On June 4, 2012, we announced KRA’s intention to participate in the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration’s American Job Fair Month [June] campaign to create opportunities for the workforce system, the One-Stop Career Centers, and all partners in the American Job Center Network, to promote their services to business customers. Since June 11, 2012, we have been reporting on the success of KRA’s Job Fairs in June campaign, which continued through the end of the month.
Navi Perez, Job Developer for KRA’s Camden, New Jersey, Job Skills Training Directly Related to Employment Program, recently reported, “In a lot of instances, the Internet has all but removed personal interaction from the screening and interviewing processes, and in some cases, the actual hiring of candidates. Even here at KRA/Camden [New Jersey], we regularly utilize the ‘Jobs4Jersey’ website to link our customers with potential employers. However, at some point, job providers do want to meet face-to-face with job candidates to really assess their suitability. This is one reason our KRA Summer Career Fair on June 20th was so successful.”
Shamia Rollins, KRA Outreach Coordinator, added, “We’re pretty much applying online or we’re emailing resumes, but you never get to actually talk to an employer. This is a perfect opportunity for our customers, 18 of which are here today, to actually talk to the people who do the hiring and get that face time. I think that’s important and really hard to come by these days. Personal interaction isn’t just a benefit to job seekers, it’s good for employers, too.”
Perez continued, “The Career Fair offered our job seekers a unique opportunity to meet one-on-one with potential employers. In fact, Telepoint Communications hired three candidates on-the-spot as Customer Service Call Center Representatives, all of whom began working on June 25th! TD Bank, a long-standing KRA/Camden business partner was interviewing for Customer Service Representative and Tellers, and Mighty Rivers was recruiting for Housekeeping positions.
Dipak Datanni, Area Manager for WIS International Warehouse & Inventory, expressed his satisfaction with the Career Fair in reporting that “Employers get to see the candidates face-to-face and you can get a feel for somebody by interacting with them that you can’t get from an online application or resume. Job fairs also give us employers opportunities to network with each other.” Datanni also stated that WIS will be hiring some of the candidates that he interviewed within the next few weeks.
Perez concluded, “Many customers shared their appreciation in being able to participate in the Career Fair, and asked when there would be another. I assured them that we will be organizing another one in the near future.”
Dr. Boone’s 20+ years’ experience in the industry is extensive and her expertise in private-, public-, and non-profit sector workforce-services organizations is unparalleled, particularly in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan area.
