About the CandidateFive Career Forum Series

Unique Career Opportunities for GLBT Professionals

Never before has finding an ally in your employer been so simple.

Imagine entering a room full of companies who put your comfort and your well being first. Companies who make a public statement that they care. Companies that want you to succeed in an environment where you can be yourself.

Career Forum Events are designed with 2 goals in mind

To provide professional GLBT job seekers with a resource to easily identify and meet with recruiters from top gay-friendly employers
To provide a platform for companies to recruit top talent from what recent studies have found to be the most highly educated, professional, and loyal minority group

Recruiters

Attendance at or sponsorship of a CandidateFive event brings with it a spread of benefits that, until now, companies have only dreamed of.

Through their attendance, employers are not only capable of recruiting professional GLBT talent; they're also able to show GLBT buyers, community members, and current employees that they support equality.

Email a CandidateFive representative to learn more about company sponsorship and participation.

What You Need to Know

Why companies turn to CandidateFive

Primarily, because recent GLBT employment studies attest to how the recruitment of GLBT candidates is a strategic imperative. For example, “at Ernst & Young, we believe our competitive advantage is highly dependent on our ability to leverage the differences of our people to create diversity of thought” said James S. Turley, Chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young LLP. In fact, DiversityInc.’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity have earned 12.8% more than the S&P 500 over the last 10 years. It is also of critical importance to recruiting and hiring managers… Accenture, the world’s largest consulting firm, and one of CandidateFive’s highly valued clients, recently had this to say about our candidate pool: “the quality of the candidate pool is very closely monitored by CandidateFive; we were very impressed with their results.”

How CandidateFive chooses its client companies

The primary criteria we consider before accepting a new client company is their sensitivity to the GLBT workforce. We carefully consider their policies and benefits relative to our community. Moreover, we consider their sensitivity beyond their deployment of policies, and in many cases work with the employer to ensure their knowledge and sensitivity of issues specific to members of the GLBT community. For example, in the case of transgender candidates, we want to know that they are cognizant of the special consideration needed in the case of an individual who has changed their gender expression. They must understand and accommodate gaps in resumes or complete career changes that are a result of a gender change.

Why candidates attend the CandidateFive GLBT Career Forum Series events

The focus of this event is not about being out at work. It’s about being free to express all aspects of yourself with integrity, regardless of the setting. The CandidateFive GLBT Career Forum Series is designed to connect exceptional GLBT candidates with primarily Fortune 500 and 1000 companies, along with certain non-profit organizations, universities, and even qualifying mid-sized or GLBT-owned and operated employers. Recruiters from some of these top GLBT-friendly companies will be on hand looking for exceptional new employees from the highly qualified pool of candidates present.

What Employers are Seeking

Recruiters will be looking for candidates with a vast range of experience levels for all types of positions. Those with entry-level experience – such as recent college grads, or college students close to the completion of their degree – are sought as well as those with many years of experience. Keep an open mind and meet with all the recruiters present. Consider, for instance, a banking or financial institution. Highly complex organizations, these firms require a diverse and complex workforce to run effectively. Such an enterprise may have need for hundreds or even thousands of people with skill-sets ranging from those of an IT project manager or electrical engineer, as well as branch manager or teller.

Who Should Attend

The CandidateFive GLBT Career Forum is intended for GLBT professionals with a degree or equivalent experience, and for students recently having completed or nearing completion of their degree. Even if you haven’t thought about making a move, it could pay to see whose hiring. You may already be out at work, but does your company seek and embrace those with differing sexual orientations or gender expressions?

CandidateFive FiveTeam Specialists

CandidateFive advisors will be present to review your resume and discuss the hiring opportunities available with each of our clients (the hiring companies). All candidates will be given several minutes with an advisor prior to visiting the recruiter booths.

When to Arrive

All companies will be on hand from 12 noon to 5:30. You can arrive anytime during those hours.

Directions and Parking

Cost

There is no cost to job candidates to attend the CandidateFive GLBT Career Forum Series.

How to Register

Register in advance on-line here. Though you will be able to register on-site, we ask that you take the time to do so in advance in order to avoid waiting in line. You will want to maximize your time spent with both your CandidateFive FiveTeam Specialist and with the recruiters.

Dress Code

Remember, first impressions are lasting impressions. Business attire is mandatory, regardless of what you might wear at the job for which you are interviewing (e.g., jeans and polo shirt for an IT tech). The CandidateFive GLBT Career Forum is your opportunity to show both respect and professionalism to recruiters and hiring managers from some of the nation’s most sought after places to work. At CandidateFive, we constantly hear from our clients that our events produce some of the most professional and well-presented candidates of any event they attend. It truly DOES make a huge impression on the employers, so please dress in business attire as you would for any professional job interview. Those inappropriately dressed will not be granted admission. If you have questions about attire, don’t hesitate to contact CandidateFive FiveTeam Support.

Resumes

Be sure to bring at least 20 copies of your resume. CandidateFive will ask for one when you arrive, and you'll want one for every company you meet with. Go here to post your resume and create a profile on the job board. Your resume will be presented to the attending companies via our online interface, and via DVD upon completion of the event.

Job Board

The job board is still in the beta stage; there are no jobs posted at the present time. You should definitely go here, however, to post your resume and create a profile. This will be the primary destination for employers in between events.

Internships

Opportunities for interns are a real possibility as each company has a different range of opportunities. An internship can be an excellent entry level for students and professionals alike. If an internship is your primary interest, bring that up with the recruiter when you meet.