Any movement on the Spring (March) job fair in Oregon?

Nathan;

To which Job Fair are you referring? I would be interested in knowing more as well and perhaps can locate some additional information if I know your source.

Thanks,

Ken

In this thread Micah Cooksey (marked as staff) quotes March 15 for the Code Oregon Job Fair: https://teamtreehouse.com/forum/has-anything-been-said-about-whats-happening-with-the-code-oregon-program

He said students would be updated on changes.

I've seen that same vague date in various other places associated with the Code Oregon program

I met with Work Source staff a little over a month ago and they mentioned that the job fair had been tentatively pushed back to April with no specific date.

I talked to the career program person last week and she told me that Treehouse is not planning a job fair. She said that maybe Worksource is planning something, but I get the impression that it was just a line that somehow ended up in Code Oregon's welcome email and probably isn't going to happen.

Jennifer, I just got an entry level job as a Front End Developer. I did it on my own by answering an ad on craigslist, and it was only the fourth or fifth job I'd applied for. I did go to a coding bootcamp, but I think what's most important is to have a portfolio website with solid example projects that shows off your skills and gives you some experience to talk about during an interview. I also put all of my work on github, no matter how simple or small the project. And I made sure to have a strong linkedin account. The job is super challenging but I'm learning a ton and really enjoying it, awesome coworkers and great environment. The pay isn't quite what I'd hoped for, but I'm sure that will come with time and experience. Best of luck, you can do it!

I don't know if the Code Oregon thing will show up here; but here's an oregon.gov page listing job fairs in general: http://www.oregon.gov/Employ/jobseekers/Pages/Job-Fairs-and-Events.aspx

Oh, here's this thing from the Code Oregon Facebook page:

How to Land a Development Job at Portland's Hottest Tech Companies Wednesday, May 20, 2015 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Urban Airship, 1417 NW Everett St., #300, Portland, OR 97209 Want to know what it takes to get a development job at the top tech companies in Portland? Join us at Urban Airship as we hear from hiring managers and CTOs from Urban Airship, Jama, Nike, AppNexus, and others.

Come for an evening of networking, refreshments, and Q&A on the culture, hiring process, recruiting methods, and interviewing practices at tech companies in Portland. RSVP today!

https://www.codefellows.org/events#pdx-job-panel

Treehouse is looking to hire at this upcoming Talent Fair. But are they bringing talent like the Portland Code Guild or Code School? I can't tell from the website.

Thanks! I'll keep checking their website for updates too. The CodeOregon website still lists a Spring 2015 Job Fair with no date.

Just a quick update:

The job fair for March 2015 never happened.

Eventually a Job Fair for CodeOregon happened in Dec of 2015.

There were hundreds of CodeOregon "student" who showed up by only about a dozen

The employer to potential employee ratio ended up being at least 10:1 (and

let's hope you weren't looking for a "Junior Web Developer" position because no one there

was hiring for that --it was mostly Senior level positions (Bachelor's Degree plus

several years experience).

---

Shortly after the Dec 2015 job fair a lot of the CodeOregon students got letters saying

Nancy King and her assistant (Matt?), (the people who made up the

Career/Jobs team at Treehouse) would no longer be assisting the CodeOregon enrollees.

---

Exactly what they did do (during 2015) when they were supposed to be helping people I'm not sure.

They were absolutely no help to me (even though I talked to them both on the phone).

Matt told me" "We are not a job placement agency"

I told him "I wish you were because that's what I need!"

---

My advice to any CodeOregon job seekers in the Portland Metro area:

check out the Portlandtech.org site:

http://portlandtech.org/

It is well curated by David Duncan -- just don't have high expectations to get a job during the Winter of 2015-2016.

The economy is still week, the labor participation rate is still around 60%, and wages aren't really rising.

---

There are still the CodeOrgon events you can go to meet up with other people looking for work.

I'm still trying to get them to concentrate/skew their pizza selection toward "Veggie",

but at least a little food helps out with an empty belly as by EBT/SNAP/FoodStamps run out

around the 20th of the month, and I still have not even a flicker of a hope

for a full time non-contract job in the high tech section.

