Economic news continues to point to a recovery from the recession. Last week, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the number of job openings in the US rose by 193,000, the second largest increase since March 2007 and is the highest since February 2009. Quoted in USA Today, James O’Sullivan, chief economist at MF Global, said, “It certainly is consistent with other evidence that the labor market is turning.” You can read the full article on the jobs report at http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20100310/jobs10_st.art.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Additionally, US economic growth is expanding. In 4th quarter 2008, the time when it seemed like the economic world was unraveling (US Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure of economic growth and output for our country) GDP declined by 6.3%. The economy continued to decline 6.1% in 1st quarter 2009, .7% in 2nd quarter, and then a shift back to growth, expanding 2.2% in the 3rd quarter 2009 and then a significant increase of 5.7% in 4th quarter 2009. It is generally predicted that the economy will grow at slightly above 2% the remainder of this year. That’s not “lighting the world on fire,” but it is growth, and a far cry from 6% decreases.
Unemployment hovered around 10% at the end of 2009, and at the start of the year, economists predicted that it would continue to increase. Generally, the unemployment rate is a lagging indicator of economic recovery, so this estimate made sense based on history. However, the unemployment rate has since dropped to 9.7%. This is still a high number, though heading in the right direction.
The final statistic I want to share with you is that there are 5.4 applicants per job opening, which is an improvement from the previous figure of 6.1 applicants per job opening in September 2009.
I share these macro-economic statistics with you to highlight that the overall economy is improving though unemployment is still high and very competitive nationally for each opening (5.4 applicants per opening). What we are experiencing at Cameron-Brooks is significantly different. Some recent statistics to compare with the macro ones I just shared include – our candidates have averaged 9 to 10 interviews at the last several Career Conferences, there are an average of 2 openings per candidate at the conferences and we still cannot meet all of the needs of our clients, and every one of the candidates has headed into the follow-up process with companies having further interest in follow-up interviews. The quality of the companies and positions has not changed. Leading companies such as ExxonMobil, Johnson & Johnson, General Mills, Abbott and more have attended Conferences. Positions have included Program Managemer, Process Improvement Manager, Project Controls Lead, Senior Financial Analyst, Total Productive Maintenance Team Lead, Project Engineer, Procurement Manager, Manufacturing Team Lead, Clinical Account Specialist, Territory Manager and more.
Why are the Cameron-Brooks statistics different than the national averages?
- Cameron-Brooks clients consider us a strategic source for recruiting. This means even in a downturn and tight labor market, our clients prioritize recruiting Cameron-Brooks JMOs. Our clients think strategically and long term, and know they will need talented leaders for the future. As a result, they keep the Cameron-Brooks pipeline open. They do have high standards and want top performers well prepared for the transition.
- Our clients still have a leadership challenge. It is expected that 30 million “Baby Boomers” will retire in the next several years. I hear our clients describing 10 year succession plans to get the current leaders ready to assume key leadership roles in the company. As a recent FORTUNE Magazine article regarding JMOs as the future business leaders highlights, it’s much easier to hire leaders and teach them the business. http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/companies/military_business_leaders.fortune/
- Cameron-Brooks clients are careful about who they hire. Hiring mistakes are always painful and so much more in these days. Our clients value the Cameron-Brooks progress where we rigorously screen candidates looking for those who have both the ability and desire to be future leaders in corporate America. They appreciate the fact that Cameron-Brooks candidates read numerous books and conduct several exercises preparing for a new career. This attracts industry -leading companies who know they can count on Cameron-Brooks for candidates to fill critical positions.
- Companies are concerned with productivity. One of the reasons why the unemployment rate will stay high for the foreseeable future is that companies will hire 1 person to cover 2 open positions or 2 people for 3 open positions. When a company looks for a candidate with this high potential, they think of the JMO who has repeatedly done this in the military.
With 5.4 applicants nationally per opening, companies are selective. This requires a strategy and preparation plan to succeed in the transition process. Our team is very experienced and we know how to partner with high potential JMO candidates to help them develop the right strategy and preparation plan for success. Our experience includes Roger Cameron, 44+ years of JMO recruiting experience, Rene Brooks, 39 years of JMO experience, Mary Lou White, 33 years, Chuck Alvarez, 15 years, Steve Sosland, 13 years, myself, 10 years, and Scott LePage, 4 years. We incorporate our accumulated knowledge into our Development and Preparation Program© that cannot be duplicated without our experience.
