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Lower career fair turnout signals job search fatigue
Some employers look to hire immediately
BARSTOW • Laura Streppone has been to seven job fairs in the past two years. At one point during her ongoing job search, the 32-year-old with a college degree said she found herself getting a strong tan while waiting in line for three hours for an interview to work fast food. She got up to a second interview, but was then turned down.
Streppone was among the 500 job-seekers who fanned out through the Barstow Community College gymnasium Wednesday in a familiar exercise. According to organizer Melissa Meadows, BCC transfer career technician, this year’s lower overall turnout stands as a sign of unemployment weariness. Some people have been discouraged by getting temporarily hired then let go this year, Meadows said.
Streppone said job fairs have become a familiar motion of standing in lines, shaking hands and handing out resumes.
“It’s a lot of rejection,” she said. “It gets difficult.”
Unemployment continues to bear down on all age groups. John Horne, 61, was among the seekers who lined up at the U.S. Logistics table after hearing that the Marine base contractor was looking to immediately hire 62 workers. Horne, a Hesperia resident, used to work as a safety specialist for the Salvation Army in Los Angeles and is now applying to a range of positions.
“There’s not a wide variety of jobs a person qualifies for these days,” he said.
BCC student Stephanie Vargas, 18, attended the college’s recent resume workshop where she cleaned up her resume and brushed up on personal interaction skills.
While dropping off her resume with representatives from the U.S. Census Bureau and the school district, Vargas said she felt more confident with her resume, which highlighted skills like being bilingual and having several volunteer experiences.
“Volunteer work is work experience as well,” Vargas said she learned. “That is working with people in a company.”
As employers field hundreds of applications during the recession Streppone has noticed that employers at fairs will often simply tell prospective workers to fill out an online application at home. Regardless, Streppone is among those who continue to do the legwork to meet employers face to face. She said she felt a little hopeful after talking to representatives from Wal-Mart who said they are hiring now for their Apple Valley distribution center.
“Meeting a person is more valuable to me,” she said.
Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4122 or elee@desertdispatch.com
