Virtual Career Fair and Job Shadowing Presentation

SE PA Virtual Career Fair & Job Shadows 2010: Digital Services and Lessons Learned Presented by Michele Martin , Delaware County RCEP, Laura Heikkila & Laura McOdrum , Chester County RCEP and Michael Schweisheimer & Deb Arnold Brown , Primitive World Productions

Objectives
Overview of the Virtual Career Fair
Review “Lessons Learned”
Overview of Virtual Job Shadow Project

The Virtual Career Fair

Our Goals
Encourage you to:
Try this concept in your area
Join us next year

Going Regional—RCEPs
Bucks
Chester
Delaware
Lehigh Valley
Montgomery

Target Audiences
Students
Parents
Educators
RCEP Network
Youth-serving Organizations

Why go virtual?
Convenience—for both the audience and presenters
Archived materials for re-use
Another way to get to parents and students
Scalability & sharing—expand our reach
Experiment with different technologies
Go Green!

By the Numbers. . .
3 Days—11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 6:30-8:30 p.m.
8 Live Webinars (now archived and available)
6 Pre-Recorded “Events”
Dozens of resource and lesson links
1,304 visitors to our main website
5,389 page views
233 attendees at “live” events
104 members of our Virtual Career Fair Network

Topics for Webinars
Summer Jobs
How to Interview
Employer Expectations
PA High Priority Occupations
How to Pay for College
Alternative Pathways to Success—2+2+2
InterviewStream
ExploreYourFuture.org
Social Media for Parents (pre-Career Fair “marketing” webinar)

Technology Tools
Customized Ning Network
Wikispaces
Twitter
Facebook
Google Docs
Go-to-Webinar
Vimeo

Google Docs—Planning Tool

Ning Network http://sepacareerfair2010.ning.com/

Google Analytics Says. . .

Traffic . . .

Virtual Career Fair Wiki http://sepacareerfair2010.wikispaces.com/

Presentation Pages

Promotional Page

Traffic April 2010 May 2010

Twitter

Promotion
Online—Twitter, Email, Newsletters, Websites
Schools
Libraries
Parent Groups—newsletters, state-wide PTA
PA School Counselors Association
Home School Groups
RCEP Network
Newspapers

What They Said. . . . N=42

What Worked?
Technology
Removed barriers for employer & school participation
It was easy to access and participate—didn’t need to be technologically savvy to participate
Practice sessions with presenters

Challenges
Technology
Promotion
Scheduling
Coaching/Preparation for Presenters

Lessons Learned
The personality of the webinar presenter and their comfort level is CRITICAL.
Use polls!
Have two people to provide tech support (in addition to the speaker)
Prepare, prepare, prepare

Lessons Learned
Presenters should be conversational—need interaction & dialog
Figure out how much planning time you will need—and then triple it!
Test the technology ahead of time—a few times.

What We Want to Change
Improve quality of presentations—more interaction, visuals
Dates
Try different webinar platform
Expand offerings/events
Build technology skills of team
Survey participants ahead of time

Costs
Ning, Wikispaces, Twitter, Google Docs, Facebook Fan Page—Free
Go-to-Webinar—Free (used RCEP account)
Vimeo--$9.95/month
Promotion—Free (Press releases)
Staff Time—approx. 200 hours

What Do You Need?
Do it with an existing team—or build in a lot more time
Teams/Individuals focused on:
Technology
Promotion of the event
Recruiting presenters
The right tools/software—you may have to pay!

What Do You Need?
Instructions/resources to support users and make them comfortable—presenters & participants
Flexibility
Sense of humor
Join our effort next year!

The Virtual Job Shadows

Objectives
Provide online access to job shadow experiences for students
Provide additional tools/resources to support career exploration
Expose students to real-life careers in Delaware and Chester counties

Why go virtual?
Reduce logistical challenges of field trips
Scalability—expose more students to more opportunities
Easier to supplement with resources
Convenience for employers
Connect to Virtual Career Fair

Virtual Job Shadow Portal
Job shadow videos
Associated labor market information
Career assessment tools
Forum for connecting to employers—virtual mentoring
Create shared community

Primitive World Productions
Experienced in creating job shadow videos, particularly in STEM careers
Online and DVD content
Responsive to our needs
Fun to work with!

The Companies/Organizations
Southco
Sikorsky Global Helicopters
Delaware County Community College STEM Center
Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI)
Bentley Systems, Inc.

Value of Video in the Portal
Tells stories, not just facts
Engages students with relatable human experiences
Demonstrates real-life career paths

Contact Us!
Laura Heikkila -- LHeikkila@cceconomicdevelopment.com
Michele Martin-- [email_address]
Laura McOdrum-- [email_address]
Michael Schweisheimer-- [email_address]
Debbie Arnold Brown [email_address]

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Virtual Career Fair and Job Shadowing Presentation

by Michele Martin on May 17, 2010

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