Fall 2011 Career Networking Opportunities

It's getting close to back to school time and that means it's time for more networking opportunities. Whether you are meeting other parents while dropping off your little ones to school or daycare or you are playing Bingo at the VFW Hall, there are many opportunities to meet new people and practice networking. Once you are comfortable introducing yourself and getting outside of your comfort zone, come on out to the Pink Slip Party and/or the Career Prep Rally & Job Fair.

The Pink Slip Party has free childcare and is open to anyone. The Disability Job Fair is open to all employers and is geared towards individuals that have disabilities. In order to partake within the Job Fair, the individual job seekers are required to attend the Prep Rally on October 4. So far, the list of employers includes; Meijer’s, L&S Associates and the USDA. We would love to spread the word and have more employers get involved. If you would like more information about the job fair, please email me at tiffany.swartz@gmail.com or Rob Curtner at curtnerr@michigan.gov and we will be happy to pass along the promotional information.

Hope to see you at these great events!

PINK SLIP PARTY

Mission Statement: Encouraging and developing a productive network between businesses and job seekers.

Purpose Statement: The goal of Pink Slip Mid-Michigan is to bring together businesses and job seekers from the greater Lansing region in an interactive networking environment with excellent workshops and encouraging personal development training.

Location:
Meridian Christian Church
2600 Bennett Road
Okemos, MI 48864
Phone: 517.975.4958
RSVP Site


DISABILITY JOB FAIR
The purpose of this fair is to provide an opportunity for federal, state, and private sector employers to meet and interview job candidates with disabilities to fill employment vacancies. Employers who register to attend will receive pertinent disability employment information and will gain valuable hiring information from disability employment experts.

Candidates with disabilities will have the opportunity to meet and discuss their qualifications with employers. Two weeks prior to the job fair, applicants will have an opportunity to network with other job seekers and attend career and job search sessions to enhance their search. These sessions will be conducted by employers and service providers.

This event is to be jointly sponsored by Meijer, Inc. along with other employers and the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH), Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Administration, Comprehensive Employment Services Grant. Regional service providers and transition coordinators will be organized to assist with recruitment of consumer/customers and to organize transportation.

The basic goal for the event is to plan and carry out in two, half- days, the first to include job interviewing training and on the 2nd ½ day an actual job fair with interviews. We plan to attract a minimum of 12 employers and about 100 job seekers to this event. The second day will be for those who attended the first day only. Job seekers will be recruited across all disability groups.

Oct. 4, 2011Day 1 Prep. Rally - 9 AM to 2 PM
9 AM - Registration w/ fruit, coffee, bagels
9:30 AM – Large Group Speaker
10 AM – 3 Breakouts
11 AM – Repeat 3 Breakouts
12 Noon – Buffet Lunch
1 PM – Repeat 3 Breakouts
2 PM – Event Ends

Oct. 18, 2011 Day 2 Job Fair – 7:30 AM to 12 Noon
7:30 AM Breakfast for Employers with speakers
9 AM -12 Noon Scheduled Interviews through-out morning

The 3 Breakouts are:
1. Self-Branding with elevator speech, business card and resume assistance
2. Computer Job-Application process guidance
3. Practice Interviews with Feedback

Location:
PECKHAM, Inc
3510 Capital City Blvd
Lansing, MI 48906-2102
Phone: 517.316.4000

Contact:
Rob Curtner
Michigan Comprehensive Employment Services Grant
517 335-8710
curtnerr@michigan.gov

Helping employment ready consumers/customers to participate.
If you are working with individuals who could benefit from the Prep Rally and are looking for full or part-time work, they can be registered to participate by using the following process: At your agency, maintain a list of individuals that will be participating. Keeping the list confidential is important, so no names, just the number of individuals need to be emailed to Rob Curtner at curtnerr@michigan.gov

1. Job Fairs are a Win-Win proposition.
Both employers and job seekers benefit from job fairs. Most employers report that just one hire balances the costs of participating. Employers report that face-to-face encounters with applicants remain the preferred method of hiring. Employers also have the opportunity to interact with people with disabilities to counteract myths they may have about these job seekers. Job seekers benefit when they get a job, but also from learning how the hiring process works, how to present themselves and useful interaction with peers.

2. Job Fairs promote collaboration among service providers.
Some of the job seekers involved in the job fair will be receiving services from more than one agency. Coordination to support these individuals provides another opportunity for agency professionals to network and discuss mutual needs and outcomes.

3. Job Fairs test job seeker commitment and readiness to seek or begin work.
Working with job seekers to prepare for a job fair brings into focus many of the possible barriers and objections they may have that would prevent successful employment. Involvement in this process can highlight the stage of readiness the job seeker is at and give the staff a chance to work through these issues.

4. Job fairs develop awareness of workers with disabilities in the community and for employers who don’t participate.
Job Fairs provide an opportunity to present the business case for hiring persons with disabilities to the employer community through newspaper announcements and stories. Even if an employer does not participate the issue gets before them to think about.