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BY Brock Dudley
A 3-Step Process: June 2024 Conference Review
Hello everyone! Welcome back. I want to provide everyone with a quick update on how our June 2024 Career Conference went and give you a little insight into some preliminary conference statistics. I’d also like to shed some light on the conference and the process itself, what I would call a “3-step process”.
We concluded our June 2024 Conference last week and candidates are busy with our client companies conducting follow-up interviews.
The follow-up process consists of a mix of virtual and in-person interviews with companies where there was mutual interest in moving forward in the interview process. For the next two to three weeks, the candidates will be involved in the follow-up interview process where they will conduct site visits and learn more about companies. On average, the entire process takes ~18 working days for candidates to attend the CC, conduct follow-up interviews, earn offers, compare options, and choose the right fit!
So, what were the statistics?
The candidates conducted a total of 463 interviews in two days, with an average of 11.6 interviews per candidate! The pursuit rate for this Career Conference was 71.4%.
The “pursuit rate” is defined as the number of interviews in which the candidate achieved success divided by the total number of interviews. “Achieving success” in an interview at the Career Conference simply means the candidates got over the “bar” set by our client companies, and the companies expressed interest in moving forward with the candidate
All the companies who attended the conference had been to a conference before except for 1 company! So, what does that mean? A couple things:
- Companies value your background, and they’re looking for your leadership. It’s worked for them in the past, and they are coming back to hire. 90% of these openings were back-filling open positions where the predecessor had taken a promotion. And keep in mind, these positions are for experienced-level hires.
- Over 25 Cameron-Brooks alumni came back to hire as Hiring Managers.
- Strict adherence to our commitment to bringing the right companies to the Career Conference who understand your background, have open positions with a start date that aligns with your timing, a job description, and the position is set up and designed for you to transition out and up into a developmental career and avoid one of the biggest missteps in the transition: Underemployment.
3-Step Process
- Cameron-Brooks Career-Conference: The culminating event for Officers in the Cameron-Brooks Development and Preparation Program. We have 5 Career Conferences a year. Each conference is a 4 ½ day event scheduled 45-60 days to the left of an officer’s terminal leave start date.When you attend a Cameron-Brooks Career Conference, you’ll bypass the algorithms and the AI filters. You will not submit applications and will go directly to the Hiring Managers and the decision-makers. Throughout the Development and Preparation Program, you’ll have many conversations and 1 on 1 coaching sessions with a transition coach, and together, we’ll build a plan based on your career field interests. When it comes time for the Conference, we’ll build a tailored interview schedule based on the openings and your career field preferences. When that is set, you’ll interview with A-tier, industry-leading companies, which in the June 2024 Conference scenario, would be 12 different companies.The goal of the Career Conference? Well, to demonstrate your interest and show that you can solve the company’s problem which is the open position! When you have the right mindset in the interviews and can demonstrate your interest, build rapport, and connect your background, you’ll have a higher pursuit rate which in turn translates to more opportunities! The goal with the first round of interviews is to get to the second round with options! It’s important for to go in with the right mindset, one that understands and recognizes that this process takes time. It’s important to not try and figure everything out on the first date because it typically goes nowhere.
- Follow-up Process: Like any relationship, it’s almost impossible to “get married on the first date”. Why do I like saying that? Well, because like most dates, neither party has all the facts on the other. The follow-up process is designed for companies and officers who have a strong mutual interest in one another to go on a “second date”. In the follow-up process, you’ll have the ability to learn more about the position, the company, the culture, the team you will work with and the environment you’ll be in. Without the follow-up process, you and the company have only a hypothesis on what this relationship will be like.In the follow-up process, you will have demonstrated your ability to solve the company’s problem, connect your background, and have a genuine interest and excitement about the opportunity. The desired end state of step two is to earn offers.
- Earn offers and decide: This is the final step. You can’t decide until you have offers in hand.This stage reminds me of my wife and me. Together, we drive around the beautiful Texas Hill Country and look at homes that we can’t afford and say to ourselves, “Yeah I’d live there.”, or, “I wouldn’t live there. I don’t like that exterior. The kitchen needs to be updated.” Funny, because we don’t even have enough money to afford any of these homes in the first place!My point is, when you have offers in hand, that’s when it’s time to make a decision that will suit your family and current situation best. It’s important to keep this in mind and not decide until you have all the facts.
In summary, it’s important to have the right mindset when it comes time to transition out of the military and get into a developmental business career. Seeking feedback, having a growth mindset, and viewing every opportunity if it were your only opportunity is important to success at a Cameron-Brooks Career Conference.
Stay Tuned!
On July 16, my colleague Pete Van Epps will conduct the post-June 2024 Career Conference with several Cameron-Brooks alumni who attended the June Conference and have successfully launched their post-military business careers. Our alumni will share their experiences in the Cameron-Brooks program, discuss their experience at the Career Conference and in the follow-up process, and why they chose their companies!
Pete will tackle a wide array of topics during these real JMO transition stories and most of the questions will come from the group who attend the live webcast. Sample questions are:
- What was the best part of the Conference?
- How do you professionally handle a business interview in a virtual environment when there is more than one person in the room?
- How do you prepare for back-to-back interviews when meeting different industries, companies, and functional career opportunities?
- What was the follow-up interview process like?
- Were there any professional certifications you pursued before the Career Conference that set you apart?
- Was your college degree a factor in your interviews?
- What type of training will you receive at your new company?
- How do you manage the vast amount of information at the Career Conference?
If you are interested in learning more about your options or what could be next for you after the military, feel free to give me a call to discuss your options. Often, a short conversation with someone can be helpful in your decision-making process.
Whether you decide to stay in or get out, and regardless of whether you commit to a career in Corporate America, just having a conversation about your future plans and goals can help. If that is you, call me or email me directly to get started.
Brock Dudley
Principal, Transition Coach
