Professional Connections Forums
The Professional Connections Forum, Women@Work's very upscale version of a "Job Fair", premiered in October 2006. At this very unique invitation-only event at the Stamford, CT Marriott a select group of top-notch current and returning professional women met informally with prestigious employers representing a range of industries. A second very successful Forum was held in Tarrytown , NY in April 2007.
To date nearly 600 women have attended our Professional Connections Forums that have been sponsored by AmeriCares, Axiom Legal, Bank of America, Faith Popcorn's BrainReserve, Goldman Sachs, Institutional Investor, JP Morgan, The McGraw Hill Companies, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, New-York Historical Society, Pepperidge Farm, Pitney Bowes, Prudential Financial, RBS Greenwich Capital, Reed Exhibitions, Tauck World Discovery, TNS Global and UBS.
The Professional Connections Forum evolved from an event we held for returning professional MBAs, major employers and leading business school representatives. This event gave major employers access to top talent that is not in their usual recruiting realm and opened some very productive discussions about how to attract and maintain a diverse work force. A long list of prominent employers were in on the discussion--representing the investment banking sector (Goldman Sachs, Lehman, JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, UBS); financial services (Booz Allen, Northwestern Mutual, Principal Financial Group); and corporate America (Johnson & Johnson and Time Warner).
Based on these events, we know that employers find great value in meeting with current and returning professional women in our network. The women in our network search for new work-life opportunities through personal connections--not through recruiters, typical mass market job fairs, internet job postings or newspaper ads. The Professional Connections Forum builds on our networking foundation, giving employers a chance to meet informally with highly educated women who have mid to senior-level professional resumes and significant non-profit leadership experience.
Most importantly, The Professional Connections Forum is a valuable opportunity to position your company as an "employer of choice" with highly sought after women in one of the fastest growing workforce demographics--and reinforce your company's leadership in diversity and work-life balance.
The Professional Connections Forum has led to many significant hires, but this is not only a recruiting opportunity. The Forum is also a research venue--where you will listen to the interests and concerns of today's professional women as you tackle the thorny issue of how to attract, cultivate and retain a truly diverse work force. As with all Women@Work events, our mission is to minimize "talk" and maximize "action"--you will leave the event with many ideas about diversity solutions.
The October, 2007 Professional Connections Forum in Boston has been postponed. Date for 2008 Forum in New York metropolitan area to be announced soon.