Finding Breakthrough Talent at the Tech Square Job Fair
From startup companies to major enterprises, everybody needs great talent. This spring, ATDC and Keysight teamed up with Sandbox ATL to host the third consecutive Tech Square Job Fair. This biannual event is Tech Square’s solution to connect breakthrough talent with the breakthrough companies right in their own backyard.
This spring, a matching process designed by Sandbox ATL led to 5,145 connections between job seekers and exhibiting companies, with over 748 in-person exchanges and 254 follow-up conversations. Prior to the fair, job seekers filled out a profile to identify their interests and areas of expertise, and exhibiting companies filled out a similar form providing background on the type of candidates they were looking for. This process made it easy to ensure that everyone at the Job Fair had high quality conversations to discuss real opportunities to work together.
The Job Fair drew over 342 job seekers, many of whom were college students. These students hailed from eight universities, including Morehouse, Kennesaw State, Emory, and Spelman.
The diversity of talent was a significant appeal for exhibitors at the Fair. “The Tech Square Job Fair was essential to attracting highly skilled talent, not just from Georgia Tech but other institutions around the area," said Dr. Yared Alemu, CEO of TQ Intelligence. Dr. Alemu was one of 15 companies seeking to hire talent at the event.
The job seekers were diverse not just in terms of institution but skillsets as well. From 10 types of engineering to finance and operations, there was an opportunity to hire for every functional unit of companies and organizations.
Figure 1: Job seekers by role (%)
Exhibitors also had a chance to hear from job seekers about the types of organizations they’re excited to work for. This information was designed to help companies put their best foot forward and understand how to appeal to their next generation of employees.
“My ideal company is looking to better the world in some fashion, whether it be how an industry functions, the product customers consume, or the experience they have with a service," said Chris Freeman. “My ideal company listens to and cares about its employee,” said Zuri Mai. “It has a relaxed environment which encourages the employee to be willing to make mistakes and learn from it.
The next Tech Square Job Fair is November 9, 2017. If you’re a student looking to polish up your professional skills before then, check out the Sandbox Academy happening this summer. If you’re a company hungry for exceptional talent, email hello@techsquareatl.com to get on the list for this fall.