What is a LaidOffCamp?

LaidOffCamp is an ad-hoc gathering of unemployed and self-employed people (including entrepreneurs and startups) who want to share ideas and learn from each other.

You do NOT have to be unemployed to attend!

When / Where

Provisional: May/June 2009 (Keep checking here Twitter and Facebook for confirmed date)
Venue still to be sourced. If you know of a suitable one, please leave a message in COMMENTS below
Vist us LaidOffCampUK on Facebook.
Reserve your EarlyBird spot at LaidOffCampUK here EventBrite

Planning and Volunteers

We need help! Please contact anyone on the UK Planning Team to help (<-- link to your loca)
Visit LaidOffCamp UK Planning or email ukplans@laidoffcamp.com for planning information
If you plan to volunteer add your name to the LaidOffCamp UK Planning list

Session Ideas

Retraining
Being unemployed & keeping depression at bay
Family life while on the dole.
Rebranding yourself (Hugh's Global Microbrand?)
Writing that perfect CV and cover letter.
On spec CV distribution scheme
Interview technique
Answering tough interview questions
Building & maintaining a network on & offline
Computer skills (Search, Jobsites, Word)
How to freelance / be a consultant
Affordable dental & medical plans

Who's Talking About LaidOffCamp UK ?

Press releases to be distributed shortly

What to expect when attending a LaidOffCamp?

Preparation

Pre-register for the event to give coordinators an idea as to how many people are coming.

Come early, but not too early - Showing up at the announced starting time will be fine. Show up earlier, and you'll get drafted for setup work (much appreciated!). Show up later, and you'll miss some social activity and the session scheduling. Architecture degree

Be ready to participate - come with an idea for a session you can lead. You don't have to be an expert at your topic; as long as it's not too specific, there'll probably be someone else present who can help you out. You can also contribute to the conversation during a session. This is a great way to participate, since it spreads knowledge from everyone, instead of just the leader. Online Telecommunication degree

The Event

When you arrive, go to the pre-registration table, where you can claim your nametag. Make your way into the eatery, where you may find breakfast (if organizers or other participants have brought some to share) and lots of people to socialize with. Doctorate degree
We start by gathering together in one space and going around the room to introduce ourselves with three tags to describe what we're passionate about (or want to talk about). There will also be some announcements. After this, people who intend to lead a session will add their session info to an empty schedule grid. If you see a session you're interested in, go to it.
After a couple of sessions, you will have a significant amount of downtime for lunch. Feel free to wander around and socialize while or after you eat. More announcements will be made, and any newly proposed sessions will be announced. Online Degree Program
After the sessions are finished, please stick around to clean up. It's generally as simple as throwing trash away and taking down signs, but all the help is appreciated. Masters degree

Feedback from previous USA LaidOffCamps

Timing / Room Setup

It might work better if the next camp is set up from 1-5 pm...followed by a happy hour or after party. This can prevent the loss of momentum and even bring more people in. (From SF session "Future of LaidOffCamp)
Given the attendance drop off after lunch and the high cost of lunch, I think it would be better to have future events occur from ~12:30pm - 5:30pm. Also, I think that having more than 4 rooms would have made the sessions more discussion-oriented and thus much more benefitial to every attendee/participant. (From Chris Hutchins)

Name

A few of us expressed a bit of reserve in using facebook to let everyone in our network know that we would be attending LaidOffCamp. There seemed to be a bit of a stigma in the word LaidOff...specially since a few were freelancers or were still employed. (From SF session "Future of LaidOffCamp)

Website

There were also some suggestions on how to make the website more "user friendly". Information should be organized in a way that it's easier for the not too web savvy users to find the details of the camps. (From SF session "Future of LaidOffCamp)

Sessions

The first comments reccomended that the first 2 rounds of sessions should be set up in advance in order to avoid a chaotic start. Chris mentioned that he thought about meeting with potential presenters the day before the event, but decided against it. (From SF session "Future of LaidOffCamp)
Since so many of the sessions were geared towards encouraging us to freelance, or decide to launch our own start up, it would be great to hear more about a future camp tailored to these themes. It also seems that freelancecamp.org is already taken. (From SF session "Future of LaidOffCamp)
It would be good to balance Basic Organization with Dynamic participation. Be clear with the "presenters / facilitators" that the format is to be dynamic, in order to tap the wisdom of the crowd instead of "power point presentations" and "Q & A". (From SF session "Future of LaidOffCamp)
The organizers should vet a little more the "presenters / facilitators" before hand. (From SF session "Future of LaidOffCamp)

Other

The signage and way finding can be improved a little bit. Specially the schedule should be bigger, more visible and accessible to everyone present. (From SF session "Future of LaidOffCamp)
Word of mouth and the media coverage for sure will bring much more people to the next Bay Area LaidOffCamp. Be prepared for that. (From SF session "Future of LaidOffCamp)
How often to repeat this? The responses ranged from every quarter to everymonth...In the Bay Area, I think it can be every month if it's rotated between SF, East Bay and Silicon Valley. (From SF session "Future of LaidOffCamp)

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Feel free to add suggestions and your own personal experiences, and many thanks to the organizers, volunteers and sponsors.

UnitedKingdom