Staff at Midwest FurFest

Here at Midwest FurFest, we had the honor of being host to 15,547 attendees in 2023! Of those attendees, over 500 were on-site staff spread over dozens of departments. Some of them are more visible than others, but all their work is equally as important in making sure that you have a good time.

Perhaps the reason that you are here is because you are interested in joining those ranks. Well, for starters, we’re always looking for more people, and you can apply via our Staff Interest Form below. Our Human and Critter Resources Department is always searching for more furs that will help us with our goal of creating the best possible experience for our attendees! To help you decide if you want to join staff, we have put together this information for you.

If you’re not convinced, take a look at what it means to be staff at FurFest or continue scrolling to learn more about all the different departments that work together to bring the convention to life.

Staff Application

Which department is for me?

You don’t need to know which department you want to be part of when applying to join our staff, but it doesn’t hurt either! Below is a list of all the departments that make FurFest go, with a brief overview what to expect with each.

Audio/Visual

Assist with setup and teardown of main and second stages
Provide audio, video, and/or lighting support throughout the weekend

Accessibility Services

Distribute Accessibility Wristbands
Manage the Quiet Rooms
Provide direction/resources as needed.

Art Show

Assist with Art Show panel setup on Thursday
Assist with hanging art on panels
Answer attendee and artist questions throughout the weeknd
Gather bids on Saturday night and prepare for Art Auction
Act as cashier on Sunday
Assist with Art Show panel teardown on Sunday

Artist Alley

Check in and assist in seating artists
Answer questions from attendees and artists
Resolve conflicts that may arise with artists or attendees
Ensure attendees and artists are following Artists Alley rules

Charity

Assist with setup of charity tables and silent auction tables at dealers' den Thursday before con
Assist with manning tables and cooperating with charity during opening hours as well as shutdown at the end of Friday and Saturday hours
Assist in moving goods to live auction venue Sunday morning
Work as runners or assistant cashiers during live auction
Assist with Sunday afternoon charity table teardown

Crowd Control

Manage crowds in major thoroughfares
Assist with elevator loading and unloading management at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare
Assist with queue management at major events in both the Hyatt Regency O'Hare and Stephens Convention Center

Dealer’s Den

Check ID from either sitting or standing; be able to verify age from assorted international identification to ensure they are 18
Assist with answering questions and dealing with issues of dealers and attendees
Patrol the dealer room to identify problems with intellectual property infringement or improper adult material handling, reporting potential issues to be followed up on by either security or a dealer room lead
Assist with directing and organizing during set up or tear down

Facilities

Convention Center

Lock and unlock doors
Relay requests for cleaning, setup changes, AV, maintenance to convention center staff
Work with departments to determine layouts, schedules, parking needs, etc.

Hotel

Lock and unlock doors
Work with departments to make sure setups, schedules, and other needs are met
Relay requests from attendees and staff to Hyatt Regency O'Hare

Housing

Handle housing requests as they come in
Work with departments on accessibility and housing needs for staff
Assist with management of room booking systems

Transportation

Plan bus routes between venues
Monitor during con to make sure there are no issues with busses and that they are following schedule
Work with vendors and venues to provide coat check/ bag check services as needed

Finance

Handle cash, running cash drops from Registration to the Finance office (located next to Registration) on an hourly basis
Assist in movement of cash to bank or safe locations

First Aid

All positions have a minimum qualification of first aid certification. Prefer Emergency Medical Technician or Paramedic education. Nursing, Certified Nursing Aid, other healthcare provider acceptable also. Physician is least preferred background.

Staff

Think quickly in stressful situations
Possess a strong customer service attitude
Document care provided effectively in the medical log

Supervisor

All job functions of First Aid Staff
Provide general direction to First Aid Staffers
Problem-solve tricky situations quickly and effectively
Provide cross-department communication during First Aid responses
Ensure smooth running of the shift

Gaming

Monitor Gaming area for safety, badges, and to prevent loss of lending library items.
Check in and out items by verify attendee badge numbers and recording in and out.
Assist attendees with finding events, both Gaming related and otherwise.
Check on panelist and event vendors to see if they have any additional needs

Hospitality

Assist with food and beverage preparation and replenishment
Clean and sanitize food preparation areas

