Thousands turn out for Atlanta, Decatur job fairs

Thousands of job seekers jammed a job fair at the Georgia World Congress Center on Wednesday, mobbing the booths and lining up by the hundreds for resume critiques.

With filings for unemployment benefits in Georgia more than double last year’s level and official joblessness at 8.6 percent, the event drew blue- and white-collar job seekers. They crowded around representatives from 112 employers that included the U.S. Marine Corps, Tupperware, the Peace Corps, PawnMart and — yes — AIG.

Laid off since October, Annette Miller, 42, of Austell stood in a line for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, anxious for a chance to look someone in the face. “I have been looking online and I get no response. I don’t even know if they got the application.”

The unemployed vastly outnumber openings, but still, some jobs are being filled.

For example, WinCup needs “four or five executives and eight or nine production staff” for its Stone Mountain factory, said Bev Johnson, human resources manager.

And even if the odds are bad, each job seeker was focused on finding just one job.

“I think I’ll land something pretty soon,” said Latrece Taylor, 36, of Atlanta, who is looking for clerical work.

Wednesday’s event was sponsored by the state Labor Department and WSB-TV.

The Labor Department estimated about 10,000 had arrived by 4 p.m., when the event began — and they kept coming.

A veteran of five previous job fairs in the past year, Carlius Moore was looking for an edge. He showed up at the World Congress Center five hours before the event started.

“I’m thinking we aren’t going to accomplish too much,” said Moore, 21, who was in line with his girlfriend. “But there’s probably going to be 10 [thousand] to 20,000 people here. You’ve got to give it a chance.”

Moore, formerly a forklift operator for a landscaping company, was laid off a year ago, and has been supported by his mother, an Atlanta cop, since then.

“I just want to be ahead of the pack,” he said of his early arrival.

The job fair was scheduled to run from 4 to 9 p.m., said Michael Thurmond, state labor commissioner.

“This event will help lay the foundation for a return to economic growth and prosperity in our state,” he said. “I encourage job seekers to attend and take full advantage of the resources that will be available.

“We’ve got to become recession fighters, and that’s what today is all about,” Thurmond said.

Besides employers who have job openings, the event included representatives of two- and four-year colleges and technical schools.

Job seekers were advised to bring information about their work history and updated resumes, the Labor Department said.

Another job fair — this one aimed mainly at former or soon-to-be-former military personnel — was held Wednesday morning in downtown Decatur.

“The Military Edge” job fair drew dozens including Sgt. Joshua Benefield, who has been weighing his options.

With three months to go on his Army service, he could re-enlist. But he worries that shrapnel injuries to both legs — suffered during service in Iraq — would limit his worth as a soldier.

So he traveled from Fort Benning to stand in line at the U.S. Secret Service job fair booth.

“I think I made the right choice,” the 28-year-old said of his decision to leave the military. “It’s time to take the leap.”

Despite the military theme, many milling about the muggy ballroom at the downtown Decatur Holiday Inn were civilians.

Rena Gresham, 38, said she had not served in the military and attended the job fair on the advice of a friend.

Gresham said she was laid off from a parcel delivery company three months ago and tried unsuccessfully to find work in the same industry. With a master’s degree in criminal justice, she also looked for work managing rental properties and found a long line when she inquired at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department.

“It’s an opportunity to learn a little bit” about the companies, she said of the job fair, adding that employers mostly just gave out the Web address for filing applications.

There were about a dozen booths, including two for business schools, one for a cosmetics sales network and one for a homebuilder offering buyer incentives and commissions for referrals.

There were also government agencies, such as the Transportation Security Administration, which was looking for screeners and promising “great pay” and “excellent benefits.”

Benefield, dressed in a dark suit and shining black shoes, said his background with interrogations might suit him for a job with Northrup Grumman, which was recruiting people with intelligence backgrounds.

“It’s really nice to see that people are actively recruiting former soldiers,” he said.

