ID, and offered him a job with purpose.
Now James is a private in the U.S. Army, on leave from basic training, proud in his all-terrain utilities.
“I’ve always wanted to be a soldier,” James said. “So far, it’s everything I was hoping it would be.”
That could be because his recruiter offered no empty promises.
“I care enough about them to tell them the truth,” Sessoms said.
He asks the young people he sees about their career goals. Then they talk about what the Army can give them.
“I’m offering them something they don’t have,” Sessoms said. “(Joining the Army) is a great way to start your life and get the discipline you need.”
That caring, optimistic approach was how Sessoms’ recruiter treated him, decades ago, when he was a Baltimore teen.
The Marine recruiter came to the house to re-enlist his brother.
“I went in (to the service) with open arms,” Sessoms said. “I saw the world, so I was happy.”
Sessoms spent his active duty career both as a Marine recruiter and as a career retention specialist, or a career planner.
Young Marines who faced the end of their enlistment had to see him before separating from the military.
“Basically, I had to resell them on staying in the Corps,” Sessoms said.
One young Marine who’d been deployed for most of his four-year commitment was ready to get out.
Sessoms asked why.
The Marine said that his long absences were straining his marriage. As Sessoms listened, the Marine continued: he also didn’t like his commander and he wanted to stay in CONUS for his next assignment.
Sessoms got the young man transferred to California for a non-deploying billet. The Marine re-enlisted.
But it got harder to sell Marines on staying in because of the increased operations tempo, Sessoms said.
“The Army is larger, so the ops tempo isn’t as demanding,” said Sessoms, who retired from the Corps in September 2004 and went to work as an Army recruiter a month later.
On this New Year’s Day, he was meeting with potential recruits in the armed forces recruiting office on Western Boulevard Extension, in a building shared with recruiters from other military branches.
Even with a war on, the Army and Marine Corps exceeded their recruiting goals last November.
Sessoms contributed to that figure, signing 70 recruits to the Army in 2006.
For that, he was named the country’s top civilian Army recruiter last year working within Serco, one of two recruiting companies. He’s the No. 2 civilian Army in the nation overall.
He’s successful, he said, because he knows the Army well; he also has a comfortable, almost paternal manner that helps young men and women open up.
“(Applicants) are going to come with misinformation and objections,” Sessoms said. “You have to listen to them.”
Like he listened to Jacob Clark, a former Marine who’d struggled in the construction business. Clark, 25, has hip problems that kept him out of the Marines when he tried to re-enlist.
“I talked to Mr. Sessoms, and he worked with me,” Clark said. “I’m excited to get back in.”
Besides candidates who walk in, Sessoms finds potential recruits through his work at local high schools, by telephone and in local retailers.
Sessoms also shrewdly uses the Internet; he found one recruit, DeeDee Volp, after she filled an online survey at www.army.com.
Now the 33-year-old Volp is on her way to basic training, a goal she’s embraced after years of interest.
Sessoms helped her finally make the leap.
“I found him to be straightforward and honest,” Volp said. “He looked out for me.”
Yes, there’s potential for these new recruits to see combat. But they also stand to make high-dollar bonuses, work a job they enjoy, get free college degrees and good health insurance.
Sessoms often gets letters from new recruits thanking him.
“They’ll write, ‘It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for,’” Sessoms said.
“For them, it’s a life-changing experience. And that’s why I do what I do.”
Ellie