By CityTownInfo Staff
April 15, 2009
TheUnion Leader reports on a Claremont, Vermont job fair. Held at River Valley Community College, many attendees arrived before doors open for fear of being turned away. "Right at 9 a.m., we had people lined up about halfway down the hall," said Jim Henson, who works for the New Hampshire Department of Education finding job placements for people with disabilities. "I think this crew wasn't going to be turned away, so they came early." Some job seekers had specific targets in mind, like Lisa LeCuyler who waslooking for work in the automotive field. Other's were not as selective, likeFloyd Bristol and Clifford Sweet, both homeless. "I'm not being picky; I need a job," said Bristol, 22. "I just got out of jail and I have a daughter to raise."
In Manchester, New Hampshire over 10,000 people turned out for a job fair onApril 9, according to The Boston Herald. Organizers expected five thousand, but double that number of attendees jammed traffic for miles and forced admissions to be cut off after just the first two hours.Commenting on the attendance related problems theConcord Monitor observed that "with similar events scheduled around thestate, planners should consider some way to fairly limit the turnout.
The job fair drumbeat continues in Kentucky and Florida. TheKentucky Post reports on a tax day job fair at the Sharonville ConventionCenter where 2,000 are expected to attend, and encouraged to dress to impress.Organizers have announced that admittance "may be denied to anyone wearinginappropriate attire, such as shorts, jeans, or flip flops. TheSun Sentinel of South Florida reports on another tax day job fair in Miami,where Carnival Cruise Lines, the U.S. Military and Humana will be among thirtycompanies looking for employees. The Miami job fair part of Monster.com's "KeepAmerica Working Tour", a series of more than 140 job fairs being held across theUnited States.
Job fairs can be career specific as well. ABC12News reports on the Genesee County 12th annual Criminal Justice Career Fair. Hundreds of law enforcement personnel attended but as police officer hopefulShawn Uncker said, "There's not a lot of hiring going on right now, but there'sa lot of people talking to you and they let you know what's going on in thepolice force."