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BY Joel Junker

JMO Recruiting in 2011

The Cameron-Brooks Team and the January 2o11 Conference JMO candidates will arrive into Austin, TX this Friday to kickoff the first Conference of 2011.  As we head into this Conference, I wanted to share a few observations on what I am hearing from client companies about their recruiting needs in 2011.  My goal is to provide those JMOs considering a business career objective information about the status of career opportunities and the opportunities available at a Cameron-Brooks Conference.

1.   Overall unemployment remains stubbornly high at 9.4%, and the real unemployment rate (this includes those unemployed and looking for work, those unemployed and not looking for work, and those underemployed, meaning not using all of their skills or doing part-time work) is closer to 18% (close to 1 in 5 people).  Those are not encouraging numbers.  However, if you just listen to the news, you miss a very important and more relevant number for the JMO.  According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, the unemployment rate for those 25 years or older and who have a college degree is at 4.8%.  This is much lower and positive than 9.4%.  My interpretation is that while we need to get the unemployment rate down for the overall health of the U.S. economy, there is good news for young, talented leaders with potential.

2.  There are 4.6 people applying for every job opening, and while that is high, it is down from the previous month.  More importantly, there will be approximately 2 positions for every C-B JMO at the January Conference.  This reinforces my point from above.  Note to January candidates – get ready to interview and send us referrals because we need more candidates to meet our clients needs!

3.  As the economy continues to improve, so does the variety of industries, companies and positions.  Sample industries for the January conference:  Logistics, Banking, Consulting, Solar Energy, Medical Device, Semiconductor, Telecommunications, Mining and Materials, Oil & Gas Exploration Equipment, Consumer Products, Commercial Real Estate and more.  Sample companies:  Corning, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Wal-Mart, Linde Group and many, many more Fortune 500 type companies, as well as those not on the Fortune 500 because they are either privately held (the largest privately held company in the US measured by revenues will attend the January Conference), internationally based (German based solar energy company) or small rapidly growing (less than approximately $3.8 billion in revenue).  Sample positions include:  Program Management, Process Improvement Analyst, Six Sigma Blackbelt, Strategic Procurement, Reliability Engineering, Maintenance Engineering, Consultant, Senior Project Management Analyst, Process Engineer, Application Engineer, Brand Management, Business Analyst – Customer Loyalty, and more.

(Note – I get asked a lot why we do not publish more names of our clients.  Primary reason is our clients ask us not to so they are not contacted by other sources.  If you want to know more about our specific clients, there are numerous ways to do this.  They include:  attend an in person Information Meeting in your area or watch a live or recorded informational webcast where one of our recruiters discusses types of companies, visit our website www.cameron-brooks.com and read testimonials, visit our Facebook Page http://tinyurl.com/ajgefq and read the Reviews section where candidates sign their name and where they went to work, and finally look at one of our flyers advertising our upcoming visit to your area where we have testimonials from recent candidates.  Bottom line, is if you are willing to poke around a bit, you will find them.) 

4.  Cameron-Brooks clients continue to demand Development Candidates and as a result, the interviewing/hiring bar is high.  A Development Candidate is someone who has the ability and desire to be a top 10% leader in the company.  This means when they interview the Cameron-Brooks JMO candidate, they not only want to hire someone who can be successful in the original position BUT ALSO, and most importantly, possess the potential for at least two major promotions up.  This is good and challenging.  The “good” is that our clients bring opportunities for growth and advancement.  The “challenging” part is that the candidates are evaluated against a very high standard.  Cameron-Brooks continues to be selective because our clients are selective. 

5.  Our clients want committed candidates.  Cameron-Brooks Recruiter, Rob Davis, addressed this in his previous blog post.  I want to add a little bit to it drawing on my experience working with client companies.  When our clients hire a Cameron-Brooks JMO, they will invest a lot in the training and development of this candidate.  As a result, they use the word “committed” often when discussing the type of candidate they want.  They tell me, “I want someone who is committed to self-development.”  “I want a JMO who is committed to being a future leader.”  “Is this candidate committed to working hard and making contributions immediately?”  “I want a candidate who is committed to sales career.”  It is not enough to say, “I am committed.”  The recruiters are tough, they want proof.  They will ask, “What have you read lately?”  “What do you know about ?”  Just like a lawyer must convince the jury with proof/substance/evidence for a conviction, you as the candidate must also offer evidence and proof to the recruiter of your commitment to business.

Continue to follow the blog.  Next week Rob Davis will write a post on the results from our January Career Conference.

Joel Junker