Employers who were scheduled to attend

• ACCUCLEAN, INC.
• AEROTEK
• AFLAC
• AMERICAN GENERAL INSURANCE CO.
• AMERIPLAN HEALTH USA
• AMMOG/OUR HOUSE FINANCIAL
• AMS
• ANDERSON’S DINER
• ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION
• ATLANTA TAX SERVICE
• AUTOTRADER.COM
• AVON
• BABIES R US
• BUSINESS DECISIONS INFORMATION
• CAPELLA UNIVERSITY (HR)
• CAREERS USA
• CHILDREN’S HEALTHCARE OF ATL
• COBB COMMUNITY TRANSIT
• COCA COLA ENTERPRISES
• COLUMBUS FIRE & EMS
• COLUMBUS POLICE DEPARTMENT
• COMCAST CABLE
• CORP FOR NAT’L/COMMUN. SVC.
• CORPORATE SERVICES MANAGEMENT
• COVINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT
• COX COMMUNICATIONS
• COX MANHEIM
• CTV SOLUTIONS/DISH NETWORK
• CUBIC OMEGA TRAINING GROUP
• DEKALB WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
• DELANORE, KEMPER & ASSOCIATES
• DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE
• DIGNITARY PROTECTION SERVICE
• DREAM SAN INC.
• E*TRADE
• EDWARD JONES INVESTMENTS
• ELGIA, INC.
• ELM MARKETING
• EMS
• ENVIRONMENTAL RECOVERY CORP.
• EQUIPOINT FINANCIAL
• FIRST DATA
• FLEXSTAFF SERVICES
• FORTUNE HI-TECH MARKETING
• GDOL-DISABILITY ADJUD. SVCS
• GEORGIA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
• GEORGIA DEPT. OF LABOR HR
• GEORGIA PERIMETER COLLEGE HR
• GEORGIA WORLD CONGRESS CENTER
• GLOBAL DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES
• GOODWILL OF NORTH GEORGIA
• GREAT LIFE MARKETING
• GWINNETT CO. POLICE DEPT.
• H & R BLOCK
• HEALTHPORT
• HENRY MEDICAL CENTER
• HILTON HEAD GUEST SERVICES
• IMAGANN CLEANING SERVICES
• INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
• JACKSON HEWETT TAX SERVICE
• JETAIRE AEROSPACE & TECHNOLOGY
• KELLY IT RESOURCES
• KELLY SERVICES
• LABOR FINDERS
• LEAR SIEGLER SERVICES
• LEARN NETWORK
• LET’S GET STARTED, LLC
• LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE CO.
• LIBERY NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE
• LOOMIS
• LOVE JOY LEARNING ACADEMY
• MANPOWER
• MARSHALLS DISTRIBUTION/TJX COM
• MARY KAY
• MOTHER’S HELPERS NANNY SVC.
• MRS. WINNER’S CHICKEN/BISCUITS
• MSI INTERNATIONA
• NAESM, INC.
• NAILS AU NATUREL, INC.
• NATIONAL MOTOR CLUB
• NEW HORIZONS COMPUTER LEARNING
• OMEGA SECURITY
• ORKIN, INC.
• PAWN MART
• PEACE CORPS
• PRIMERICA FINANCIAL SERVICES
• PRO STAFF
• PRUDENTIAL
• ROCKDALE COUNTY GOVERNMENT
• ROOSEVELT WARM SPR. INST REHAB
• RS THOMAS TRAINING ASSOCIATES
• SEARS POOL MANAGEMENT CONSULT
• SNELLING STAFFING
• SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
• SPARTAN STAFFING
• SPEAK4ME STAFFING SERVICE
• SPHERION STAFFING
• STATE PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION
• THE GEO GROUP, INC.
• THE LIONHEART GROUP
• TOTAL MERCHANT SERVICES
• TUPPERWARE
• UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX HR
• US AIR FORCE
• US ARMY
• US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
• US EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUN.
• US GENERAL SERVICES ADMIN.
• US MARINE CORPS
• US NAVY
• WENDY’S
• WINCUP
• WORLD AIRWAYS
• WORLD FINANCIAL GROUP


Source: Georgia Department of Labor