Oh and by the way I'm near the top of the Leadersboard "AllTime" list for Codeoregon

students with 75,816 points and 970 badges.

If all those Treehouse points and badges don't guarantee me a job then

what hope do the rest of you have?

---

Better work on those Github projects and portfolio and hope you have the charm/charisma

to talk your way into a job with an employer, because flaunting your public Treehouse profile

is probably not going to help.

James White:

1. Yes, we know the Code Oregon March 2015 career fair didn't occur. David Duncan wanted a career fair to occur before the end of 2015, & he succeeded in planning & arranging it, & it did happen.

2. The December 2015 career fair was arranged by David Duncan & his Worksource Oregon colleagues. He did receive an excellent response from employers (16) and educational institutions (4), & attendees. It was an excellent turnout of employers (at least 1/3) & job seekers (Worksource Oregon staff asked job seekers to check in with them when they entered the career fair) considering the cramped space at Jaguar/Land Rover & the time it took to put it all together. David Duncan had an initial response from 22-33 employers (if I remember correctly). Any time you have 1/3 of any invitees attend is a good turnout regardless of the event. Not all employers who intended to be there were present. There were last minute substitutions, but the result was the same.

3. Not all employers are looking for Website Designers & or Website Developers. You need to research the employers who attend the career fair & look at what their products/services are & what skill sets they need. It's not recommended you go to a career fair without knowing something about the employers. They all expect that much.

4. Employers told me they were hiring in January 2016 through March 2016.

5. Not all Code Oregon students received the 2 letters or e-mails you mentioned from Team Treehouse, Inc. stating they were changing/ending their Career Program. (I know other Code Oregon students received them, but I didn't. I don't know why.) There are changes occurring, & that discussion is among David Duncan, Worksystems, Inc., & Team Treehouse, Inc. I suggest you contact David Duncan & ask him about any general info he can tell you. Hint: attend one of his Code Oregon study halls at Worksource Oregon listed on his portlandtech.org web page.

6. Team Treehouse, Inc. instructs people to learn coding. They are a private educational company. They aren't an employment agency. There are technology employment agencies in the Portland area. Yes, they recruit people like other temporary employment agencies for the technology industry. Even Kelly Services has a technology branch.

7. Contact Christian R. Kaylor, Oregon Employment Dept. Economist, christian.r.kaylor@oregon.gov, who can send you a 40 page PowerPoint Presentation he recently gave at an East Portland Chamber of Commerce meeting. Portland's economy is doing better than you think it is.

8. The Meetups at Code Fellows at 7:00-8:30 p.m. on the 2nd Thursday of every month show up on Calagator. You must RSVP to attend. These Meetups do have vegetarian pizzas. They are for job seekers wanting to change careers & get into the technology industry. There's also a Meetup at Code Fellows (on the Code Oregon meetup page) for coding assistance on the 3rd Thursdays every month. They provide the table space, you must bring your own laptop.

9. If you look at what other Meetup groups people are members of, you could try to connect with them at the Meetups they attend. It's another way to make contacts than LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or blogs. There's also technology events you could volunteer for such as TechFest NW in April 2016 in order to get in for free. (Volunteer for registration in the mornings & then you'll have plenty of opportunities to meet all the attendees & perhaps some of the guest speakers, besides staff from the technology companies who attend. It will give you the opportunity to smile & have a positive attitude because you will be relaxed & having fun.)

10. Read the local business news online, magazines, & newspapers at a local library. You will be able to keep tabs on employers that are entering Portland & who is hiring, etc.

11. If you're having difficulty maintaining a positive outlook, then perhaps you need to find activities you enjoy doing to give yourself a break from the constant stress you're feeling or imposing on yourself. You don't have to be in the career search mode 24/7/366. Otherwise, if you have a best friend you can confide in who will be empathetic, sympathetic, & who will simply just listen to you just to allow you to talk out the "toxic waste dump" to feel relief, then spend some time with them. Just tell them you aren't asking for unsolicited advice to "solve" your problem, you just need to vent, & that's all you want to do.

I hope all this information helps you. I prefer to keep a positive outlook in spite of the challenges I have. It does help encourage others to keep going. You never know who will look at you as an example. It would surprise you.