Two weeks ago, Avanade participated in the annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in Houston. As the new recruitment marketing lead, with a whopping fourteen days of tenure under my belt, I had the opportunity to attend Grace Hopper to meet people, learn more about our approach to recruiting women and see our talent brand come to life.

I was impressed.

Let’s start with our physical presence. A 30x30 foot, all digital display, fully animated booth with interactive technology demos and the ever-popular ‘tweet for swag’ machine secured our position as the most talked about booth on site. But it wasn’t all about the flash. Our virtual reality stroke rehab solution captured attention across the show floor not just for the innovative use of technology, but how work is improving lives. We say we make an impact and create change, and women responded by telling us that meaningful work matters to them.

The digital banner surrounding the booth allowed us to tell a compelling story to women looking to build a career in technology: one that reflects our vision and values, our culture, our commitment to the career development and growth of women, and our cutting edge work. Anyone who walked that show floor left there knowing our name, with many of them (fellow exhibitors included!) coming by to find out more about this company with the impressive booth. A brand win if there ever was one!

Who else was busy? Our leadership. When one candidate recounted her booth discussion with “a guy named Mick,” you can imagine her surprise when she learned that he was the North America President. Stella Goulet, Florin Rotar, Stefanie Hill, Amy Zoretic, Amie Frickel, Erika King, Mahnaz Javid, Eddie Pate and others didn’t just provide face time, but spent countless hours in our booth, at sessions and during events sharing their Avanade stories and how women play a vital role in our future success.

Take a look at the photos and I think you will be impressed with what the team delivered at Grace Hopper. Leaving Houston - sporting my new orange polo - I can say with confidence that if this event is any indication of our commitment to our people and women, the path forward for all of us is very bright indeed.