Work in the Triangle job platform adds new features to help companies find workers

Article originally published on WRAL TechWire. 

Amidst a competitive labor market, the Triangle continues to attract both workers and employers seeking to find alignment.

In that context, Wake County Economic Development and the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce have updated the website for the Work In The Triangle job board, including adding features designed to benefit both workers and employers.

The talent recruitment effort initially launched in 2012 as a part of the region’s talent attraction strategy.

Now, the updated website “will serve as the foundation for a robust talent recruitment marketing campaign to include digital advertising in target markets across the country, a new video series, a reinvigorated social media presence, and much more,” said Michael Haley, executive director of Wake County Economic Development and senior vice president at the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, in an interview with WRAL TechWire.

NEED FOR TALENT

“As one of the first communities with a talent attraction strategy, we have collectively known for many years the important connection between talent and economic development,” said Haley.  “The need for talent has only increased over the intervening years.”

The new website now features additional engagement and interactive elements, such as its job board that lists open positions from four industry sectors, an integrated Twitter feed for the virtual job fair known as #TriangleTuesday, and a new cost of living calculator that can compare the cost of living in the region to metropolitan statistical areas across the country.

“It is also important to remember that people want to work for companies that are having a positive impact on our community, that align with their own priorities and beliefs,” said Haley.  “While flexibility remains important, there are also a lot of employees that really value the interaction of an office environment and the mentorship that goes along with that– particularly among younger or newer employees.

According to Haley, companies are seeking employees that are “versatile, can adapt to change quickly and can work in a variety of team environments, both virtual and in-person.”

CONTINUED DEMAND

And the Triangle continues to attract companies, whether its for expansion or for opening new facilities.

Announcements of investment and future job creation illustrate the strength of the local economy, said Haley.

“People see those announcements and they want to be here too, so it helps attract talent to our market because of the many and varied opportunities here,” said Haley.  “For the people that already live and work here, it is important to note that the announcements strengthen our local clusters of life sciences, technology and advanced manufacturing, continuing to show that we are global leaders in these areas.”

Haley told WRAL TechWire that during 2021, the majority of the website’s visitors came from North Carolina, but also received visitors from Virginia, California, New York, and Georgia, in that order.

“We are excited about the chance to interact with people from across the country and tell them about the all the opportunities here in the Research Triangle region,” said Haley.

North Carolina became one of the top states for relocating workers following the onset of the global pandemic, according to Redfin data that WRAL TechWire reported in September 2020.

One of the new features is the cost of living calculator, which Haley noted was a custom tool that allows website users to adjust inputs like the area they’d be moving from and current salary.

“Results pages are tailored using data pulled directly from the Cost of Living Index published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER),” said Haley.  “Data is updated quarterly by C2ER and are automatically reflected in the calculator tool.”