It’s July 2001 and 300 people are gathered at a party in New York City. A man holding a “java developers wanted” sign draws a crowd among a sea of pink, blue and green-braceleted guests. The mood is upbeat, considering the fact that most of the technology professionals at the party are not only unemployed, but wondering if their condition will be permanent.

According to “Statistics Canada,”:http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020417/d020417e.htm some 35,000 Canadian tech professionals lost their jobs between 2001 and 2002. One third of the industry was wiped out – the other two-thirds hoped to avoid the axe.

It was not a good time for tech.

Allison Hemming opened the doors to her talent consulting firm “The Hired Guns,”:http://www.thehiredguns.com/ just as layoffs gutted the sector.

“People were just starting up [in the tech industry], but more and more companies were laying off”, recalls Allison Hemming, author of “WORK IT! How to Get Ahead, Save Your Ass, and Land a Job in Any Economy.”:http://www.workitbook.com/

“I thought to myself, let’s put together a happy hour,” says Hemming. Enter the Pink Slip Party.

Hemming’s parties offered more than a drink to victims of the dot-com bust. Job seekers (wearing pink bracelets), could bring their emotional supporters (blue bracelets), and mingle with recruiters (green bracelets) as they bonded over job loss.

“The idea was to bring people together in a room and show them that they’re not alone.” – Hemming

Hemming wanted to convey to them that being laid off was not an individual problem; it was an economic problem affecting the entire industry.

“That [was] the hardest part for people…feeling like a loser. And when you come to this party and see all these pink bracelets – people finding out about new opportunities, improving their skill sets and just gettting back out there – it helps,” says Hemming.

It helped so much that what started out as a 30-person gathering quickly grew to a 300-person party.

Other American cities copied Hemming’s Pink Slip Party, and as the collapse sent shockwaves through the Canadian tech landscape, companies like “Telus”:http://www.telus.com/cgi-ebs/jsp/selectRegion.jsp?rd=http://www.telus.com/%3f and “7/24 solutions”:http://www.724.com/ organized them in Toronto.

Allison Hemming
President of The
Hired Guns and
Creator of the
Pink Slip Party

“The only thing I told people was, ‘Don’t charge people to come in,’” says Hemming. “You don’t have to make a buck off someone’s back. There was too much shock and craziness.”

Hemming injected hard work and careful planning in order to find sponsors and volunteers who would help put the events together. Liquor retailer Bacardi stepped forward by offering ‘Pink Slip Martinis’.

The Pink Slip Party evolved as it grew, and Hemming tried to meet the needs of job seekers. Resume coaches, such as “Resume Deli,”:http://www.resumedeli.com/ attended the parties to educate people on how to look for freelance opportunities while human resource specialists and industry experts discussed career tactics and effective methods of job hunting.

“It’s easy to get stuck in that rut where you’re in your apartment, in your slippers and pajamas, just sending resumes into a black hole,” says Hemming.

At a time when the industry was shrinking and everyone was losing their job, Hemming knew how important it was to be prepared.

“You [needed] to take care of yourself. The best way to take care of yourself is through your community,” Hemming

Hemming believes it’s important to help those in need, and when she looks back on the days of the Pink Slip Parties, she feels proud that the events became as popular as they did.

“People remember it. [They say] ‘You guys have done a great thing. Thanks,’” she says.

“I would throw another one if New York needed it.”

Hopefully, New York and Toronto won’t see a return of Pink Slip Parties. But it’s nice to know that Hemming’s idea will float on, even if a new bubble bursts.