FLORENCE — Hundreds of job seekers braved the rain Thursday to go to the National Guard Armory in Florence for the Pee Dee Job Fair.
Some came just to see what was available, others arrived ready to work — or, at the very least, to interview for a job.
Goodwill Industries, which broke ground on a Florence location in February, was on site not only to meet and greet job seekers, but also to conduct interviews and hire people at the job fair.
Sherry Unterbrink, spokeswoman for Goodwill, said three people had been hired to work in the new store, when her manager walked up with a fourth newly hired employee in tow.
“This was a great opportunity with all the people here to start doing interviews for that store,” Unterbrink said. “We’ve hired, so far, three — no, wait — four.”
Brittany Mallory, the newest member of the Goodwill team, said she came to the job fair specifically to interview for the position.
“... I’ve been out of work for a while,” she said. “Normally, I’d just go online and fill out applications, but I came here today.”
While Mallory was one of the lucky few who left the job fair with a new job, others walked away without any offers — but still with hope for the future.
John Patrick Johnson — a recipient of the state Department of Social Services program Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called the food stamp program — said while he didn’t find a job, he found other opportunities for growth.
“My first stop today was the Army,” he said. “A man told me if I’d come back up here Monday, he’d let me take the test. There’s really a lot of stuff here to help people.”
Johnson said he’d considered joining the Armed Forces in the past, so it made sense for him to return to that now when jobs are so hard to find.
But the younger, often more inexperienced job seekers weren’t the only ones having a hard time finding a niche.
Bobby Wright, a former mechanic for long haul trucks, said he’s often overqualified for the jobs that are available, so he’s begun trying to shift his career focus. But he and his wife, Dotty, continue to look on the bright side.
“There’s a lot of young people here and they’ve got it tougher than us,” Dotty Wright said.
April Smith, a business services representative with the Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments, was at the job fair to tell people about OneStop, the Pee Dee Workforce System.
“We’re promoting WorkKeys, an on-the job training through businesses,” she said.
Smith said the job market is a tough one, with people looking for new, inventive ways to reach out to potential employers.
Margie Goodson, program coordinator for Workforce Development, said despite the need in the community, the day turned out to be peaceful and productive.
“We probably had about a thousand people in the first hour,” she said. “We had people come at 7:30 this morning when we got here and they were just patient and waited until we let them in.”
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement