Our Blog

BY Joel Junker

JMO Transition Insight for 2023: January Career Conference Preview

Welcome to 2023!

Are you ready for some JMO transition insight for 2023?

As of this blog post, we are working very diligently to prepare for the upcoming first Career Conference of the year! As we put the finishing touches together in preparation for the January Career Conference, I think it’s important that we reflect on where we’ve come from this past year and where we are headed. 2022 was a great year for the officers and companies with whom we partnered. We averaged over 12.5 interviews per candidate for the year and placed nearly 87% of our candidates in top developmental roles in Corporate America! We are extremely proud of everyone’s hard work to accomplish this, even with the turmoil of increased inflation (2022 ended with a rate of 6.5%) due to many factors, including residual supply chain issues from the pandemic, the war in the Ukraine, the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, etc. However, the unemployment rate ended in 2022 at 3.5% and the US created 223,000 jobs in the month of December. So not all was bad!

My colleague, Joel Junker, recently interviewed our CEO, Chuck Alvarez, to review JMO to business career transition best practices, get his perspective on the year that was, and discuss the outlook for 2023. I encourage any JMO considering a transition to Corporate America to listen to the first part of that interview here. On January 31st, we will publish part 2 of that interview.

So, as we enter the new year, how do things look? 

Well, to be candid, as far as JMO Transition Insight for 2023, we are seeing some tightening in the economy. What does that mean? It means there is some slowdown in hiring in certain sectors and industries, and companies are “raising the bar” when it comes to who they choose to interview and ultimately hire. As I type this blog post, the average number of interviews for the January Career Conference is sitting at ~11 per candidate, so ~1.5 interviews less than in 2022. Now, 11 interviews are still more than plenty to conduct a great career search, but it is less than 2022, and we don’t know if this will be the norm for 2023 or if some companies are just slower in hiring in the first quarter of this year.

So, if you are attending the January Career Conference or looking to transition this year, what does that mean? 

As Roger Cameron used to say, “interview with the economy in mind!” It means if the bar is being raised by the companies, raise your own bar! Prepare that much better – professional reading, podcasts, etc.  to improve your business knowledge, spend time doing self-analysis to better understand your strengths, weaknesses, leadership style, and interview preparation to be able to effectively communicate your background to hiring managers. Lastly, have a great attitude! Being open to different career fields, industries and locations can only help your chances to find a great opportunity when the economy tightens. If you’d like to learn more about the Cameron-Brooks transition firm advantage, more JMO transition insight for 2023 and how it’s impacted the upcoming January Career Conference Candidates, click here.

As for the January 2023 Career Conference, we have a fantastic lineup of companies and opportunities awaiting our candidates this weekend. As stated above, we expect the average number of interviews to be ~11 per candidate. In terms of client companies, we are expecting over 50 hiring groups and over 35 distinct companies to attend the November Conference.

Here is a quick sampling of what we have in store for the January candidates:

Sample Industries Include:

Consumer Package Goods (CPG); Banking; Oil & Gas; Alternative Energy; Medical Device; Professional Services; Construction; Pharmaceutical; Communications; Industrial Gases; Financial/Banking; Semiconductors; and many more.

Sample Positions Include:

Sales Account Manager; Process Engineer; Business Development Manager; Financial Analyst; Associate Brand Manager; Group Facility Administrator; Senior Planner/Buyer; Senior Automation Engineer; Direct Sales Engineer; Six Sigma Black Belt; Pricing Manager; Operations Manager; Program Manager; Regional Distribution Manager; Application Sales Engineer; and many more!

Sample Locations Include:

Boston, MA; Nashville, TN; Phoenix, AZ; Cincinnati, OH; Atlanta, GA; Minneapolis, MN; Houston, TX; Tampa, FL; Chicago, IL; Orlando, FL; Salt Lake City, UT; San Jose, CA; Charlotte, NC; Philadelphia, PA; Madison, WI; Baltimore, MD; Los Angeles, CA; Dallas, TX; Baton Rouge, LA; Milwaukee, WI; and many more.

Additionally, if you are interested in exploring your options with Cameron-Brooks, or if you’re curious about how to make a successful transition, I encourage you to call us at 210-874-1500! You can also check out our website, YouTube Channel, and follow us on LinkedIn.

As always, stay tuned until next week. I’ll be back to post the results of the Cameron-Brooks January 2023 Career Conference!

Rob Davis