Info Desk

Answer attendee questions
Provide guidance on where to find things around the convention

Logistics

Assist with transport of convention material and equipment from the storage units to the Hyatt Regency O'Hare and Stephens Convention Center on Wednesday
Distribute material and equpment around the convention once it is on site
Assist with taking everything back to the storage units on Monday

Operations

Assist with coordination of staff and volunteers across the convention
Answer questions from convention staff and attendees
Log incoming items into Lost and Found database
Return Lost and Found items to proper owners should they return to claim them, and log that return in the database

Photography

All photographers are required to provide their own general photography equipment (body, lenses, batteries, SD cards etc). Decent low-light capabilities are recommended for event coverage and con space coverage. A hot-shoe mount is required to sync with the studio lights. Studio equipment (lights, backdrop, flash sync transmitters, etc) are provided by convention."

Cover assigned studio fursuit photoshoot shifts
Cover major main/secondary stage events, as well as a handful of photography-relevant smaller events
Take general photos of attendees and interactions around the con space

Programming

Firesolver - Lead

Schedule and delegate responsibilities to the firesolver team.
Ensure that there is always tandem coverage throughout the duration of active convention hours
Hold team meeting Day 1 of the con to ensure understanding of roles, shifts and answer any questions and address any issues raised by the team

Firesolver - Staff

Act as first responder to panel issues at-convention that include but are not limited to: Minor AV issues, room capacity concerns, ad hoc event rescheduling or relocation, support for panel requirements and materials, communication and dispatch to other on-site departments for information and assistance not readily solved within the Programming skillset or knowledge

Fursuit Lounge

Monitor and respond to headless lounge needs such as water and fans
Perform setup and teardown of the lounge
Communicate any safety or compliance issues that may arise within the lounge

Programming Help Desk

Maintain and respond to Programming-related information requests produced from interested parties
Input responses in the notification systems for timely answers to basic inquiries in the programming queue.
Utilize the handbooks and guides provided for information regarding programming and scheduling

Public Relations

Review and respond to social media inquiries on Hootsuite in a respectful and timely manner
Triage incoming emails and sort inquires to the appropriate departments
Provide at-con responses and announcements to attendees and staff

Publications & Theming

Build signs in Adobe InDesign
Design swag, badges, table runners
Create artwork
Use Adobe illustrator to design signage and banners
Deploy signage and banners on site Wednesday night
Strike signage and banners on Sunday evening
Design misc trophies, tickets, awards

Registration

Communicate clearly with attendees in a room with large crowds
Perform data entry quickly and without errors
Perform multiple operations (managing paperwork, money, and a wide range of forms of government IDs) quickly and without errors

Safety

Prior event or safety experience is desirable, but not necessary.

Provide general assistance with medical and safety concerns
Use good customer service skills to assist attendees as needed

Software Engineering & Infrastructure

While some prior experience is always beneficial, entry-level candidates can still be useful as part of our support team, and we can train individuals in our specific technologies and practices.

Support Atlassian products (JIRA and Confluence) used by staff to track issues (internally and externally) and build a convention-wide knowledge base
Assist in development and operation of our custom registration and convention management system, RAMS
Manage single sign on and identity management throughout the organization
Manage software licenses
Manage our Amazon AWS infrastructure

Tech Services

Set up computer and network equipment for various parts of the convention
Troubleshoot issues with computers, networking, and peripherals equipment on site at the convention
Deploy and support phones and hotspots at the convention
Respond to equipment requests
Provide email support

VIP Services

Prepare and Sponsor and Shiny Sponsor gist packages/bags
Assist guests of honor with any needs they may have during the convention

Volunteers

Dispatcher

In charge of enrolling, assigning duties to, and tracking gophers
Responsible for keeping gophers properly distributed across convention needs and communicating to other departments regarding those needs
Decent at multi-tasking
Requires strong computer proficiency and exceptional customer service skills

Field Ops

Are exemplary stand-in gophers for when gopher demand exceeds gopher supply
Also assist with "staff only" temporary tasks for other teams
Often rock-star gophers in their past, are ideal role models and trainers to the gophers and lean on their experience of having done the same tasks themselves
Help track and influence the evolving status of convention needs and the gophers themselves and effectively communicate that information to the Dispatch team
Requires exceptional customer service skills