E-Newsletter

Northern Virginia companies hiring for thousands of open jobs at May 20 virtual career fair

 

More than 25 leading companies in Northern Virginia are seeking to hire for thousands of entry-level professional positions during a virtual career fair on May 20. The event will be hosted by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) in collaboration with the eSports community and outreach to more than 100 colleges and universities across the country, including 40 historically Black institutions of higher learning. Participation is free of charge. Click here to learn more and to register.

The Entry-Level Professionals Virtual Career Fair will help connect candidates in the early stages of their careers with some of the most innovative companies hiring in Northern Virginia. During the event, participants will be able to browse companies in a virtual lobby, enter companies’ booths, view open positions, engage in video conferencing and chat with HR representatives in real-time from the comfort of their own homes. Candidates need not be currently located in Northern Virginia, and some companies are open to remote work options.

“We want to let anyone looking to start or restart their career – from recent college graduates and retired members of our military to parents reentering the workforce – that Northern Virginia is the place to do it,” said Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the FCEDA. “We couldn’t be prouder to be partner with such a diverse group of companies to introduce fresh faces to an incredible place to live and work.”

For hundreds of thousands of recent grads looking to take their first steps up the career ladder, COVID-19 has been particularly devastating, with hiring for entry-level college graduate positions having fallen 45 percent since the start of the pandemic. Economic uncertainty about the future has also affected those already established in their professions, with one in four over-45s considering a career change. Whether you’re entering the workforce for the first time or looking to forge a new career path, this virtual career fair is designed to connect you with companies actively hiring in industries ranging from software and cybersecurity to research and real estate.

Participating employers at the Entry-Level Professionals Virtual Career Fair include Altamira, AOC Solutions, ASM Research, Carasoft, Cox Communications, Devensoft, Employment Enterprises, GCOM, Granules, ID.Me, IntelliDyne, Interstate, ManTech, Orpheus, Perfecta, Pyramid Academy, Ridgeline, ScienceLogic, Stratford Capital Group and Unison.

Virtual career fairs are part of the FCEDA talent initiative funded by the Fairfax County government to attract, retain, retrain and grow the workforce that businesses need to succeed in Fairfax County — and to help those looking for jobs find them here, particularly during the pandemic. In May 2020 the FCEDA launched a website, www.workinnorthernvirginia.com, that lists all posted jobs in Northern Virginia (more than 104,000 today), and the website has a host of features that highlight communities in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.

“I am pleased to see the talent initiative funded by Fairfax County being used to help people who are just starting their careers, and to help county companies attract the workforce they need to grow and succeed here,” said Jeffrey C. McKay, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. “To recover from the pandemic, we will continue to invest in the community and the programs that lift up our communities and make our economy work for everyone.”

The May 20 event is the fifth virtual career fair that the FCEDA has held since beginning the talent initiative. The first four virtual career fairs hosted by the FCEDA collectively attracted nearly 2,900 attendees and resulted in more than 5,600 completed conversations between job seekers and hiring reps from a wide range of employers, from small, minority-, woman- and veteran-owned firms to Fortune 500 companies. The FCEDA is marketing the career fairs, the talent website and Northern Virginia as a dynamic and diverse region to top talent across the nation.

If you are an employer that would like to promote your job openings, visit the Employer Resources page for more information or contact Mike Batt, the FCEDA director of talent initiative programs at mbatt@fceda.org.


Mason to host cybersecurity webinar May 20

George Mason University’s School of Business Center for Government Contracting is hosting “Cybersecurity to Prevent and Protect: Securing America’s IT Frontier,” a webinar and virtual networking opportunity on May 20 from 1-3 p.m. Eastern Time. Sponsored by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, this will be the second of three sessions in the “New Directions in Federal Spending & Contracting” series.

Click here to register for the webinar.

Protecting a wider array of digital targets creates new demands for a larger, more capable cybersecurity workforce. What can government and business do to overcome these cyber challenges? If training is too slow or the workforce too small, what resources exist for government and business to react to the risks known today and prepare for the risks yet to come?

The speakers in this panel discussion will share insights and resources for government and business to be agile in the face of these risks. In this discussion of cybersecurity to secure America’s IT frontier, speakers will focus on one major take-way for attendee discussion: how to build a partner network that can identify, mitigate, and prevent the evolving threats faced by government and business.

Speakers will be announced soon. Click here to find out more.

May 6, 2021