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IT's Hiring, Virtually

Pilot program seeks to attract candidates through virtual job fair

On June 15, Duke participated in a "virtual job fair" hosted by Dice.com to recruit for information technology jobs.The virtual job fair was a pilot program designed to generate interest in Duke among tech-savvy applicants. "The IT job market typically picks up speed faster than other sectors," said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for Administration. "Technology underpins nearly everything we do, so finding new ways to identify and recruit the best candidates is critical to supporting our strategic goals." Much of the immediate need for IT positions at Duke is based on the new comprehensive new electronic patient record system being implemented across Duke Medicine.Duke's "booth" featured a video about technology at Duke, critical jobs, benefits of working at Duke and information about living in the Triangle. "What better way to reach tech-savvy people than with technology," said Aurora Edenhart-Pepe, an HR specialist for OIT. "We received more than 700 inquiries on the day of the fair. From those initial inquiries, we selected resumes to review, and we have already followed up with those individuals."Duke's participation in the virtual job fair was the result of coordination among the Recruiting department for Duke Human Resources, Duke Health Technology Solutions and the Office of Information Technology. Duke was one of 20 companies - including Dell, Lockheed Martin, can Comcast - that participated in the fair. About a month before the event, announcements were sent electronically to the IT community in the southeast, mid-Atlantic and northeast. The announcements described the event and provided navigation information for people interested in finding out more about our organization. Edenhart-Pepe, the HR specialist in OIT, said the value of the virtual fair was that it allowed Duke to broaden its outreach to prospective candidates. "While we would never eliminate the traditional avenues of recruiting and bringing new employees on board, this innovative technology may prove to be a valuable resource," she said.