HireOne, an initiative of the Chester County Economic Development Council, in partnership with the Hankin Group, held a business networking group at 411 Eagleview Boulevard in the Eagleview Corporate Center this week.

In addition to the Hankin team, staff from SEI Investments, Jennersville Hospital, Victory Brewing, Krapf Transportation, Sprioc LLC, WSFS and other, participated in the networking.  A total of 66 job seekers had the opportunity to share their elevator pitches with prospective employers or make referrals to the hiring companies.

The event’s goal is to bring employers together with job seekers to effectively make connections that help with recruiting and hiring for key workforce positions.  This partnership is a first in effort to establish “Communities of Hiring” within the corporate centers of Chester County.

“With most firms reporting that 80% of the hires come from referrals, the Hire One taskforce created this event to facilitate that process,” said Jim Lauckner, Senior Project Consultant for HireOne.  “No resumes are allowed so the focus remains on the conversations and the referrals that might help us fill open positions in companies throughout the county.”

The success of the event was due to the strong public/private partnership between the Hankin Group and CCEDC along with key support from the private sector as well as grant from the Chester County Workforce Development Board.

“It was great to see so many connections being made, with engaging conversations between a diverse group of companies and job seekers,” said Stacy Martin, Director of Commercial Sales and Leasing for the Hankin Group.   “Thank you to our Eagleview Town Center restaurants, the Hilton Garden Inn (Exton West Chester) and Springhill Suites who donated an amazing array of appetizers, and the HireOne team for helping to make the event a huge success.”

HireOne’s next Business Networking event will take place on Veteran’s Day – Monday, November 11.  This event, specifically for Veterans and their adult relatives who are looking for jobs, will take place from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM in Exton PA. Please contact Sherry Cockerham atscockerham@ccedcpa.com if you are interested in attending.

To learn more about HireOne, visit www.hireonecc.com or contact Jim Lauckner at jlauckner@ccedcpa.com.