Long Lines At Job Fair, But Many Leave Disappointed

Beverley Nicholls was first in line for a job fair at the Hilton Garden Inn in north Charlotte early Thursday morning.

She showed up at 5 a.m., four hours before the event started, dressed in her business suit with resumes in hand.

"I'm the only one here this early. There's no one here, so that set me apart so far," she said at the start of the fair.

Nicholls and hundreds more jobseekers waited in long lines outside the hotel at Statesville Road near Harris Boulevard. Then inside they patiently waited to go booth to booth looking for a fit.

Organizer Lyle Stone said 150 to 200 positions could come from the job fair, but not every company who was scheduled to come did.

"We had one or two at the job fair Tuesday that said they had received so many people on Tuesday that they really thought they were going to get all their jobs filled, and they really didn't want to be here and give people false hope," Stone said.

More than 2,000 people attended the job fair Tuesday at a southwest Charlotte hotel. So many people came out that the organizers opened Thursday’s a half hour early, at 9 a.m.

But some jobseekers weren’t thrilled with what they found.

"There are 13 booths here at the job fair, but three of those are for schools and one is for a job center to help you find a job,” Stone said. “Some applicants told me they were a bit disappointed."

"I thought there'd be a little more here," Nicholls said.

"I was really disappointed. I thought they would have more of a variety of jobs," said jobseeker Jan Mazzucco.

Stone said it’s hard finding anyone that’s hiring.

"Unfortunately, we're hearing the same thing that a lot of these jobseekers are hearing. When we talk to recruiters, it's either, 'We're laying off people,’ or ‘We're not hiring anyone right now,’” Stone said. “We may not have a lot of companies that are recruiting, but whatever we can do to get those people together, that's what we're trying to do."

For people looking for work, they know each time they put their name and resume out there, it's one more opportunity.

"Oh, I'm revved up right now.(I’m ready) to hit the streets!" exclaimed Mazzucco.

Organizers with the North Carolina Employment Guide said they plan to hold another job fair in late April or early May.

If you were unable to attend, you can send your resume to ncjobs@employmentguide.com.

You can also register for job alerts from Employmentguide.com by logging onto Charlotte Employment Guide and then clicking on the Job Alerts button on the right side of the page.

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