Our Blog

BY Joel Junker

November 2020 Career Conference Results

Our fourth VIRTUAL Conference and FINAL Career Conference of 2020 is now in the books!   Congratulations to all of the November Career Conference candidates  who were the embodiment of great preparation and positive attitude = success!

So what were the statistics?  We had 36 candidates, 27 distinct companies, nearly 40 different hiring groups, and 21 Cameron-Brooks alumni virtually attend the November Conference.   The candidates conducted over 425 interviews with an average of 11.6 interviews per candidate!  This is up from all of the pandemic Conferences this year (9.8 interviews in August, 8.1 in June,  and 7.5 in April). The pursuit rate for this conference was nearly 68%.  “Pursuit rate” is 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 with the candidate. So, for this Conference, the candidates converted 7.9 of those 11.6 interviews into a successful interview.

Out of curiosity, I compared the number of interviews and the average pursuit rate of the four Conferences conducted during the pandemic to the four Conferences prior to the pandemic.  The average number of interviews during the pandemic to date has been 9.3 per candidate and a pursuit rate of 67%.  The four conferences prior to the pandemic saw 13 interviews per candidate while the pursuit rate was 64%.   So, what does this all mean?

Well the average interviews is easily explained with the economy struggling and unemployment being higher especially in March, April and May.  Good news however is the latest unemployment numbers according to bls.gov shows the unemployment rate is 6.9% nationally and 4.2% for those over 25 years old with a college degree (JMO demographic).

But why is the pursuit rate higher during the pandemic?   For one, I believe our candidates are better prepared and have a very good understanding of what it takes to successfully transition in a difficult market.   They have approached their preparation with an even greater degree of diligence. Its about getting their foot in the door with the right company to establish their careers.

Additionally, because the unemployment rate is still higher than 2019, there are more industry hires readily available on the open market.   That doesn’t necessarily mean better talent, but just more available.  Companies are being very diligent about how they are spending their money in recruiting, because they want to make sure they get a good return on their investment.

I believe a lot of this is driven by our very strong alumni network as they truly understand and value our process and quality of  our JMOs.  In other words, they know they will get an exceptional return on their time and money investment attending a Career Conference. Our alumni continue to pay it forward by recruiting military officers and hiring from Cameron-Brooks.  Bottom line? A successful transition in this pandemic is very doable if you are well prepared, have the right strategy, access to the right network and come with a great attitude!

Rob Davis