CT Launches Website To Attract Young Professional Workers

CONNECTICUT — In an effort to attract and retain young employment talent to the state, Connecticut has launched "CTForMe," a new website (www.CTForMe.com) and Instagram account (@CTForMe), Gov. Ned Lamont announced this week.

The initiative, which is from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, features the "organic visual stories of young talent, entrepreneurs, and professionals who live and work in Connecticut."

Officials said that content on CTForMe reflects key themes of interest to young professionals, shared in the first-person, including:

• Employment and entrepreneurial opportunities
• Walkable cities and open spaces
• Arts and culture
• The green economy
• The environment and sustainability
• Community impact
• Multiculturalism within Connecticut

"We know that this last year has had a major impact on where people across the country want to live and work, and Connecticut’s open spaces, smaller cities, and top education and healthcare systems are becoming more attractive now more than ever, including among young professionals," Lamont said in a statement. "This is the perfect time to highlight all the great and unique things about Connecticut. CTForMe is a new way our younger population can engage with each other and share their personal experiences of living and working in Connecticut. I encourage anyone who wants to tell their stories to use the hashtag or reach out – let’s work to get your story out there."

The CTForMe hub incorporates original and curated content, including videos, first-person testimonials, news stories, statistics, and career and networking resources. This content will be shared with young talent across Connecticut and in surrounding states through social media programs, media outreach, digital marketing, and search engine marketing.

"The new CTforMe content hub is designed to be a resource for young, talented professionals who are considering making their lives in Connecticut," said Glendowlyn Thames, deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. "In addition to the state's promotion of this content, we are working with HR departments, businesses, associations, community leaders, realtors, and other influencers from across Connecticut to help them integrate these resources into their own recruiting and retention efforts."

Since the soft launch of CTForMe in January, the website and Instagram account have featured dozens of stories, videos, and news from leading organizations from around Connecticut. CTForMe will serve as a powerful tool for businesses to attract and retain young talent as it demonstrates all Connecticut has to offer. A digital toolkit has already been provided to hundreds of businesses, universities, economic development partners, and nonprofit organizations around the state to assist in this effort.

Added John Houston, president and CEO of Arvinas, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company,"Attracting and retaining talented employees has been a critical part of Arvinas' success, and we know that our employees really enjoy working and living in Connecticut. Being part of the growing biotech hub in New Haven, we're excited to have one of our scientists featured on CTforMe and look forward to promoting all that Connecticut has to offer. It's truly a wonderful place to live, work, and play."

To date, CTforMe.com has attracted over 78,000 page views from more than 52,000 new site users. Site visits have been primarily from New England, New York, California, and Florida, with close to 30 percent of all traffic originating in the careers section of the website. People-centric, authentic feature stories about young professionals currently drives the most engagement on-site, and within supporting Instagram posts. The @CTforMe Instagram account has already generated approximately 8 million impressions and more than 162,000 clicks to CTforMe.com.