b'Childrenandpeopleofallagesgravitatetowardpathsthem to disseminate among their members. They planned FOGHORN FOCUS where they find others they can identify with. Buildingwell in advance so that groups had plenty of time to share awareness within Harlem and the wider African Americanthe information within their community.communityaboutmaritimejobopportunitiesnotonly opens doors for people to discover an industry they mayTheir strategy worked with over 500 applications submit-not have known about but helps the operation reach anted to fill the job postings at the Harlem Rocket. untapped set of workers. To connect with these groups, the team at Harlem Rocket has approached staffing with aRather than review each application and call individuals, broad strategy, targeted tactics, and a fresh perspective onJohnson said their team took a non-traditional approach the entire process.to the process. Over the course of four days, they invited more than 300 applicants to join them for small, group Johnson explained that they put together a team of peo- information/interview sessions. The Harlem Rocket team ple both internal and external to the operation in order topresented to attendees, telling them about the new opera-involve those with a deep understanding of the communi- tion, who they are, the larger Harlem waterfront initiative, ties they wished to reach. They identified key educationaland the companys mission. institutions and community groups and then devised an outreach strategy for each. It was a very tailored approachThose in attendance were asked to speak, sharing their as each organization they connected with was unique. Thename and where they were from, how they heard about team spoke with the individual institutions, telling themHarlem Rocket, and why they were interested in joining about Harlem Rockets operation, and ascertained the bestthe team. Based on the sessions, Johnsons team whittled vehicle to communicate with the given audience. Armedthecandidatepooldowntoabout30people,eachof with that knowledge, his staff assembled information inwhom got a follow-up call. The second interview was one-the best format for each specific group and shared it withon-one via Zoom, and after that, finalists were brought backagainasagroupallowingpotentialcoworkersto meet each other. Johnson said they found that through the process, candidates bonded with each other and began There are many peoplehanging out together. looking for jobs or new Afterjustthefirstroundofgroupsessions,peoplehad formed new connections. Just being in a room and waiting careers . and the payaround and then leaving togetherthat was one communi-ty that was formed of disparate people, Johnson said. In this structure in the maritimeway, the process created unintended, positive consequences. industry is attractive. Thelargergroupofcandidatescamefromavarietyof backgrounds. While many had no previous maritime ex-perience, there were some people from SUNY Maritime If youve got an industry or New York Harbor School that applied and attended the group sessions. There was a deckhand pursuing his cap-or industry componentstains license who did get hired to join the team. Originally from Egypt, he lives in New Jersey near the marina where that need people andtheir boat, the Hazel M. Dukes, is kept, which Johnson noted was fortuitous. He also mentioned one young wom-youve got communitiesan who had been part of a sailing cub in the past and was excited to become a line handler with the operation. John-that need work, Johnsonson looks forward to seeing who they reach next season once the Harlem Rocket is more established and has begun said. Get them together. building name recognition in the community. FOGHORN 22'