Our Blog

BY Joel Junker

Navigating a Successful Transition in 2020

Our August Career Conference and now third VIRTUAL Conference (and third in our 50-year history) is now complete.   Congratulations to all of the 43 Candidates who came very well prepared and with great attitudes as they open a new chapter of their career in the midst of COVID-19.  They are living proof that you can navigate a successful transition in 2020.  We have now begun working to coordinate follow-up interviews, which we expect will be done virtually.

So what were the statistics?  We had 43 candidates, 25 distinct companies, 37 hiring groups, and 24 Cameron-Brooks alumni virtually attend the August Conference.   The candidates conducted over 420 interviews with an average of 9.8 interviews per candidate!  This is up from 8.1 interviews at the June Conference and 7.5 average interviews at the April Conference. The pursuit rate for this conference was 67.4%.  “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 6.6 of those 9.8 interviews into a successful interview.  This 67.4% pursuit rate is among the highest we have seen in recent years, even during times of great economic strength.  This only further supports that companies are still looking for top leadership talent and will pursue candidates who are well prepared with great attitudes. A successful transition in 2020 is more than possible!

Now, I realize many JMOs reading this blog post are concerned about even considering a transition in the current economy.  Some good news is that the unemployment rate has now dropped from 11.1% in June to 8.4% in August.  Additionally, the unemployment rate for those over 25 years old with a college degree (JMO demographic) sits at 5.3%.  While this number is higher than 2019 numbers, it is still much lower than the national average.  But the trend is positive, as indicated by the average number of interviews increasing these last few conferences.

CNBC recently conducted an interview with the CEO of KPMG, Paul Knopp.  The results of KPMG’s global survey identified TALENT RISK as a big concern for CEOs around the US.  This is specific to recruiting and retaining top talent for their organizations.  Knopp also mentioned the survey shows 60% of their client CEOs are bullish about their 3 year growth potential!  This is positive news for the economy.  You can watch the full video here.

In addition to JMOs being concerned about transitioning during a pandemic, we often hear “I’m afraid of putting my eggs in one basket.”  Below are a couple of testimonials (unsolicited) from two JMOs that just attended the August Conference.   The theme you will hear is how they were exposed to top companies and positions they had never thought of, considered, or even imagined they could be a fit for.  In an economy with 10% unemployment, you’d be hard pressed to find another avenue where you can interview with close to 10 industry leading companies that understand, value, and want to hire a JMO!

Rob Davis