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Business & Tech

Hundreds Attend Job Fair at Local Church

Job seekers came to a Snellville career fair, co-sponsored by the state Department of Labor, in hopes of beating the effects of a down economy.

Snellville United Methodist Church hosted its seventh annual job fair on Tuesday, August 23.  According to coordinator Greg Purves, this is the largest one so far.  

“Unfortunately they keep growing,” Purves said, alluding to the increase in jobless attendees.  “We hope to eventually give a job fair where nobody shows up!” 

He estimates about 450 job seekers were in attendance. Last year, there were a little more than 350. As of June, 2011, Gwinnett County has a  

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The event was sponsored by a ministry hosted by Snellville UMC, and the Georgia Department of Labor.  

Crossroads Career Network aims to help job seekers in their search for employment by providing networking events, but also by training them in how to create an impressive resume and how to boost their interview skills.  

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“Somebody has to reach out to these people,” Purves said, “and the government services are spread so thin, the churches have to step in.” 

A large number of employers were present at the , including the U.S. Navy, Chico’s, Goodwill, Stone Mountain Park, and the Gwinnett County Public Schools Cafeteria.  

"We are looking for people to work in all of our Gwinnett County Public Schools cafeterias," said Sandra Dickerson, current employee.  "After Labor Day there will be even more openings."

According to recruiters at the U.S. Navy booth, the military has seen a significant increase in enlistments since the beginning of the recession.  

“There has been such a demand in joining the military, you have to make sure they are extra qualified,” said one recruiter.  “As many people are coming in, no one is coming back out.  No one is trying to leave right now.” 

Stone Mountain Park is looking to add around 200 more employees as the holidays approach. Non-traditional employers, like Mary Kay and Aflac, are also looking for independent contractors.  

“I want people to know they can use Mary Kay to transform themselves to going from being an employee to an employer,” said Sheila Nyandebvu, a Mary Kay consultant of 11 years.  

She even drives their Chevy Malibu. Nyandebvu recently opened an art gallery in Lawrenceville, a dream that was funded through her work with Mary Kay.  

Cindy Barnett spent hours with her husband at the fair, looking for employment for themselves but also their son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law.  Her future daughter-in-law works in downtown Atlanta, but needs a job closer toward Athens.  

"We're just all hoping to find something," she said.

Others were equally hopeful, including a young girl named Dea, who was there for the second time in three years.  She left the mortgage business and is looking for something in the administrative or clerical field.  

More than anything, they hope to get a face-to-face moment with a hiring entity instead of a computer screen asking for a resume.

Job seekers had the unique opportunity to be interviewed on the spot during the job fair, with special rooms provided for that purpose.  In a world where most people only get to submit their resume online, or, at best, hand in a paper form to a non-managerial employee, that’s good news.  

Another unique aspect of this fair was that there were no schools present encouraging attendees to further their education – only employers.  

According to coordinators, the most important thing to finding a new job is networking.  

Other employers and vendors present were Allied Barton, the Gwinnett County and Dekalb County Police Forces, ATL Electric Contractors, the Department of Veteran Affairs, Hire Dynamics, Lowes and Applebees.  

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