Sally Lin stopped to play a game of cornhole in between chatting with Highland Hospital recruiters. She said she had never attended a job fair like this before.
“It's just a little bit more fun, a little bit more chill, less work,” Lin said. “But you're still getting the work information, work-life balance.”
Lin is graduating from nursing school in December, and finding a job where she can “click” with her coworkers is important to her. While at Radio Social, where the nursing job fair was being held, Lin could freely talk with other nurses and nurse managers to get an idea of the hospital’s nursing culture.
“I really like that I kind of know what I'm walking into, not surprised,” she said.
This is the experience Danielle Berry and her nursing recruitment team at Highland strive to create when choosing these job fair locations. For the past two years, the hospital has hosted these events in nontraditional locations, like restaurants and breweries.
“It was a way to attract nurses, to just get our name out there a little bit more,” Berry said. “Then we found that staff were also really enjoying being together and talking about why they love Highland and why they love being a nurse.”
She said the relaxed environment allows the candidates to interact with the staff and really get a feel for the people they could possibly be working with.
“We are very serious about the work that we do when we're taking care of patients. But the reality is, we want to also let people know about the team that we are and the culture that we have,” Berry said.
Timmi Okung said she suffers from social anxiety, but the energy at the job fair was very welcoming.
“They just seem excited to have people here, to have people join,” Okung said. “I think that's beautiful. It makes me want to be a part of that.”
Berry said about 40% of the individuals who attend the job fairs do accept employment offers.
