Most employers who participate in job fairs hope to fill specific hourly and salaried positions. Given the number of businesses who participate in job fairs, employers obviously have found the venues beneficial. The event exposes them to a pool of potential employees who might not have known about the business or the job.
“A job fair reaches more people,” said Cristina Castillo of ADL Services, a home help agency in Weslaco. “It gets you to people who are really looking for a job.” Several ADL employees were hired at previous job fairs.
Sixty-one businesses, including banks and insurance agencies and manufacturers, medical facilities and retailers, participated in the Workforce Solutions’ job fair held in Harlingen. Job seekers ranged from Gen Xers and Gen Ys to Baby Boomers, with most in their thirties and forties.
Framed by miniature rockets, Steve Moes, United Launch Alliance’s plant manager in Harlingen, said the aerospace manufacturer had 15 jobs he was trying to fill. He distributed a web page printout that listed several of the job openings: structural assembler, manufacturing engineer, tool technician. Moes answered questions about the work environment but referred everyone to the company website to fill out the online application.
While dozens of job applicants crammed into corners to fill out application forms, the most heard question from recruiters was, “Do you have your résumé with you?”
“A resume is your calling card,” said Danielle Torres of Choice Staffing. “An excellently written résumé is a tool for me. I can go to a client and say, ‘Look at this person. They are right for you.’”
Choice Staffing’s booth had signs listing the salaried and hourly positions that employers wanted to fill. “What I do is I sell a person. It’s the joy of my life,” to fit someone to a job, Torres said. Turning to the next job seeker, she continued her quest: “If you have a résumé I’d love to see it. If not, Texas Workforce will help you create one.”
The demand for workers created by the Eagle Ford Shale boom brought two companies seeking workers willing to relocate from the Valley. National Oil Well Varco, a manufacturer of large oil field equipment, offered jobs in Houston that paid $16 per hour with a typical 66 work week.
“The overtime doesn’t look like it’s going to let up,” Ray Fuentes advised a prospective hire. The company offered no applications, and instead accepted résumés and the names of experienced workers.
For more of this story by Eileen Mattei, pick up a copy of the June edition of Valley Business Report, on news stands now, or visit the “Current & Past Issues” tab on this Web site.