AccessDubuqueJobs.com Fall Career Fair

On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at the Hotel Julien in downtown Dubuque, the public and college students alike connected with 51 area employers and community resources at the AccessDubuqueJobs.com Fall Career Fair. The Fall Career Fair is new to our roster of workforce recruitment tools, added in response to feedback from our Workforce Investors due to the positive results they’ve had at our annual college-focused career fair in the Spring.

Employers participating in the October event included A.Y. McDonald Manufacturing Co, BARD Materials, Bodine Electric Company, City of Dubuque, City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program, Conlon Construction, Cottingham & Butler, Crescent Community Health Center, Dubuque Community Schools, Dubuque County Historical Society / National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, Dubuque Police Department, Eide Bailly LLP, Engineering Services & Products Company (FarmTek), Fidelity Bank & Trust, Flexsteel Industries, Green Industrial Supply, Hawkeye Care Center,  Hirschbach, HODGE, Hotel Julien Dubuque, Kendall Hunt Publishing/Westmark Enterprises/Great River Learning, Klauer Manufacturing, Lime Rock Springs, McCoy Group, Medical Associates, MedOne Pharmacy Benefit Solutions, MercyOne Medical Center – Dubuque, Mi-T-M Corporation, Molo Companies, Mount Carmel Bluffs, Nordstrom, PBS Systems, Premier Bank,  Progressive Processing - Hormel Foods, RIE Coatings, Rite-Hite, Simmons Pet Food, Stonehill Communities, The Metrix Company, Theisen's Home Farm Auto, Uelner Tool, Unified Therapy Services, UnityPoint Health Finley Hospital, University of Dubuque, and Zero Zone.

Representatives from IowaWorks, Multicultural Family Center, and Northeast Iowa Community College also hosted booths to connect job seekers with resources for finding and securing employment as well as area upskilling programs like Opportunity Dubuque.

The team at Greater Dubuque Development Workforce Solutions and Communications teams work closely to plan and promote events like the AccessDubuqueJobs.com Fall Career Fair. In addition to ensuring our employers are well-informed on the day-of logistics, Greater Dubuque invests heavily in regional marketing to ensure the public awareness of the event. Communications strategies include the use of organic and targeted paid social media advertising, print ads in regional newspapers and entertainment magazines, print fliers and digital assets distributed to area colleges and partners, listing on regional online community calendars, week-of ads with Radio Dubuque, a digital billboard in the heart of downtown Dubuque, and digital marketing through TH Media. The event is also repeatedly highlighted in both Greater Dubuque’s Workforce Solutions Monthly email newsletter and our mid-month general email newsletter, with a potential reach of 3,000 subscribers in the weeks leading up to the event.

An estimated 90-100 job seekers attended the Fall Career Fair and were given an opportunity to complete a survey when exiting the career fair. 68 job seekers provided feedback revealing that 35% were students attending to learn more about future career opportunities available in the Greater Dubuque region and 25% attending were unemployed and seeking employment. 61% of those attending are newcomers to Dubuque, having lived here for 5 years or less.

A thanks to all that helped to make our AccessDubuqueJobs.com Fall Career Fair a success including the staff at the Hotel Julien Dubuque and our partners in AccessDubuqueJobs.com, TH Media.

The date for our Spring event is set for Wednesday, February 21, 2024 and will also be held at the Hotel Julien in downtown Dubuque. Save the date now and look for registration to open in January 2024. Career fair booths are free but limited to our Workforce Solutions Investors. To learn more about becoming a Workforce Solutions Investor or renewing your investment, contact Mandi Dolson, Director of Workforce Recruitment & Retention at mandid@greaterdubuque.org or 563-557-9049.