Hello West Michigan hosted their 10th annual ReThink West Michigan event last week on November 10th. As Marketing and Web Intern for Hello West Michigan, I’ve spent the last couple of months preparing for the event. I was constantly promoting the event, sharing success stories, and creating content to share how beneficial ReThink West Michigan can be if someone is considering relocation.  

Amidst all my work-duties in promoting this event, I realized that I overlooked one rather obvious detail—I’m planning on relocating to West Michigan. Well, technically, I do live in West Michigan. I’m currently a senior at Grand Valley State University, which means I am enthusiastically awaiting life after graduation day—AKA, adulting. Part of this adulting entails the permanent leaving of my hometown, which is in Illinois.  

I’ve been sharing with family and friends my desire to stay in Grand Rapids after graduation but have not begun the full-time job search yet. I even resigned my lease to stay here! My confidence and drive to stay in the Mitten State is high, which is when it hit me—why don’t I attend ReThink as a candidate?  

Just days before the event, I registered to attend the virtual event and wondered why I hadn’t thought of it sooner. The only way to ensure my stay in West Michigan is to build my network—and what better way than to have the opportunity to chat with over 20 hiring, participating companies. As Wednesday rolled around, I switched gears from “behind-the-scenes of ReThink” to “candidate-attending ReThink.” At 2:50, I left work, hopped in my car, and made it home just in time to hop onto the event at 3:00 sharp. After getting connected to the event and communicating with community ambassadors, it all made sense.  

My experience at ReThink West Michigan helped me to truly understand the significance of the event and why we promoted it so strongly. As an organization that focuses on talent attraction to West Michigan, Hello West Michigan does a phenomenal job putting on this event—from an internal and external standpoint. Though the event was completely virtual, it still succeeded in connecting candidates to local, hiring employers.  

There were different employer booths to visit, all with representatives from each company. From there, you were able to text chat or video chat with a representative about your current position, their open positions, and learn more about the company overall. For me, I was fortunate to be able to tell the representatives that I handled the marketing strategies for the event, and I was graduating in May looking for a full-time position. The representatives were extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and eager to connect with me! They shared job openings that match my credentials based on my current experience and anticipated degree in public relations.   

As someone who has seen ReThink from both perspectives, my unbiased opinion strongly recommends attendance for anyone interested in relocation to West Michigan. The event helped build my network and connect me to companies hiring in entry-level positions. I believe attending ReThink put me one step ahead and will ultimately help my chances of staying in the area after graduation. Even with the virtual format, the event was extremely beneficial—I can only imagine how great it’ll be when it can be hosted in-person again!  

Our HR Intern, Samilla, also attended ReThink as a candidate, and here’s what she had to say: 

“This year I had the opportunity to attend our annual Rethink event as a candidate. Going into it I was not sure how well I would be able to connect with the recruiters since it was a virtual event, but it exceeded my expectations. I got to connect with many recruiters from different companies. As a Senior in college this was such a great and exciting opportunity for me as I am looking to be employed fulltime as my graduation date is fast approaching.”