Our Blog

BY Joel Junker

January 2015 Career Conference Results

We have just concluded our first Career Conference for 2015 and congratulate all of the January candidates on their hard work and efforts resulting in another successful Conference!    57 candidates and 18 spouses/support team members attended as we conducted 705 interviews with an average of 12.4 interviews per candidate.  As a group, the pursuit rate was 59+%, 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 comments we will sometimes hear from the candidates after their Conference is just how conversational the interviews were.  It has become more commonplace for companies to conduct interviews in this manner because they are trying to determine your fit with their organization.  But, its “fit” from two different perspectives; one being does this person have the requisite skills required to do the job and two, will this person fit in well with our company and culture?  If the interview is overly scripted and formal, companies often have a more difficult time assessing the second part of the fit question.   While you certainly have be prepared to answer interview questions, it is important that you can do it in a natural way.  And it’s not just what you say but the way you say it, with your voice inflection, eye contact, use of your hands, body language, etc.   This is one of the reasons why, the Cameron-Brooks recruiters travel as much as we do to meet our candidates in person.   It gives the candidates a chance to communicate with someone outside the military, learn how to talk without using excess military jargon, discuss business topics and books they are reading in our Development & Preparation Program (DPP), etc.  In other words, each time we are meeting with our candidates in person, it is a business conversation.  The more opportunities our candidates have to do this face-to-face, the more natural and better they will become when they interview with the companies at their Career Conference.

Whether you are merely contemplating a transition from military to business or are preparing for your transition, it is a great time to start setting goals, gather research and develop a plan of action and begin working on your business communication skills.  Cameron-Brooks recruiters will be traveling to Norfolk, VA; Colorado Springs, CO; Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; El Paso, TX; Killeen, TX; Tacoma, WA; Bremerton, WA; Manhattan, KS; Jacksonville, NC; Fayetteville, NC; Groton, CT; Watertown, NY; and Dayton, OH in the months of February and March.  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 truly excited and privileged to partner with such outstanding men and women serving our country and we offer very heartfelt congratulations to all of the January Conference candidates and their spouses and support team members as they take their next big steps in the follow-up interview process towards their new career in Corporate America!

Rob Davis