By Taylor Kay, Senior Director, Work and Travel Program at Greenheart
Greenheart World’s Fair in Second City, Chicago!
I’ve always been a Saturday Night Live (SNL) buff and over the holidays I read Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live, by Susan Morrison. Within its 500+ pages is a recounting of the comics and comedians that Lorne Michaels found at Second City in Chicago. John Belushi, Chris Farley, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are among more than 30 who made the jump. I was thrilled to learn, as part of the Greenheart World’s Fair taking place in mid-January, that we would be spending an evening at this famous sketch comedy and improv showcase in our home city of Chicago.
What is a Greenheart World’s Fair?
Let me back up first to describe a Greenheart World’s Fair. Each year we arrange interviews for thousands of applicants with Work and Travel host organizations – seasonal businesses that appreciate the diversity and peak season support that this BridgeUSA program can offer. Those hosts that are looking to hire 25 or more are welcome to join us at Greenheart HQ in Chicago, where we take care of all the logistics to make way for them to have productive conversations with pre-screened candidates from around the world.
Greenheart and Host Organizations Bond Over Pizza!
For the three Greenheart staff and seven host organizations, the bonding began over pizzas. Chicago is famous for its pies and Professor Pizza was warmly applauded. With the ice broken, we headed next door to Second City adorned with cast photos from over the years. For over two hours, the six actors in the troupe performed one sketch after another – all kinds of topics, physical comedy, cerebral comedy, single joke sketches, on stage and in the audience – and yet also with recurring themes. I started to think that each sketch must be the last – and was so happy when it wasn’t. One member of our party joked – sort of – that he would need some ibuprofen from the sidesplitting laughter. I haven’t laughed that long since ever.
The Hiring Event – Vfairs!
The next morning, we trooped through falling snow to the Greenheart office. We quickly got set up for the day’s task of interviews. Each host employer got settled into their own space. With some tech support, all were interviewing by 8:30, right on time. In our interview platform Vfairs, prescreened applicants waited patiently in a queue for their turn. Each was enrolled for a specific position. However, hosts had the flexibility to consider other roles that they thought would be more suitable to candidates’ strengths. Greenheart staff were on standby in Vfairs and in person to jump in on any tech issues. That allowed hosts to focus on having good conversations and assessing the applicants.
Dream Fulfillment and Final Reflections!
On this day, over 160 applicants from 11 countries received offers to join Greenheart. They will fulfill their dreams in the United States next summer. As for me, I fulfilled my dream of visiting Second City. I also got to show off Chicago and enjoyed reflecting in the host organizations’ glowing anecdotes about their interviews. We pride ourselves in making each GWF a little different. We take advantage of all that Chicago has to offer. At the same time, we make it possible for host organizations to meet their seasonal hosting needs. I can’t wait to get back.
Are you a U.S.-based business and would like to host international seasonal staff for a cultural exchange? Please visit HirewithGreenheart.org to learn more.