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BY Brock Dudley
3-Part Winning Strategy: November 23’ Career Conference
It is hard to believe the final Conference of 2023 is almost here! We are 2 days away from our November 2023 Career Conference and I’m here to tell you the 3-part winning strategy that comes into play for every candidate during the conference.
My First Blog Post
Let me introduce myself. My name is Brock Dudley, and I am the newest Transition Coach at Cameron-Brooks. I am a former Naval Surface Warfare Officer and Cameron-Brooks Alumnus. I made the decision in November of 2022 to partner with Cameron-Brooks and attend the August 2023 Career Conference but never made it to the Conference. I interviewed with Cameron-Brooks beforehand instead.
This is my first blog post and first conference as an employee. I am using this post to reflect on 2023 and all the exciting changes that have occurred in my life, as well as what I’ve seen in my first 30 days as an employee and not a candidate.
As I write this, I reflect on the last 12 months and all the exciting changes that have occurred in my life. I got engaged, completed my third and final deployment in the Navy, moved to Texas, and prepared to attend the August 2023 Career Conference, interviewed with Cameron-Brooks before the conference and accepted a position here! The two most significant things that happened are that I got married in September and launched my new career!
Before I get into sample industries and companies attending the November conference, I want to discuss some of my personal observations in my first 30 days at Cameron Brooks.
As a new employee in my first job outside of the military, I am in hyper-learning mode, to say the least. I walk everywhere with my notebook or my yellow legal pad. I take many notes, observe, and sit in on many conversations with candidates with my colleagues, Pete Van Epps, and Joel Junker, who is the Senior Vice President of the company. I also attend meetings with the management team at Cameron-Brooks, including our CEO, Chuck Alvarez. Yes, I am fortunate enough to have a seat at the table!
My observations
- Successful transition formula: Officers who have put the most time into preparation, want to do a broad career search to compare all their options, and are willing to be flexible on location for great opportunities to launch their careers, maximize their number of interviews and in turn, maximize their chances for transition success. This is a winning formula and provides candidates with the best of opportunities.
Successful transition formula = Preparation + Broad career Search + openness to location!
- The matching process: When companies attend a career conference, we match candidates to them based on many different factors: Company requirements, candidate career field interest and location preferences, significant other career, and their location preferences, as well as objective qualifications.
I’ve been able to sit in on the dynamic and complex 3 rounds of matching and if there is one thing I’ve learned: We SWEAT location! It is not about us; it is about the candidate and what they desire and what their significant other desires along with their career. If a candidate does not want to be in a specific location, we don’t match them with that company which can decrease their number of interviews. A candidate may be a perfect match objectively for a company and it’s the type of role and career field they desire to be in, however, because they are hard on location, they are not put on that interview which in turn decreases their number of interviews.
We see that an Officer who has a great attitude and mindset on launching their career and is open on location ends up with more interviews and opportunities with all roads leading back to their desired location – simple as that!
- Economy: This is a strange economy. However, it is also part of the 3-part winning strategy because companies need leaders. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment is currently sitting at 3.8%. This is low, which shows that companies are hiring, but it is still a tight economy. The bar is HIGH for companies right now and they are screening very competitively. This isn’t a bad thing; it just means candidates need to be even more prepared when it comes time to interview. Our CEO, Chuck Alvarez, has previously discussed his thoughts on the Economy and what we believe to be the pros for Junior Military Officers making the transition out in a tight economy like this. If you are interested in hearing more, listen to this two-part podcast here and here.
Despite the Economy, companies continue to come to Cameron-Brooks because they value the Junior Military Officer. Companies value the leadership advantage you have along with the experience you have in managing people, programs, projects, and equipment. They value the JMO’s high learning agility, desire to come to Corporate America and his/her ability to add value from day one. Most of all, they value the fact that these high achievers can become future leaders in the company.
Here at Cameron-Brooks, we view ourselves as a guide in your transition to help you get where you want to go and launch your career in Corporate America. We assist you in developing your winning strategy by putting together multiple interviews within a 2-day period (averaging 9.6 interviews for the November conference), increasing your business knowledge, and providing coaching on how to effectively communicate military accomplishments to hiring managers and decision-makers from A-Tier, industry-leading companies. We even have a CFO conducting interviews at the November conference!
Now to what you’ve all been waiting for.
Here is a quick sampling of what we have in store for the November candidates:
Sample Industries Include:
Robotics; Alternative Energy; Medical Devices; Heavy Machinery; Healthcare; Consumer Package Goods (CPG); Oil and gas; Facilities Services; Semiconductors; Professional Services; Packaging; Building Materials; Communications; Specialty Vehicles; and many more.
Sample Positions Include:
Supply Chain Manager; Territory Manager; Clinical Specialist; Field Sales Associate; Facility Administrator; Senior Financial Analyst; Regional Service Manager; Six Sigma Black Belt; Production Supervisor; Business Analyst/Project Management; Process Analyzer Engineer; Fast Track Associate Sales Representative; Associate Branch Manager; Procurement Specialist; Consultant – Artificial Intelligence & Automation Practice; Automation Engineer; Operations Manager; Brand Management; Production Manager; Sr. Account Manager; Project Development Manager; Reliability Engineer; Growth Director; Regional Sales Manager; and many more.
If you’d like to learn more about Cameron-Brooks, explore your personal marketability, or schedule a consultation with one of our Transition Coaches, I encourage you to call us at 210-874-1500 or schedule on our website. Please feel free to email me below if you would like to explore your options.
Stay tuned for our Post-November 2023 Career Conference results! We will be back in two weeks.
Brock Dudley
Principal, Transition Coach
