Hundreds attend WNY’s largest job fair
More applicants for fewer openings
More job seekers. Fewer potential employers.
That was the story Tuesday as Jobsapalooza, Western New York’s largest job and internship fair, counted more than 500 attendees within the event’s first 15 minutes.
But while hundreds of job seekers packed into the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, hoping to pitch themselves in 60 seconds or less to Western New York companies, there were roughly a quarter fewer businesses looking for employees.
It is evidence of the toughest job market in Jobsapalooza’s 11-year history.
“I think we will probably set records for attendance this year,” said Dan Ryan, director of off-campus student relations with Career Services of the University at Buffalo, one of the event’s co-sponsors. “I think we’re going to hit 2,000.”
That’s a 33 percent increase over last year’s attendance, despite fewer employers participating.
Last year, 95 companies filled the Convention Center. This year, just 70 set up tables, and that includes an expanded presence of companies seeking interns.
The crush of job seekers was expected, considering unemployment figures in the Buffalo Niagara region are up and rising. Unemployment jumped to 6.2 percent in November, according to the state Labor Department.
With the recession entering its second year, credit tight, and companies looking to cut costs, finding a job is harder than it has been in years. But that didn’t stop the job seekers from trying.
With resumes in hand and not a hair out of place, standing-room-only audiences spilled out of pre-event job search workshops.
Prepped with such advice as to forgo coffee beforehand (it causes bad breath) and to collect recruiter contact information (for the all-important post-meeting thank-you note), they made their way from table to table trying their luck.
Recent Alfred State College graduate Ben Czarnecki, in an impeccable black suit, was eager to meet with Northrop Grumman Corp., a defense contractor with high-end jobs for engineers like himself.
Amanda Wruck, a soon-to-be graduate of Cazenovia College, scanned employers looking for someone willing to take on a budding commercial designer.
The event is held during winter break in order to capitalize on students home in Western New York for the holidays. But this year, there were far more job seekers like Bill Garvin of Williamsville.
In October, the polymer chemist was downsized out of a career spanning 50-plus years at Durez Corp. With the first resume he has had to prepare in more than half a century, he waded through the crowd.
“I’d like to get something in my field, but if that’s not available, I’m willing to do anything that’s helpful,” Garvin said.
Ryan said a much more diverse mix than the usual 20-to 26-year-olds were in attendance this year, and he said there were opportunities for job seekers of all ages. While many employers were expecting candidates fresh out of college, companies such as M&T Bank had openings in everything from entry- level to senior-level positions.
“Maybe M&T didn’t come with the purpose of hiring more-experienced people, but if they’ve got opportunities for them, they’ll grab them while they can,” Ryan said. “[That demographic] doesn’t come to every job fair.”
It was clearly the employers who had the upper hand, collecting stacks of resumes and picking through deep lines of waiting applicants.
“We’re looking for confidence, personality and curiosity,” said Collette Graham, a human resources manager recruiting counselors for mental health agency Transitional Services. “It’s more of an approach than anything.”
If you missed Tuesday’s event, the Cheektowaga Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual job fair from 11 a. m. to 4 p. m. Jan. 14 in Walden Galleria.
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