Our Blog

BY Joel Junker

April 2012 Career Conference Results

We just completed the April 2012 Career Conference this week.  48 candidates and 15 spouses and support team members attended the conference, and all candidates have multiple companies pursuing them into the follow-up process.  The candidates interviewed with an average of 12.8 companies and averaged 8.6 companies pursuing them for a 67% pursuit rate.  This is very consistent with the most recent Career Conferences.  The ratio of opportunities to candidates at this conference was  approximately 2:1.  The entire Cameron-Brooks team congratulates the April Conference candidates on their first step in their transition to the business world.

In my blog post prior to the conference, I discussed the importance of a balance between research, deliberation, and trust in making big life choices.  The group of candidates that attended the April Career Conference was a testament to this.  Prior to even showing up at the Conference, they had done their research, deliberated, and were well prepared.  Additionally,  they put their trust in Cameron-Brooks to help them navigate their career transitions into Corporate America, and that trust is something that all of us at Cameron-Brooks take very seriously.  We look forward to our continued relationship with all of the April Career Conference candidates in the coming weeks during the follow-up interview process.

The size of the companies attending our April Career Conference varied from several companies with 35+ employees to companies with over 119,000 employees.  There were privately held companies represented as well as some of the largest companies on the FORTUNE 500 list.  Of the companies that attended the conference, ~20% were new companies brought to Cameron-Brooks by way of our alumni or by reputation.  Industries included consulting/risk assurance, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, building materials, construction & mining, information technology, consumer products, high-tech manufacturing, logistics, financial services, and medical device.

Our client companies brought a wide variety of position titles to the Conference, including account manager, marketing product manager, field clinical representative, manufacturing management, plant manager, assistant general manager, applications engineer, sales account executive, project engineer, lean engineer, product marketing engineer, financial management, operations team leader, senior consultant, buyer/planner, associate brand manager, general manager, director of accounts manager, business analyst, and six sigma black belt.

The list of client companies at the April Conference included the following:

• The world’s largest family owned winery with market share of approximately 30% of the domestic table-wine market in the United States.  Founded over 80 years ago, they operate five wineries and 15,000 acres of vineyards throughout northern California and account for over 50% of every bottle of wine exported from the U.S.  This company has been a long-standing client of Cameron-Brooks and attended the April Conference to find dynamic leadership they can invest in for the long-term.
• A global material supplier to the lithium battery industry that develops and markets the highly engineered membrane separators used for leading-edge portable power applications to include Electric Device Vehicles (EDV).  They are investing $2-3B in both expansion and Greenfield efforts of their manufacturing facilities in the Southeast.  They have attended the last two conferences  looking to find top leadership talent through JMOs to help their expansion and growth efforts.
• One of the world’s leading innovative technology companies that has a proud history of enriching people’s lives through research and technological innovation.  For over 150 years, this company has developed life-changing innovations including the glass for Edison’s light bulb, ultra-thin glass for active matrix liquid crystal displays (LCDs), ceramic substrates for diesel and automotive emissions control, and the first commercially viable, low-loss fiber for use in telecommunications.  This company is a long-time client of Cameron-Brooks and its various divisions regularly attend conferences to find top leadership talent.
• One of the world’s premier financial services companies.  With a history that spans more than 135 years, this company is a leading provider of insurance, investments, and other financial services for both individuals and institutions around the globe.  This company offers a broad range of financial services including life insurance, mutual funds, annuities, pension and retirement-related services and administration, asset management, securities brokerage, banking and trust services to individuals and institutions worldwide.  This company has attended many conferences before hiring for a variety of business analysis positions.
• This company develops medicines for patients with rare, life-threatening genetic diseases.  Referred to as orphan diseases due to a smaller patient pool, this company has leading expertise in enzyme replacement therapy, allowing them to develop a number of effective treatments for rare conditions caused by enzyme or protein deficiencies.  The company has doubled in size in the last five years and 30% of the company’s revenue is derived from products launched in the last two years.  The company attended the conference looking for JMOs to fill a variety of leadership roles.
• One of the world’s leading suppliers of fast-moving consumer goods.  Every day, 160 million people in 180 countries choose this company’s brands to feed their families and to clean their homes.  The company’s mission is to create vitality by meeting the everyday needs of people everywhere, producing delicious, nutritious foods  and products that allow consumers to get the most out of life.  Within the U.S., the company operates as 3 distinct business regions with each region focused on the development, growth, and management of its portfolio of brands but still shares the benefit of being part of a global company.  The company is a mainstay on the FORTUNE Global 500 list as it enjoys a #1 or #2 leadership position in nearly every category in which it competes.  They attended the conference to find top leadership talent for a variety of operations, manufacturing, and business analysis positions.

To learn more about the Cameron-Brooks Career Conference experience, I’ve posted several videos from candidates who attended the April Conference on our Facebook as well as a couple of videos below:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf6uvJfQHIg&w=560&h=315]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jht_j9XgWj4&w=560&h=315]

Rob Davis