Job Fair brings out crowd - Daily Journal Online

Thanks to pleasant weather and a new schedule perhaps more conducive to job seekers, Wednesday's spring 2015 Job Fair proved to be another success.

The event was held from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Centene Center in Farmington in order to allow job candidates not able to take part in face-to-face conversations with local employers and organizations until later in the day an opportunity to do so. Previous job fairs had been held earlier in the day.

The bi-annual event is sponsored by ODACS Inc. and presented by the Daily Journal, J98 and Monster. 

Laura Maize, Job Fair coordinator, said she was pleased with the results.

"We had close to 300 people come through," she said. "The employers said they met with a number of qualified applicants, so they were very happy. It was an amazing day."

Daily Journal Publisher Gary Berblinger agreed, noting that a few job seekers were even hired on the spot. 

As usual, the nearly 30 employers and organizations represented at the event included a large percentage of those having participated in previous fairs, along with several first-timers. All questioned said they were glad they'd chosen to take part.

Jonnie Jones, of Carl R. Jones Excavating and Hauling LLC, said the company was making its first appearance at the job fair. "I'm hoping to get good applications from someone who is actually qualified," she said. "I'm especially looking for veterans so they'll have a place to work. I'm also looking for experienced operators and people who are wanting to work.

"We still have openings and we're getting busier every day. I've already talked to several today and had some applications and resumes turned in. Several of them look like they're pretty good prospects."

Valley Springs Youth Ranch's Jamie Mayes said the organization was returning to the job fair with a number of job openings needing to be filled.

"We're currently looking for a human resources manager," she said. "We're also wanting to fill a case manager and direct care worker position, as well as an activity director for the summer."

Mayes said the youth ranch's participation in earlier job fairs has put them in touch with qualified candidates who were later offered jobs.

"We have received several great employees and applicants from the job fair who have come down to work for us and are still working for us," she said. "We've already had several apply today who are interested in the various positions."

Cap America's human resources director, Delana Reed, said last year was the first time the Fredericktown-based company took part in the job fair.

"We got quite a few applicants then," she said. "We've already seen some good applicants today that seemed interested. We're looking for people who want to work and can keep up with our fast-paced production area."

Chris Kaiser, RN, a senior talent acquisition specialist for BJC Healthcare, said the company has participated in past job fairs.

"We've talked with many people and hired people from the job fair, so it's always been a success for us," she said. "We've already had a couple of people today that we're interested in and have asked them to apply online so we can follow up with them."

Accent Marketing Services LLC's people services recruiter, Rachel Nash, said her company has been a part of the job fair since the very start.

"We usually get several qualified candidates — and even if we don't have a lot of them a lot of folks don't know who Accent is and what we do, so it's important for us to get our name out there in a positive light and tell people who we are. We've had several qualified candidates at past job fairs who expressed interest in our company, so it's definitely worth our while to be here."

Job seeker Travis Jones said that attending previous job fairs has helped him find work in difficult times.

"I've been to about three of these," he said. "There's a lot of information you can get here and it does help in looking for jobs and finding what you're looking for. I'm looking for a little bit of anything right now. I've got multiple licenses and I've got sort of a side thing. I've done handyman (jobs), hauling off and power washing and stuff. I'm just a jack-of-all-trades. I'm out here to see what's available and see if I can put what I know to use for somebody else and offer some of my services, too."

Businesses participating in the job fair included: Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center, Parkland Health Center, Mineral Area CPRC, Lindenwood University, Purcell Tire, Missouri National Guard, CAP America, Inc., Life Employment Solutions, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Farmington Children's Home, Kelly Services/TG Missouri, BJC Behavioral Health, WIS International, Mineral Area College, Southern Missouri Truck Driving School, Roeslein & Associates, Accent Marketing, Valley Springs Youth Ranch, Carl Jones Excavating and Hauling LLC, Generations Home Health, Ozark National Life Insurance Company, Western Governors University, Faith Foundation Children's Home, Beelman Truck Co., Department of Corrections, and C1 Truck Driver Training and Pyramid Home Health.

Missouri Career Center was also on hand to answer questions and help with resume services and interviewing techniques.

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