Our Blog

BY Joel Junker

Cameron-Brooks Review of the Economy

Several JMO candidates have contacted Cameron-Brooks asking how the economy has affected Cameron-Brooks and our candidates’ career searches.  I surmised there were likely many more JMOs curious about the job market and the economy that were not contacting us directly, and thought the Cameron-Brooks Blog would be a good place to provide all JMOs who are considering a transition to business, more information about current conditions and how the recession has affected Cameron-Brooks and our candidates.

Even though our economy was in recession all of 2008, for the first 3 quarters of that year our clients maintained a strong demand for JMO leadership that equaled demand from previous years.  In other words, we did not experience any changes to Conferences, opportunities, number of interviews, or compensation plans.  The financial crisis that hit in late September 2008 made the recession spiral deepen as we headed into the 4^th quarter and our final Career Conference of the year, in November.  Because our clients focus on the long term and invest in talent, they continued to recruit Cameron-Brooks JMOs as part of their talent development strategy.  We experienced little change in the quality and number of career opportunities, though the company recruiters were much more selective in whom they pursued and hired at the November 2008 Conference. 

At the start of 2009, the whole economic world braced for the unknown as the economy continued to decline.  As a result, the national economy saw tightening in the labor market while the unemployment rate rose.  However, the Cameron-Brooks January, April and June Conference candidates averaged over 8 interviews at each Conference.  You can see that many companies continued to hire from Cameron-Brooks despite the overall economy, and the average number of interviews for each candidate only decreased slightly compared to our traditional average. 

Despite the challenges, something that has not changed throughout the downturn is the Cameron-Brooks focus on high quality companies, positions and candidates.  Like all Built to Last type companies, we have a strong set of enduring values and one of them is quality.  If you were to ask any of the Cameron-Brooks candidates who attended our 2009 Conferences, they would tell you it would have been impossible to see the quality and number of opportunities at one time and in one location had they not been in our program.  The majority of our clients are FORTUNE 500 companies, though we have many that are privately held, headquartered outside the US, or small and rapidly growing and therefore not on the FORTUNE 500 list.  What they all have in common is that they are industry leaders and are well positioned to hire quality JMOs in any economy.

 The industries, companies and positions represented at the 2009 Conferences have been just as exciting as past years despite the recession.  Industries include biopharmaceutical manufacturing, consumer products, microelectronics and semiconductor, medical device manufacturing and sales, consumer and industrial packaging, oil and gas production and exploration, consulting, banking and more.  Examples of industry leading companies at 2009 Conferences include ExxonMobil, Ernst & Young, Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, Procter & Gamble, General Mills and many more.  Job titles included Field Consultant, Engineering Project Manager, Quality Engineer, Associate Brand Manager, Plastic Surgery Account Manager, Contracts Administrator, Operations Project Manager, Process Improvement Analyst, Procurement Advisor, Operations Team Leader, Manufacturing Manager, Maintenance Manager, Safety Manager/Engineer, Clinical Specialist, Associate Territory Manager, Consulting Associate and more.

Cameron-Brooks is able to bring these high quality companies and positions from diverse industries because of our 40 plus experience in the JMO recruiting industry.  We know how to navigate today’s market, and we have long term trusting relationships with clients who consider Cameron-Brooks a strategic source of talent with which to build the future leadership of their company.  With those 40 plus years of experience, we have also built a strong and loyal Cameron-Brooks Alumni group who recognize the value of our candidates and services.  This year especially, many have been instrumental in prioritizing their companies’ limited openings for Cameron-Brooks JMOs.  In fact as I write this, both Rene Brooks and Chuck Alvarez are on the phone with Cameron-Brooks Alumni discussing their attendance at the August Conference.  Some of our alum have moved to different companies since we placed them, and as a result, in 2009, we have developed new relationships with many new companies creating more opportunities for our candidates. 

Bottom line, the economy has been tough and the job market is still tight, but Cameron-Brooks has utilized our 40 years of experience to navigate the challenging job market. Our high quality clients think strategically/long term and hire for future leaders even in an uncertain market.  The Cameron-Brooks Alumni group continues to bring more opportunities for our JMOs.  Cameron-Brooks still offers our candidates the occasion to interview for more opportunities with high quality companies than anyone else.  Exciting industries, companies, and positions are still available to top performing JMOs who are willing to prepare for a successful career search. 

My next blog post will be about our clients’ outlook for the future.  Be sure to check the blog again soon.

 Joel Junker