What made us go?
Walker Tracker is proud to be a member of Business for a Better Portland, and they reached out to all their members asking for volunteers for this event, as they were helping to sponsor and organize the event. We decided to help by volunteering for the morning.
How was the experience?
It was great! We both had a blast interacting with young people looking to enter the workforce. I think it was great we sent two members of our sales team, because our strength is talking to people! We volunteered to be greeters, and had a lot of fun with it. Many of the youth there walked in unsure and anxious. It was really rewarding to walk up to them and start a conversation to help them feel more confident in the experience. We would explain how it worked, explain where to find resources, and even introduce them to the first company they wanted to talk to.
What was the result?
The event was a great success, and we hope it becomes an annual occurrence in Portland. The volunteer coordinator from Worksystems shared the event results below and you can view more details and pictures at the Gateway to College National Network Facebook page.
- Of the approximately 1,200 who attended, 209 were interviewed on the spot and 103 were extended offers.
- Those youth who didn’t immediately find employment will be reached out to by our Connect2Careers staff to invite them to participate in SummerWorks internships, where we anticipate over 1,500 placements this summer.
- The average salary offered was $14.30/hour.
- Young adults made over 1,800 serious contacts – this means they took applications, left their contact information for follow-up, or completed applications with our employers.