Posted By: Emily Clark
Last Wednesday, August 15, the Chicago Connectory hosted the diversiTECH Hiring Fair for minorities and welcomed employer companies focused in technology, web and mobile. The event was organized by AnitaB.org, an organization with the mission of connecting, inspiring, and guiding women in computing and supporting organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative.
About 300 attendees had the opportunity to hand their CVs to companies including:
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois
- Discover Financial Services
- Robert Bosch LLC
- Trunk Club (a personalized mid- to high-end men's and women's clothing service)
- UI Labs (drives the digital future of manufacturing and cities by leveraging a network of universities and other industries)
- Nerdery (provides digital strategy, design and software development consulting)
- Pie for Providers (supports childcare businesses)
- 8th Light (custom software development company)
Vernon Johnson, Diversity and Inclusion Academic Relation Specialist at Blue Cross and Blue Shield Illinois, shared his expectations for the event.
“Our role here today is to find top women in tech and bring the top talent into our organization,” Johnson said. “Our company is 74 percent women, and we take pride on that. Also, we have a female CEO, and we are really happy about that.”
Bosch Talent Management Specialist, Robert Wildeman, shared what Bosch aimed to achieve at the event.
“We are here today recruiting, and the reason we like to attend this event and some other recruiting events, is because we get a different level of candidacy,” Wildeman said. “We are hoping to find talent for our open positions, not only full-time but also internship positions. And we also hope to raise our brand a little bit within the community.”
Besides featuring different company booths, the event included panels and keynote speakers covering numerous topics. A few of the topics included:
- How to prepare for a Tech Interview
- Science Hub – Several women talking about their professional background and answering questions
- EngineeringDemystified - A panel that discussed women in engineering jobs
Stay tuned for future hiring events at the Chicago Connectory. This was the first of 10 recruiting events that the Chicago Connectory is planning to host this coming fall!