As part of the Chamber’s continued effort to connect talent from our higher educational institutions to our local employers, we will be hosting three more Tally Job Hops during the Fall 2017 Semester. These one day tours for students allows Chamber member businesses who are looking for interns and employees to showcase their companies with direct access to students looking to stay in Tallahassee. At each stop, students learn about a company’s corporate culture, what type of projects they are working on, and most importantly, what types of internships and jobs are available. About 24 students whose majors aligned with the corresponding Job Hop are selected to participate on each Hop.

In September, we will host the following Tally Job Hops:

• Monday, September 18, 2017 – Engineering Edition
• Tuesday, September 19, 2017 – Tech Edition
• Wednesday, September 20, 2017 – Insurance Edition

For more information on the Tally Job Job, click here. 

Marcus Mobley rode along with several aspiring graduates at Florida State University as they huddled and chatted in a shuttle van.

There were two groups and a long day of stops at various businesses specializing in information technology, public relations and marketing. The students were used to Garnet and Gold campus life. Most of them, including Mobley, knew little outside that bubble. But he learned a lesson.

Tallahassee may have more to offer than he realized once he graduates. And that’s what the Tally Job Hop was created to do: showcase local businesses, convince graduates of Tallahassee’s career destination potential and reduce the inevitable brain drain that comes with being a college town.

“I can definitely see myself staying in Tallahassee,” said Mobley, a 26-year-old IT major who’s slated to graduate in fall 2017. He was impressed by the collegial environment at IT companies like App Innovators, Diverse Computing Inc., and UberOps. It felt genuine, he said. And then there were brow-raising tidbits. For example, Diverse Computing treats its staff to free lunch every day.

“When I heard that, I was like, ‘What?,’” Mobley said. A seemingly small perk, Mobley said it was something to think about. It showed how much the company appreciated its employees.

The Tally Job Hop is the brainchild of Lester Hutt, Diverse Computing’s founder and sales and marketing manager. He hosted one in January. The Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce caught wind of it and wanted to expand the concept, with Hutt’s blessing.

“It takes them outside of that comfort zone. They get awareness of all of the career opportunities. On top of that, they get to see a side of Tallahassee that they don’t normally get to see,” Hutt said.

Hutt said everyone talks about the importance of talent retention. Major corporations with heavyweight marketing teams descend on Tallahassee. Hutt mentioned companies like General Motors, State Farm Insurance and Google. All good companies, he said.

“But they were being a vacuum cleaner and sucking out all of the good talent,” Hutt said. That doesn’t have to be the case. He said 70 percent of his 37 employees graduated from FSU, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College.

Jay Revell, the chamber’s vice president, said 80 students applied for the Tally Job Hop. The only requirement was to be willing to stay in Tallahassee for a career.

“We thought we could take this to the next level,” said Revell, who took the wheel of one shuttle group. As the van made stops at businesses, it was also a chance to chat about major developments and attractions in Tallahassee, from the Centre of Tallahassee mall redevelopment to Cascades Park.

And the students learned they didn’t have to flee the 850 area code to work on a national scale or travel the country.

At Moore Communications Group, President Terrie Ard spoke of the firm’s roster: Ford Motor Company, Lincoln Motor Company, Merrill Lynch Corporation, Astellas, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google and Anheuser-Busch, among others. But they also worked on local campaigns, such as the opening of Table 23.

She started as an intern. She remembers dreaming of a big city lifestyle.

“When I think about my career, I’m right where I was supposed to be all along,” Ard said. “What Tallahassee has that I don’t think a lot of students realize is that you can have an incredibly successful career here and you can learn on day one from companies that are doing amazing national work.”

Featured companies:

For the past decade, Access Tallahassee has provided young professionals an entry point into the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. Since its inception in 2006, Access Tallahassee has helped grow, retain and nurture the young professional base in Tallahassee through events, networking and career development. This year we aim not only to celebrate a decade of accomplishment, but to raise the profile of the amazing young professionals who live, work and play in Tallahassee.

Tallahassee is home to a growing contingent of young professionals. These hard working and ambitious residents are building lives in our city. They are buying homes, paying taxes, raising children, volunteering and even leading companies and organizations.

Access Tallahassee is where many of them come to meet, greet and learn about our city. Even though we have a large number of these young professionals as members, there are still many young professionals who are seeking the opportunities that Access Tallahassee offers.

We call it Access Tallahassee because it is an easy access point for young professionals to enter our local business community. Through programs like Coffee & Connections, Power Lunches, Day of Doing, Business & Brews and Access Golf Tournament, young professionals can mix and mingle with each other year-round. Access Tallahassee also has three leads groups that specialize in building deeper connections and growing business referrals for members.

In 2016, Access Tallahassee is on a mission to find the next generation of young professionals in Tallahassee. Many of the companies and organizations in our city have people who fit this description. If you know young professionals in search of a pathway for cultivating a career in Tallahassee, I encourage you to share information about Access Tallahassee with them. We want to meet them and help foster opportunities to connect them with established leaders in the business community.

A great opportunity for those who want to learn more is the annual meeting luncheon. This year’s meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at the FSU Alumni Center. Keynote speaker Susie Busch-Transou will talk about why she chose Tallahassee to launch her career.

The annual meeting is open to both current and potential members. Those interested can register at www.AccessTallahassee.com.

Tallahassee is an exceptional city for young professionals to call home. Access Tallahassee has grown and accomplished so much in the past 10 years and we look forward to continuing our mission of connecting young professionals with the tools and resources they need to be successful and fostering the next generation of leaders in the Tallahassee community.

Article Credit: Jay Revell, My View, Tallahassee Democrat 2:01 p.m. EST January 7, 2016