Joel Junker
The Cameron-Brooks Blog 
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My goodness, what a precious resource you folks have here. You may want to tell your JMO prospects that the pending retirements of those Baby Boomers will be delayed indefinitely since they haven’t saved for retirement:
http://www.hrmorning.com/nearly-3-out-of-4-boomers-say-they-are-postponing-retirement/
You may also want to tell your JMO prospects about the typical compensation for those advertised positions and whether they exceed active duty pay and benefits, including the cash equivalent of health/dental care, free sports and recreation facilities, “entertainment districts” in Seoul and Frankfurt, etc.
Finally, a smart JMO will ask how you get paid. Does it come out of the first-year bonus they won’t be getting because their employer hired Cameron-Brooks?
Bob,
Thank you for your post. I would like to address your comments.
1. I often hear the same concern about the Baby Boomer situation possibly not being an issue any longer since they have not saved enough for retirement and the market has not been friendly to what savings they do have. Our clients, companies such as ExxonMobil, Corning, Johnson & Johnson, Joy Global and Unilever to provide you a few examples, are not recruiting the JMOs to assume the Baby Boomer position in the next few years. This is a 10-15 year succession planning issue. Our clients evaluate Cameron-Brooks JMO talent as a strategic source and are looking for them not just for the immediate position but the next 2 to 3 promotions where they will eventually take over those senior level management positions currently held by many Boomers. I often hear our clients use the words, “bench strength”. This means they do not have the people to promote from within as these Boomers retire. The articles that I read say the Boomers are delaying their retirement by anywhere from a few years to 5 to 10 years, thus the bottom line. It’s still an issue, and our clients are echoing this.
2. Bob, I also served in the military and I can’t tell if your second point has a tone of sarcasm in it. I will address it as if you are stating them as positives. I agree compensation, benefits, recreation facilities and choice assignments to Germany are all factors to consider in a career search. I refer to those previous criteria as “extrinsic” factors, meaning they are outside of the nature of the work and career. They are nice to have, but remember, most people spend 75% of their waking hours in their work environment. I recommend JMO candidates evaluate the “intrinsic” factors first. “Intrinsic” factors include culture, people with whom you work, projects or production lines you might manage, products you might sell, customers you will meet, industry, promotion and growth opportunities, etc. In my 11 years helping JMO candidates in their career searches and mentoring many throughout their careers, I find “intrinsic” and “extrinisic” factors are both important, but it is the “intrinsic” factors that should lead a JMO candidate to make the transition from the military to business and will ultimately hold the person’s attention throughout a career. It’s no different than marrying for money, it’s “extrinisic”, and it rarely works. Though it’s nice to have a spouse who has money!
When we work with our JMO candidates, we provide them with an objective range of base salary to expect in their career search. Most JMOs come out making a base salary approximately equal to what they currently make in the military and many take a jump up. When a performance bonus is added, most will make more. Over the long term, for a top performing business person, I would believe that his/her compensation would outpace the government compensation plan.
Our clients have world class benefit programs. All you need to do is go to some of the websites of the companies I listed above, go to their career sections and read through their general benefit information. They are not the same benefits the military offers, and we explain to our candidates that they will find some that are not as good as the military and some that are better.
3. I think smart JMOs know how we get paid. We are a contingent recruiting firm and most likely our competitors are as well. We earn a fee when a candidate accepts a position. The fee is based on the candidates initial starting salary. This fee has no affect on the candidate’s compensation or bonus. One of the ways companies justify hiring the JMO is that they have a free military move which they will use in the transition. This provides significant cost savings to the company. Also, the majority of companies have hiring budgets that they use to pay fees, travel for interviews, attend recruiting events, etc. This budget is not tied to a compensation budget pool. Compensation in business is based on performance and results.
I hope this helps you understand more about JMO recruiting, also known as JMO headhunter recruiting firms, and Cameron-Brooks.
Joel Junker