Helping Members Find Jobs and Rewarding Career Paths
In 2011, ACS continued to innovate and broaden its reach to support ACS members in their efforts to find new jobs and, at the same time, enable employers in all facets of the chemical enterprise to staff their organizations with the best talent in the chemical sciences. In addition, we continued to develop new products and services to support the professional aspirations of our members at all stages of their careers, enabling them to remain competitive in an ever-changing job market.
Underscoring our commitment to supporting members’ career aspirations, the ACS conducted its first combined onsite and virtual ACS Career Fair. The onsite portion of the Career Fair took place at the Denver Convention Center during the ACS 2011 Fall National Meeting, giving 775 job seekers the opportunity to interview for 261 open positions. Breaking all geographical barriers, the Virtual Career Fair portion made it possible for more than 2,000 job seekers around the world to talk to recruiters about 380 additional open positions.
Attendees at both the onsite and virtual portions of the Career Fair not only had the opportunity to interview, but also to build their job search skills and learn about the full spectrum of career opportunities for chemical professionals today. For example, Career Fair presentations in Denver were broadcast live via webcast in the virtual auditorium of the Virtual Career Fair, enabling hundreds of onsite and online job seekers to participate and interact with each other. All these webcasts were recorded and are available on demand at ACS webinars. Among these webcast presentations was our keynote presentation Entrepreneurship + Innovation = Jobs given by Professor George Whitesides, former ACS President Joe Francisco, and ACS Executive Director & CEO Madeleine Jacobs.
Recognizing that to best help ACS members find jobs in today’s economy, we must also create new jobs, ACS has launched the ACS Entrepreneurial Initiative. Its mission is to provide the support members need to transform their innovative ideas into successful business ventures. As part of this initiative, we have launched the ACS Entrepreneurial Training Program—available to members via application— which offers three tested and proven curricula corresponding to the needs of ACS members at different stages of their entrepreneurial plans. In June 2012, the ACS Entrepreneurial Initiative will launch the ACS Entrepreneurial Resources Center, giving approved ACS member applicants access to a wide range of resources needed to advance their entrepreneurial endeavors. The ACS Entrepreneurial Initiative will continue to develop new resources and programs to support ACS entrepreneurs in all facets of planning, launching, and growing successful entrepreneurial ventures.