Career Fair Gives Hope to Some

Thursday afternoon, job seekers filled the area outside DSW Shoes inside the . Employers from the mall and from other businesses around Montgomery County sat at tables and interviewed applicants for seasonal hires and some management positions.

This was the fourth career fair held at the mall in conjunction with Montgomery Works, a county organization that offers job services but does not arrange placements.

By 2 p.m., three hours after the career fair opened, approximately 1,500 people had registered online or in person, according to Beth Thomas of Montgomery Works.

Montgomery Works provided career counseling services and held workshops about preparing resumes and getting ready for interviews.

Christian Bassog of Silver Spring, who said he has been looking for two months for a job in construction, talked with people at six tables, but was disappointed with the limited employer turnout.

Sidney Woods, spokesperson for Westfield, noted that this year’s job fair was a little quieter than in years past. “A lot of the stores didn’t need to participate because they already had so many applicants,” Woods said.

Eddie Ward, 27, said he has been looking for a job for about a month. He has gone to several staffing agencies, but the career fair raised his confidence level.

“Since I came here I feel better because it seems like there’s a lot of opportunities,” Ward said.

Darrielle Vance, 20, was at the career fair looking for a second position. What kind of job does she want? “Any job.”

Other applicants had recently come from places where jobs are even scarcer.

“I moved here from Montana three weeks ago,” said Gerard P., who preferred not to give his last name but said he was 22. “Unemployment’s not 80 percent like it was back home on the reservation.”

And, of course, it’s not just young people who are looking for jobs. Jennifer Mwangi, 45, said she had applied for five or six jobs at the career fair. She’s been looking for employment for four months, but she said the career fair had encouraged her.

Dee Quintero, 46, has been looking for three years. She said that she has 10 years of experience in the medical field as a caregiver, but that the only jobs available to her expect a lot of work for very little pay.

One thing Quintero noticed is that most of the employers she talked to at the career fair told her to apply online. For job applicants without Web skills or steady Internet access, this can be a significant hurdle.