Yesterday we talked about “the movement is bigger than Roanoke” as the first of a seven-part series to examine the progress of attracting and retaining young adults in the region. As a result, and our second point, we are able to capture many “qualitative stories of people returning or staying in the region”.

For instance, through our Roanoke Connect database, we have received in excess of over 3000 unsolicited registrants looking for jobs in the region. This tells us that people want to be in Roanoke. Of that 3,000 about 20% are out-of-state with 45 of the 50 states represented.  A similar percentage or more are not from the greater RNR (Roanoke and New River Valleys) . From this database, we have been able to identify 70 success stories of people obtaining jobs through this online vehicle.

We have received numerous emails, testimonials, letters of support from a variety of ages and backgrounds. We have heard at business meetings the truly unique and powerful stories of how people came to Roanoke, which is now being captured at MyRoanokeStory.com.

The bottom line is these stories are being communicated through viral channels and more and more people are finding out about this hidden gem. This leads us to the third example of progress we will examine with the next post tomorrow…

I was asked recently by a civic group to give an update on Roanoke’s young adult movement. I came up with 7 examples of progress and I plan to address each over the next week. Here is the first.

Progress #1 – “The movement is bigger than Roanoke”

Across the nation, groups are forming at a rapid pace. I subscribe to a Google alert that shares all blog posts and traditional media stories showcasing all of the great work YPs are doing. It is refreshing to know so many young people are getting active and involved in the movement. Therfore, I believe we benefit from this shared synergy in other communities.

I also believe we have been able to communicate and partner with some of the national and international gurus on this topic. Richard Florida of the Creative Class and his staff has been very helpful on a number of fronts.  Jason Dorsey, the Gen Y guy, has also carried the torch for us on a number of fronts. Serial entrepreneur and 22-year-old Cameron Johnson has given a lot of his time to enhance entrepreneurship among young professionals and the business community as a whole. The list goes on and on. These advocates and champions have made our efforts more known and respected.

As a result, of this mass movement and partnerships, there have been a number of unique stories and that is where we will pick up with our next post tomorrow.

On Feb 5, we held the “reverse job fair” on the campus of Virginia Tech. The students loved it. Employers warmed up to it by the end of the day encouraging us to move forward with another with several tweaks.  Read more in a Roanoke Times story.

This event was designed to out the focus on the students and to show them they are coveted and many local opportunities do exist. Nearly 200 students and 80 company representatives from 45 organizations participated.

Here are some testimonials: 

“Thank you very much for the opportunity to take part in this career fair. It gave me valuable experience talking to employers. Having employers wait to talk to me felt great. It helped me better understand the process better because I am in the employers shoes.”

“I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the Job Fair.  I loved the concept!  Knowing these students CHOSE to be there and were representing themselves was a much better approach than a traditional job fair.”   

We have created a partnership with the NCTC, BigLickU.com and Delta Sigma Pi to present this unique fair to Virginia Tech’s Graduate Life Center on Tuesday, February 5. The purpose is to show college students that there are a number of employment opportunities in the region.

We felt we needed to be different, thus the reverse job fair concept was born. The idea is that instead of employers having booths and tables, the students will. The employers must come up to the students. We think this will help in recruiting them and also play off the current online social media movement. 

Additionally, this meshes with a recent Collegiate Times article suggesting students should stay in the region. Further, the article and event contribute to our region’s focus on attracting and retaining young professionals, especially some of those 27,000 at Virginia Tech and another 35,000 and other local colleges.

Please plan to attend and share this info with others.