More than 600 job seekers attend Job Fair
By Maggie Rhynes
IV Leader Staff, May 5, 2005
Nearly 80 employers and over 600 job seekers attended the 14th annual Illinois Valley Community College Job Fair on April 14, coordinator Sharon Barthelemy said.
Barthelemy reported that the job fair went great and she has received a lot of positive feedback from employers and job seekers. “I’ve heard a lot of ‘I got a job,’ or ‘my mom got a job from the job fair,’” she said.
Barthelemy also noted that several job seekers were hired on the spot at the job fair.
Employers from all over the area attended the job fair looking to fill job openings from nursing to manufacturing.
While a number of employers come to IVCC looking for employers on their own, Barthelemy said Career Services does do a great deal of recruitment.
Ideally, she said, the employers offer jobs that IVCC students will have been prepared for. However, the job fair is not open to students only: community members and college alumni are also welcome to attend.
Barthelemy said that employers consider IVCC a great place to find quality workers: “One thing we saw on the employer evaluations,” she said, “was that the employers were hoping to have a better student turnout.”
While some of the jobs are more career oriented, several are part-time openings that could be well filled by students. Cindy Brennan, a third year student at IVCC and member of SIFE, was among the students attending the job fair.
“The job fair was great,” she said. “That many great employers in one spot really ups your chances of finding the successful job you were hoping for.”
Brennan now holds two degrees from IVCC and a job.
“I got a job from Starved Rock Lodge,” she said, “which is what I was hoping for.”
Brennan also mentioned that everyone she has talked to was successful in finding work at the job fair. She will begin her new job this week.
One of the biggest employers at the job fair this year was Grizzley Jack’s Grand Bear Lodge in Utica, which is set to open this summer. Barthelemy said representatives from Grand Bear came to the job fair looking to employ hundreds of people.
Those unable to attend or find work at the job fair may use the tools offered by Career Services to find employment. Career Services is located in E-link and is available for students and community members.