Success Testimonial: Our Events Work!

During the first Out of Work Chicago networking event 180 North was able to help an unemployed candidate!

At the end of February, the team from 180 North attended the inaugural Out of Work Chicago event, with two goals in mind: 1. To find internal recruiters and salespeople for our company and 2. To find accounting or finance talent for our clients.  During the event we had the chance to meet with some the many highly qualified  attending job seekers, and were intrigued by some of the people outside of our firm’s typical area of expertise in Accounting and Finance.

One of the impressive individuals we met was a Human Resources Manager that was just recently downsized from her job.  Although HR positions are out of 180 North’s primary area of specialization, we knew that one of our clients had a need for a new Manager of HR and thought that the HR Manager we met a the Out-of-Work Chicago’s was an ideal candidate.  The day after the event we sent her resume over to the client.  As a testament to our good judgment, the COO of the client company called us within 5 minutes of receiving the HR manager’s resume and wanted to not only interview her but wanted us to facilitate the search.  The HR Manager that we met at the Out of Work Chicago event made it to the top 2 finalists after we’d reviewed over 400 resumes and interviewed 30 HR Managers.  We made the placement two weeks later and our clients’ new HR Manager starts her new job on Wednesday.

This is proof that there is power in networking.  The old saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is evidenced by this singular event.  You never know who you’re going to meet and how that person can help you. In our case, we were able to make a placement, help a client, and help a job seeker circumvent over 400 people for an opportunity she never new existed.  Who you know can often be the key to unlocking your way into a company.  If you haven’t been networking, you need to start. If you have been networking, keep doing it, I know I will.

Jason Flores, CSP
180 North
A Division of OnPoint Partners, Inc