Our Blog

BY Joel Junker

August 2015 Career Conference Results

We are excited to put the finishing touches on another very successful Career Conference and start working on all of the follow-up interviews to come in the next 18 working days!  47 candidates , 20 spouses/support team members, and over 30 companies were in attendance.  The candidates averaged 12 interviews and over 550 interviews were conducted at the Conference on Monday and Tuesday!  As a group,  the pursuit rate was ~61%, with the pursuit rate defined as the number of interviews in which the candidates achieved success divided by the total number of their interviews.   Achieving success in an interview at the Career Conference simply means the companies expressed interest in moving forward in the interview process with the candidate.

One of the most important factors in a company’s decision to further pursue a candidate is the candidate’s ability to communicate and build rapport during the interview.  We often refer to the Career Conference as “speed dating with companies” because the candidate is interviewing with several different companies over a short two-day period.  Imagine if you were speed dating in real life and had a limited amount of time to meet with each date. How would you pick someone after the speed dating was concluded?  You might say something like “chemistry, how we got along, looks, personality, etc.”  Now, put yourself in the position of the client company and imagine how you would pick the people you want to pursue and potentially hire.  As we out brief our client companies, when they give a candidate a “yes”, we often hear a lot of the same comments such as “good communicator, built rapport well, really good answers to my questions, etc.”  It’s the ability of the candidate to create an indelible impression on the company that results in a positive initial interview.  If a candidate has not communicated well in the interview and has done a poor job building rapport in the interview, they will often get ruled out regardless of how strong their resume looks.

Because this is such an important factor, it is never too early to start working on your business communication skills.  In the next six weeks, Cameron-Brooks recruiters will be traveling to Manhattan, KS; Norfolk, VA; Fayetteville, NC; El Paso, TX; Lawton, OK; Jacksonville, NC; Fort Walton Beach, FL; Tacoma, WA; Los Angeles, CA; Oahu, HI; Washington D.C.; and Watertown, NY. If you cannot make one of these visits, we also offer live and recorded Webcasts on, “Considering a Business Career?  What You Should Know,” and we can conduct phone and Skype Video personal sessions.  Take control of your career, set a goal, develop a plan of action, prepare, and when you do you will reduce the variability in your results and reach your goals.

We are excited for all of the August Career Conference candidates and their families as they take their next steps to launch their business careers!

Rob Davis