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    Recruiting Through Trends

    The Recruiter Spotlight - OS1 Gacuya

    Photo By Chief Petty Officer Joshua Wahl | Operations Specialist 1st Class Melioner Gacuya attached to Navy Talent Acquisition...... read more read more

    Recruiting Through Trends
    Story by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Joshua Wahl, Navy Talent Acquisition Group New England

    Some people may struggle to find direction or purpose, but for Operations Specialist 1st Class Melioner Gacuya, a native of Cavite City, Philippines, listening to people's needs and helping find answers to their questions is where he excels, especially in his recruiting career.

    Gacuya grew familiar with the military at a young age while traveling with his older sister, who adopted and brought him with her as she served in the Navy. He graduated from U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, Nile C. Kinnick High School in 2003 before making his way to the Yokosuka naval recruiting office.

    "My older brothers, sister and nephew were all in the Navy, and I felt it would be the perfect chance to start my career,” said Gacuya. "Looking back now after the opportunity to travel around the world and seeing how the Navy has taken care of my family, it was the right choice."

    Gacuya has worked on large and small ships from the USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) to the USS Sampson (DDG 102), where he reunited with his sister. Ashore, he operated as a guard detainee at Navy Expeditionary Guard Battalion in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and back to Japan with the Fleet Coordinating Group in Yokosuka. Pulling from his diverse naval experience and looking into ways to advance his career, he found recruiting in 2018.

    "My brother had completed a recruiting tour and said to do it," said Gacuya. "It has given me a chance to express my creativity and meet new people."

    After spending three years attached to Navy Talent Acquisition Group New England, Gacuya said social media is where you see the best engagement reaching the new generation.

    "COVID-19 showed us that if you are not prospecting online, you are going to struggle in recruiting," said Gacuya. "Finding strengths using trends and engaging content to spark this generation's interest is just a new way to network."

    Gacuya said many students are not actively looking or unsure what they want to do as they approach graduation.

    "Listening and keeping an open mind when connecting to people helps show Navy opportunities they might never have known about," said Gacuya. "Securing a contract that fits their dreams can be just as rewarding for yourself as it is for our future Sailors.”

    Gacuya credits his online imagination for his recruiting success.

    “My strengths are my confidence and my crazy ideas on promoting Navy awareness," said Gacuya. "Most of my social media posts have a ripple effect. They get shared over and over with a couple going viral."

    A consistent sense of positivity has helped Gacuya overcome challenges in recruiting.

    "You may have days that don't go your way," said Gacuya. "That’s when you need to turn negative vibes positive and bring out the joy."

    NRC consists of a command headquarters, three Navy Recruiting Regions, 26 NTAGs, and 64 TAOCs that serve more than 1,000 recruiting stations worldwide. Their mission is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America's Navy.

    For more news from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, go to http://www.cnrc.navy.mil. Follow Navy Recruiting on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MyNAVYHR), Twitter (@USNRecruiter) and Instagram (@USNRecruiter).

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.20.2021
    Date Posted: 08.20.2021 11:45
    Story ID: 403615
    Location: US

    Web Views: 235
    Downloads: 0

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