We have completed our last Career Conference for 2009 in Austin, TX. Our candidates averaged 9.6 interviews each, continuing the trend of opportunities increasing as the economy heads into recovery. 17 support team members helped the candidates convert initial interviews into over 5.5 company pursuits. We’ll continue to provide you access to the results of our November candidates through Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/ylztw96) and our discussion forums (http://cameron-brooks.yourwebforum.com/). We encourage you to use these resources to gain confidence about your transition and get excited about your ability to find a great business career.
At each Conference, we take time to listen to our client companies. Their perspective should help you understand why the combination of military leadership experience and effective preparation results in success. We’d like to share with you some of their comments and how you can use them to impact your transition process.
“The tough times are the new normal. We need leaders with a track record of working through adversity.” You have served in the military during one of the most challenging periods in several decades. Your leadership is forged in an environment that is constantly changing and testing your resolve. While it hasn’t been easy, it has developed your ability to overcome obstacles, focus on success and innovate. As businesses drive forward into the economic recovery, they expect to face continued headwinds from changing markets and intense competition. At the Conference, candidates who stepped up to show their ability to get results in tough situations impressed the recruiters during the interviews.
“Markets are changing and we need change agents who can lead us through the transformation.” Even the news has started to change. After many months of negative reporting, you are likely seeing the positive signs as economists and business leaders comment on the recovery. News articles like this one in U.S. News from September http://tiny.cc/H80c8 and this “Opinion” article from The Wall Street Journal in October http://tiny.cc/nT6VL highlight the changes that businesses are facing. While it is good to see evidence of the turnaround, this means that businesses that have focused on streamlining operations and cutting back must now prepare their organizations for growth. Several Cameron-Brooks client companies noted how impressed they were with the ability of our candidates to lead through change. One company at the November Conference that created a new business initiative targeted Cameron-Brooks candidates as their only source for filling the new position.
“We are hiring leaders who can develop other leaders.” By hiring leaders who can develop others, companies are able to multiply their success. As a junior military officer, you have the opportunity to work with a wide range of military personnel and help them move their careers forward. Few people in your age group have had the opportunity to impact others in this way. For a business that faces the retirement of the baby-boomers, hiring a leader that can mentor, coach and develop others is a step toward meeting today’s and tomorrow’s leadership needs. We continue to hear about businesses that are working to develop their leadership “bench strength” and they are working on it now.
We recently released the Candidate Resource Center (https://cas.cameron-brooks.com/CandidatePortal/), our new online access to the Development and Preparation Program© (DPP©). We feel this is an important step in making career information available to you, wherever you are. DPP© has been updated based on the feedback we have received from you on how we can best help you prepare. As always, we appreciate our relationship with the great men and women of our Armed Forces. Our best wishes to all as you head into the end of 2009 and the holiday season. Steve Sosland and Scott LePage will continue to visit military bases worldwide to bring you the most current information on the economy and business careers for junior military officers. Please visit our updated website for information on a base trip near you or our next webcast where you can gather information to help with your decisions and your preparation.
One final note, visit our Facebook page http://tinyurl.com/dfqoq4 and watch videos of November Conference candidates explain their experience and lessons learned in preparation, reading and timing.
Roger Cameron and the Cameron-Brooks Team
Roger,
I think we need to acknowledge that on the day we posted the results from the November 2009 Conference unemployment reached 10.2%, the highest since the early 80′s. Although a concerning number for the macro economy, The statistics from the November Conference and for that matter all year, are very different than the over all US labor market. I want to share with you an e-mail Chuck Alvarez sent me. For those of you who do not know Chuck, he manages a signficant number of our clients and is leading the follow up interview process for this November Conference.
“Joel,
Unemployment hit a 26 year high of 10.2% this AM, but this is not an accurate reflection of the opportunities for the Cameron-Brooks candidate. The 10.2% reflects the general labor markets and includes all industries and part time/hourly workers.
At C-B, we are still noticing a good demand for JMO talent. Our November candidates averaged 9.5 interviews each. It’s certainly a challenging job market because companies are cautious and holding candidates to high standards, but candidates who prepare and utilize our Development and Preparation Program (DPP) can take advantage of this opportunity.
If anything, the 10.2% indicates that our DPP candidates need to read more books, spend more time studying Fortune Magazine, coming to see us for one on one session and Workshops, and working through the DPP modules. This is the best way to prepare to win in this type of an economy. Chuck”
Joel Junker