I am so excited about Camp this time around! We’ve made some significant changes that I believe will make the event even more valuable for our attendees:

1. Smaller. No more than 200 this time, probably closer to 150. Less craziness, less crowded, better networking/community-building.
2. Fewer, larger, longer sessions. Our attendees will get the information they most need to hear about how to find and win a job, and benefit from the expertise of our amazing speakers. Core skills like improving your resume, using LinkedIn, and effective networking will be attended by all Campers. You will also choose from two of four other key topics, depending on your interest: working with recruiters, resources for jobseekers in Phoenix, Twitter, and building on your personal network.
3. Focus. With 80% of our attendees wanting to find a job vs. starting their own business, all sessions will focus on that goal. But you know us — we’re always encouraging Campers to think about other options, and attendees considering their own business will get some inspiration and an invitation to a special LaidOffCamper-only event!
4. Longer breaks, and more of them. More networking opportunities.
5. An after-event community-building social at Gangplank, across the street from the Chandler City Hall Complex where we’re holding LaidOffCamp, to let everyone wind down and continue the conversation.

Obviously, there are lots of things that haven’t changed for LaidOffCamp:

1. Continental breakfast thanks to donations from our generous sponsors.
2. A great lunch sponsored — AGAIN — by Pittsburgh Willy’s and Floridino’s. Thanks as always to Randy Walters and Jeff Weninger for their generosity.
3. A casual atmosphere, a focus on respect and support, and great information from great local resources.
4. Free avatar photographs for many attendees, thanks to Kym Moschgat of Kymberli Photography.
5. Thanks to Boyd and Tina-Marie Coleman, all sessions will again be videotaped!

Please check our event page for more information and to download the day’s schedule. See you on February 4th!

We are excited to announce the next LaidOffCamp Chandler event on Saturday, February 4th in Downtown Chandler.  We have a new venue and some exciting additions to ensure a full day of community, support, resources and education for jobseekers.  Tickets will be available in January — in the meantime, keep an eye on our event page and sign up for our email list to make sure you don’t miss any updates about this exciting event!

I’m so proud to announce the first LaidOffCamp Tucson on November 12th.  The great folks at Gangplank Tucson are behind this event, and it’s going to be a great one.  Tickets are available now but EXTREMELY limited so if you’re interested sign up now!

We are so pleased to announce a NEW LaidOffCamp event coming to Phoenix!  Our friends and volunteers in the SW valley are launching their first LaidOffCamp event in August – LaidOffCamp SW Valley!  Here are the details:

August 13, 2011

7:30AM – 1:00PM

Estrella Mountain Community College

Please help spread the word about this event, and let the organizers know if you’d like to volunteer.

You can register for the event here.  See you in August!

I want to welcome all of our attendees to LaidOffCamp Phoenix April 2011!  If this is your first time at our event, I think you’ll find it unlike any event you’ve ever attended.  If you’re an alumnus, welcome back!  I’m thrilled we can welcome so many new faces this time around.  It’s painfully obvious how desperately people are still seeking help, even as the pundits tell us this recession is beginning to ease.  We’re working hard to make sure we offer you value for the day you’ll spend with us.

I wanted to offer a few suggestions as you prepare for next Saturday (April 30th):

1)  This is me.  I stuck my picture in here not because I’m the next Miss Arizona, but so you’ll know me when you see me.  Please make sure to say hi, and let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.

2)  LaidOffCamp Phoenix is not your typical suit-and-tie event, and it’s not a job fair, and nobody will be judging you based on what you’re wearing.  I encourage you to dress casually — most of the speakers will be dressed casually too. If you feel more comfortable in a suit or tie, please feel free — just don’t get dressed up if you don’t want to.  If you’re registered for an avatar photograph, feel free to bring a jacket or nice shirt to wear for the picture, and then change out of for the rest of the day.  Above all, be comfortable.

