August 2012 Career Conference Results

We just completed the August 2012 Career Conference this past week.  39 candidates and 19 spouses and support team members attended the Conference, and all candidates have companies pursuing them into the follow-up process.  The candidates interviewed with an average of 12.6 companies and averaged 8.3 companies pursuing them for a 65% pursuit rate.   The entire Cameron-Brooks Team congratulates the August Conference candidates on their first successful step in their transition to Corporate America.

The August 2012 Career Conference

The Cameron-Brooks team and the August 2012 Career Conference JMO candidates will arrive in Charlotte, NC over the next 24 hours to kick off our fourth Conference of the year. As we make final preparations for the Career Conference, I wanted to share some thoughts heading into it.

7 Ways for Spouses and Significant Others to Get Involved with the Cameron-Brooks Program

Changing career direction from the military to Corporate America is one of the most important moves JMOs make in their lifetime. It affects their futures and those of their spouses/significant others.  This is why Cameron-Brooks highly encourages spouses/significant others to be involved with the entire career search process to include attending our Information Meetings, Personal Interviews, and Career Conferences.

We feel spouses/significant others need to be involved in gathering and analyzing information so they can make an informed decision with their JMO spouses.  They both should have the same degree of knowledge regarding the business world and the same degree of commitment to a successful transition to business.

I recommend the following 7 steps for spouses/significant others to get involved with the Cameron-Brooks program and be a key partner with his or her JMO candidate.

1. Watch the following Webcast I conducted with a candidate spouse who attended the Conference.  She and I provide advice on how spouses/significant others can get involved with the program and their role at the Career Conference.  To view the webcast go to https://cameron-brooks.webex.com/cameron-brooks/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=TC&rID=110783447&act=pb&rKey=eb988bf5a0b9e1e6 and enter the password, “support”.
2. Attend an Information Meeting where we discuss the Development Candidate concept, the mission of Cameron-Brooks, the role of location in a career search, benefits and compensation, and much more.  If the spouse/significant other cannot attend a live Information Meeting, e-mail candidates@cameron-brooks.com and ask for a recorded Webcast, which is an abbreviated version of the live presentation.
3. Read PCS to Corporate America by Roger Cameron.  You can order it from our website (http://www.cameron-brooks.com/difference_book.html) or read it for free online in our ResourceCenter (http://www.cameron-brooks.com/candidates_resourcecenter.html).  Pay specific attention to Chapter 3 where Roger provides advice on how a spouse/significant other can support the candidate.
4. Attend the one-on-one personal sessions when the JMO candidate meets the Cameron-Brooks Recruiter.  This is a great opportunity to ask those burning questions and learn more about the process.
5. Read Tab 5 of our Development and Preparation Program^© (DPP^©) and listen to the some of the Interview Preparation Podcasts in our ResourceCenter.
6. Help your JMO candidate prepare by taking him or her through mock interviews.  Chapter 3 of PCS and the webcast listed in the first point provide advice on how to do this.  Reading PCS, reading Tab 5 of DPP^© and listening to the Podcasts will give you the right tools and knowledge to provide constructive feedback.
7. Attend the Career Conference.  You will learn so much about the opportunities and be better prepared to provide input into the final decision on the choice of company, position and location.  You will also be a good study partner.  Two heads are better than one!  Finally, the Conference is busy.  You may have to step in at times and be a “logistician” for your spouse JMO to help him or her get to the right place at the right time.  The webcast in point 1 addresses spouses at the Conference.

Spouses/significant others:  We want you to be a part of the process and feel included.   Please let us know what more we can do for you, and if we can answer any other questions.

Joel

Updates to the Cameron-Brooks Resource Center

We’ve recently made some additions to our Candidate Resource Center I wanted to make everyone aware of. In our “Learning Library” tab, under the section “Transition & Career Guidance”, we’ve added several videos that will be of interest to our candidates.

First, we’ve added two series of three-part videos addressing both men’s and women’s interview attire. We wanted to provide a visual reference to what Roger Cameron already describes in PCS to Corporate America and what my colleagues Joel Junker and Samantha Vanover added in past blog posts which can be accessed below:

Interview Attire for the Male JMO to Business Transition

Interview Attire for the Female JMO to Business Transition

The videos cover all aspects of interview attire and we hope it will provide additional clarification and clarity for when candidates go shopping for their interview wardrobe.

Additionally, in the same section, we’ve added several videos covering some very common interview questions a JMO can expect to be asked during their interviews – Tell me about yourself, Walk me through your resume, and Why are you leaving the military? During a recent interview preparation workshop in San Antonio, Joel videotaped the candidates sharing their answers and provided feedback and instruction to their responses.  They are an excellent reference to hear your peers share their answers and hear feedback to help you develop your responses to these same questions.

Stay tuned to the Candidate Resource Center as we are continually working to update it with new content to help candidates prepare for a successful transition to Corporate America.

Rob Davis