College plays matchmaker

Job fair helps employers, job seekers hook up

Friday, April 13, 2007

By RON JENSEN

The Register-Mail

Anyone wanting to drive a train or pilot a plane, arrest a crook or read children a book, should have been at the Carl Sandburg College job fair Thursday morning.

The annual job fair open to the public as well as students put more than 50 prospective employers in one room where hopeful job seekers could ask questions, read a brochure or fill out an application.

"That's the beauty of a job fair," said Jan Hipple coordinator of employment resources for the college.

Participating employers ranged from the Illinois Air National Guard and the Knox County Sheriff's office to the Methodist College of Nursing and the Great Oaks Camping Association.

Hipple said the average attendance for the college's job fair is about 300, with some even going home with more than a free ballpoint pen.

"Some of them do (get hired)," she said. "We've had people find employment through the job fair."

The current job market is less than ideal in west-central Illinois, Hipple said, but "there are jobs out there."

Andrea J. Koncz, employment information manager for the National Association of Colleges and Employers in Bethlehem, Pa., said employers surveyed by her organization expect to hire 17.4 percent more college graduates this year than in 2006. The survey applies to bachelor's degree holders, but bodes well for community college graduates.

"From what employers are telling us, (the job market) looks very good," she said.

Some employers were at the college Thursday trying to fill specific needs. Flora Doss, human resources counselor for Insight, which provides cable television, high speed Internet and telephone service, said she has openings for installer trainees and direct sales representatives in Galesburg.

Bret Stahl, projects coordinator for OSF Holy Family Medical Center in Monmouth was hoping a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse stopped by his booth.

"A lot of people take our applications," he said. "If they fill it out before I go back, I can take it back with me."

Faith McRae of Little York is a student in the early childhood development program at Carl Sandburg College. She was shopping for a job the way some folks shop for bargains at the mall, stopping at each table and gazing at the brochures.

"There's a lot of things in here that students can get information on," she said while holding a bag filled with brochures and an application or two. "I think it'd be beneficial for a lot of students."

Lisa Reynolds of Monmouth, who is in the LPN program at the college, said, "It's a good opportunity to get your foot in the door."

Koncz said employers tell the NACE that students visiting job fairs should do their homework before attending. One employer in the survey told of how a student promised to market the company's product, which turned out to be nuclear weapons.

"Students need to research the company to which they are applying," Koncz said. "It's really important to know what the company does."

If nothing else, the job fair lets a company get its name out. Brochures are passed out like candy. And even candy is given away. Several representatives give away items with the company name emblazoned on them, everything from ice scrapers to ballpoint pens.

"One person will tell another person who will tell two people," said Tricia Brewer of Peoria Association for Retarded Citizens.

Although the flow was steady, it was not heavy one hour after the job fair started. McRae offered an explanation that would not sit well with the employers in the room.

"They might just be in bed," she said of her fellow students.