WYFF 4 Career Fair #2

WYFF4 Sponsored Job Fair at Haywood Mall in Greenville

The fair was hosted by OneStop, and sponsored by WYFF 4, 103.7 JAMZ and HOT 98.1.

The 8,000 would-be employees were interviewing and applying for about 1,500 job openings.

A mall representative said the event -- which ran from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- drew more traffic than Black Friday.

"I worked in the Department of Employment Readiness, which is very ironic because I'm out here looking for a job," said job seeker Terrolyn Kissai.

Kissai said she worked for Greenville Tech before her department was cut. Saturday morning, she was one of thousands at Haywood Mall armed with a stack of resumes and plenty of enthusiasm.

"I think it has gone really well," job seeker Haley Bader said. "There have been some great companies and I've circulated my resume. I think that it went really, really well."

But even for the most prepared job applicants, the competition was fierce. The applicants outnumbered the jobs nearly 5-to-1.

Some job hunters left the event with a job interview lined up for the coming week.

"One is with Welco Staffing and Marketplace Staffing," said job seeker Susan Beeco. "So I have two interviews set up for next week."

"I was able to give her my resume and she gave me some information, but they're only currently limited in the positions that they are hiring for now," said job seeker Queenie Canzater. "But still, it's a way to get in the door, once you apply and if you're accepted."

Organizers said they hope to put together another similar event in the next few months, but nothing is set in stone.

"I've been to a few agencies that say to apply online, and we can set up a few interviews to where they're going to call me and do some over the phone interviews," job seeker Franklin Reese said.

According to a local job placement center, about 22,000 people in Greenville County have recently lost jobs due to the ailing economy.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• WYFF4