Josh Hallam

Work Experience

I learned about teamwork and what it really takes to put the mission first while I was in the Army. Most of my time in the Army was as a Team Leader, leading a 4-man fire team, in garrison and in combat. I led morning physical fitness, made sure the barracks were cleaned, and I kept my team motivated in the face of dehydration and depression in Iraq. My Squad Leader had surgery in my 2nd year in the Army, and for six months, I was the acting Squad Leader, doing a job a couple pay grades higher than mine with a few years less experience. At first, it was an uncomfortable experience; I felt like the other Squad Leaders resented me for being a newly promoted Specialist, doing the job of a Staff Sergeant. I recognized my lack of experience though and asked to be mentored and the whole attitude in the group changed and they were more than willing to help me learn.

After college, I worked at Wal-Mart for eight years. Most of that time was a supervisor, where I was given a list of tasks that I had to delegate to members of my team. It was hard, thankless work. If there were problems of people getting along, I had to find the cause and a solution. Luckily, it is a big store and sometimes it was as easy as separating them to different tasks. For a while, I was a Support Manager, which was the 2nd in charge of the store at night, after the store manager leaves. It was then my job to walk the store, create notes to pass on to the department managers (or their teams if they have left) to get the store ready to be stocked overnight. I then had to verify that the list was getting done. I frequently had to handle customer complaints and make the customer feel better and want to come back in to shop another day.

Maintenance: I cleaned an Olympic sized swimming pool, a smaller, but still large kids pool, a wading pool, and the park grounds.
Team Leader: I was an airborne infantryman and learned how to push my body past the limits I thought I had.
Administrative Assistant: I was an administrative assistant at the Everett Vet Center, a mental health clinic for combat veterans ran by the Department of Veteran Affairs.
Courtesy Clerk: I helped Spanish speaking customers, stocked bread, helped people carry their groceries to their car, and cleaned the store.
Team Lead: I had three different management positions at Wal-Mart. Each one had its challenges, but I was able to get some valuable leadership skills there. Being a leader in the Army is completely different than in a civilian job since everybody in the Army is committed to the mission 100%, even more than they are committed to their families (even if they really aren't).
Freelance: Since I have been in school, I have had a few freelance jobs. I have been an interpreter for onboarding, I have built an inventory tracking app for a local grocery store, and I have also translated documents.