By Paul R. Pace, News staff
More than 3,800 social workers signed up to participate in the NASW Career Center’s second Virtual Career Fair on Feb. 9.
The one-day event allowed NASW members and nonmembers a free opportunity to connect directly with 43 different employers by using Skype and instant messaging integration for their interviews.
Social work job seekers and employer participation both increased dramatically compared with the first NASW Virtual Career Fair, which was held last May. At that time, more than 1,500 social work job seekers signed up to interact with 25 participating employers.
Through the career fairs, job seekers have the ability to explore employer information and networking opportunities while choosing which employers they want to engage with through one-on-one interviews directly with a recruiter.
New this year was the option to use the popular video conferencing application Skype, which allowed job seekers the opportunity to participate in virtual face-to-face interviews with recruiters.
“The Skype platform allows for a more personable conversation instead of solely being able to communicate through the instant messaging platform,” noted Lauren Waldron, marketing and content development associate in NASW’s Professional and Workforce Development department.
Career fair participants also were invited this year to a NASW Career Center-sponsored webinar called “All About You: Tips for Creating Your Personal Brand” on Feb. 12. The workshop focused on strategies to identify personal skills, knowledge and abilities, and to craft an effective branding message that supports long-range career achievement while meeting the needs of today’s job market.
Earlier in February, NASW hosted a webinar presentation called “Your Resume and the Social Work Job Interview – Strategies for Your Success.” Valerie Arendt, associate executive director of NASW’s North Carolina Chapter, presented tips for social work job seekers to improve resumes, ace interviews and more.
The webinar was by invitation for NASW student and transitional members, and was intended to help new professionals as they approach graduation and embark on professional careers.
Nearly 400 people registered for the webinar. All who registered received the audio file, along with questions and answers that weren’t covered during the presentation due to the high number of questions. The on-demand version of the webinar will be posted soon on NASW’s Career Center site.
For more information about the NASW Social Work Career Center, visit careers.socialworkers.org.
From the March 2016 NASW News.
