Organizer Concerns from CareerCamp: New Unconference Career Building Methods [Vdeo Clip]

CareerCamp International

A clip from this longer presentation – CareerCamp: New Unconference Methods for Helping People Build the Career They Deserve with Douglas E. Welch

CareerCamp Founder, Douglas E. Welch, shares CareerCamp with the attendees of the California Placement Association at their annual 2015 conference in San Luis Obispo.

He discusses What is CareerCamp?, how it might be used in your organization and takes you through an example of a Day at CareerCamp.

Download this video clip

Subscribe to CareerCamp International on YouTube

Subscribe to Douglas E. Welch on YouTube

Transcript:

Organizer Concerns, and another picture of Anthony. I stand in the balcony and shoot down at the main floor as people are registering. Organizer Convers. First and foremost, “What do you mean there’s no schedule?!?!?” That’s the first one I get. How do you know? What it nobody wants to present? That was honestly, that was my first concern when I did my first CareerCamp as an organizer. I thought, “God, what if no one puts anything up?” Thet fact is, I had 3 other co-chairs who wrote and presented on career topics and I looked around and said “Well, heck, if just the 4 of us do 2 talks each that’s 8 talks, that’s 8 hours — we’ve already filled the schedule board.” If no one else wants to present, we can give a whole conference ourselves with no trouble at all and tht helped to tamp down the fear of “Ok, what is no one…” and the fact is, it surprises you. No. People do. People have things to share. People have interesting and important information to share with those around them and they will stand up. I…at the end of every CareerCamp, I am walking around with this huge smile, because it’s like “It worked again!”

---

What is CareerCamp and Career Camp International?

CareerCamp is a community organized, career-focused, unconference which calls upon local communities and people to share their knowledge, expertise and other important information on developing yourself and your career.

What is an unconference?

Unconferences are self-organizing conferences, similar to many professional conferences, but instead of hiring well-known, professional speakers, they call on the attendees themselves to provide the content and focus for the event. Every person who attends is highly encouraged to present on some topic deeply important to them or, barring that, to facilitate an open breakout session or round table discussion or even just to engage and converse with their fellow attendees between presentations. A few organizers band together to find a venue for the event, recruit sponsors and invite attendees, but the focus of the unconference is driven solely by the attendees.

Some might question the usefulness of presentations by their peers, but we have found that there is an enormous amount of real-world expertise available in each and every local community. CareerCamp utilizes a format that draws out that expertise and benefits everyone. CareerCamp (and other unconferences) provide a structure and an opportunity to share this expertise in ways that traditional conferences do not. Additionally, CareerCamps also attract career development professionals who can use CareerCamp as a way of introducing themselves to a new audience of potential clients.

How was CareerCamp developed?

The genesis of CareerCamp was found by attending BarCamp unconferences held around the world. CareerCamp founder, Douglas E. Welch, was a long time attendee of BarCamp, which is an event that embraces any topic, although it often leans toward technology. After seeing the success of BarCamp as a way to illuminate and educate within a community, Welch applied the unconference concept to the specific world of Career Development.

For more information, visit:

• CareerCamp International
• CareerCampSCV (Santa Clarita Valley)
• Douglas E. Welch