3)  Take a few moments to review the schedule before you arrive. It describes each of the sessions and speakers.  Our sessions are roughly organized into five different tracks just to help you figure out the kind of information that’s available to you, but you’re free to attend any session you’d like, in any track — you don’t have to sign up or anything.  You’ll notice that a few of the sessions are given twice, but most are only happening once.  We are planning to record each of the sessions and will be uploading them to Vimeo after the event and posting a link on the LaidOffCamp Phoenix website.  So it’s likely that anything you miss you can catch later.

4)  Wifi coverage inside the Community Center is iffy, although right outside you can pick up the excellent free network from the Chandler Downtown library.

5)  You don’t need to print your ticket.  Save a tree — we know who you you are.

6)  We will be serving a light breakfast (coffee & tea, juice, yogurt, pastries, etc.) and lunch (pizza, hot dogs, salads) thanks to our wonderful sponsors Urban Tea Loft, Floridino’s Pizza & Pasta and Pittsburgh Willy’s Gourmet Hot Dogs.  If you’re really picky or have particular needs, you might want to pack your own lunch.  We encourage attendees to stay on-site for lunch (which is why we serve one) because it’s a great opportunity to chat with speakers, volunteers and other attendees.  Trust me — you never know who is going to connect you to that next opportunity, and it might be the person sitting next to you at lunch!

7)  If you didn’t get one of the 40 tickets for avatar photographs, we will have a “first come first served” waiting list signup at the registration desk to fill any no-show slots that come up.  If that’s important to you, I’d suggest arriving early.

8 )  Please do your best to arrive in time for the start of our 8AM opening session. We’ll be covering general information about how to make the most of the day and sharing other important information, so I’d hate for you to miss it.

9)  The Chandler Community Center is right next to the Chandler Downtown Library, on the north side of Boston Street east of Arizona Avenue.  The best parking is in the parking garage next to the building – from Arizona Avenue, turn east onto Boston — the garage will be on the north side of the street.  Parking is free.  Please avoid parking in the surface lot for the library, as it’s very small — we rely on the generosity of the City of Chandler and don’t want to make anybody angry at us.

10)  Stay afterwards! Usually we have a group of volunteers, speakers and attendees who choose to meet up at a local watering hole within walking distance after the event to wind down and hang out.  Any and all are welcome to join us — and it’s at the “after camp” sessions that I’ve forged some of the most enduring relationships I’ve made as a result of LaidOffCamp.  So if you have an extra hour or two, please plan to join us!

Most of all, I want you to know that we all get it. We know you’re angry, you’re stressed, you’re dispirited, maybe even losing hope.  Many of us have been there too.  That’s why the volunteers, the speakers, the sponsors and I do what we do.  On this day, at this event, you are among friends.  And we are here to help.

See you at Camp!

Susan

The agenda has been finalized for the April 2011 LaidOffCamp Phoenix event and it’s chock-full of great sessions, valuable content and outstanding speakers.  You can download the agenda here, along with full session descriptions and speaker bios.

This time around we are proud to offer five content “tracks” – Finding a Job, Starting Your Own Business, Community Building/Networking, Surviving Layoff and Tools.  Attendees are free to attend any session they wish, in any track.

With the permission of the presenters, all of the sessions will be taped and placed online where they can be accessed after the event.  So while you can’t attend every session in person, they’ll be available online so you won’t miss a thing!

The clock is ticking, and with less than a month until our next LaidOffCamp Phoenix event, tickets will start to move quickly.  We can accommodate more attendees than ever before (thanks to the City of Chandler’s generous offer of the Chandler Community Center) but when the tickets are gone, they’re gone.

The agenda is filling up with great sessions and amazing speakers.  We’ll post the final schedule in the next week or so.  Our generous sponsors are ready to provide attendees with breakfast, lunch and amazing information and resources — all for FREE.  Don’t miss this one, it’s going to be better than ever!

If you’d like to volunteer or sponsor, please let us know by emailing us.