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Holly Cuoco, business representative for the Missouri Career Center, says last week's career fair attracted 544 job seekers to talk to the 19 companies represented.
Holly Cuoco, business representative for the Missouri Career Center, says last week's career fair attracted 544 job seekers to talk to the 19 companies represented.

Companies open up job searches

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Last week, two separate job recruitment events in one day brought together 20 companies and hundreds of prospective employees, a sign that economic optimism may be on the rise.

As unemployment in Greene County continues to decline, companies seeking employees often have to be creative in their approach. Job seekers, who seem to be more qualified than ever following the economic downturn, still may struggle to connect to the right businesses. A local human resources expert said the key for both business owners and applicants is to take advantage of local networking opportunities.

“It’s all about connections,” said Lynette Weatherford, owner of Human Resource Advantage and board member of the Springfield Area Human Resources Association.

Holly Cuoco, a business representative for the Missouri Career Center on South Glenstone Avenue, helped organize a recruitment event that featured 19 companies looking to bolster their staffs and attracted 544 attendees.

She said the career center, which is a state-supported organization that helps match employers and employees, has seen job listings steadily climb during the last year, rising to 732 listings on May 10, up from an estimated 450 this time last year.

“The pendulum is beginning to swing the other way, and hopefully it can find a happy medium,” Cuoco said.

According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, the March unemployment rate in Greene County was 8.2 percent, a full point lower than the 9.2 percent rate recorded in March 2010.

Online travel agency Expedia Inc. is doing its part in the unemployment trend. The company held a job fair the same day as Missouri Career Center’s event and, through it, hoped to add 120 employees to its local staff of 760.

Cara Stout, a recruitment project manager for Expedia in Springfield, said the company has been pleased with the quality of the applicants since its mid-2010 announcement that it would hire 500 people.

“Some of that can be attributed to the economic downturn. However, I have to take into play the media attention we’ve gotten – so many people didn’t know that we were here until our announcement of our expansion,” Stout said.  

Couco said the Career Morning recruitment event began around seven years ago as an off-shoot to its weeklong workshop for job seekers that assists people who are looking to re-enter the work force. For example, the workshop teaches interviewing skills and where to look for employment opportunities.

“Now, it’s a lot different than it used to be. A lot of it’s online,” Cuoco said. “We started realizing that there needed to be more contact between job seekers and business owners.”

What started as a panel discussion with employers, followed by a job fair, has turned into an event where employers can talk to job candidates one-on-one about their expectations and needs. One common theme among employers is that the overall candidate pool has improved during the last couple of years.

“We have seen an increase in qualified candidates,” said vendor Natalie Beatty, a recruiter for Springfield-based Integrity Home Care, which employs 2,600 across its seven offices in Missouri and Kansas. “Due to the economy, there have been a lot of people who have been laid off – even people who are looking for a second job due to a spouse or another who has been laid off.”

According to information compiled by Ohio University professor Richard Vedder in October 2010, some 17 million Americans with college degrees are working in jobs that the BLS says require less than the skill levels associated with a bachelor’s degree. For example, more than 317,000 waiters and waitresses have college degrees, as do more than 80,000 bartenders.

HR expert Weatherford said business owners and job seekers rooted in a particular industry should enlist the assistance of related associations. She said companies, in particular, might be able to easily market themselves through an industry newsletter, and social media networks can be highly effective ways for companies to fill staffing needs.

“I just visited with a local group that placed a notice on a person’s LinkedIn account and had their position filled within a week. From the screening process, to the interview, maybe even a second interview, that’s very efficient and timely,” Weatherford said.

She said SAHRA is hosting a free vendor expo on May 19 for human resource professionals as a way to connect frequently outsourced services, such as insurance, with local business owners.
Officials representing their companies at last week’s Missouri Career Center job fair say they utilize sites such as Facebook, Craigslist and Twitter to connect with job candidates.

Cheriee Hicks, an office manager for telemarketing firm Gold Mountain Communications LLC, said the company markets jobs through local schools and Missouri Career Center, and hiring signage at its location at the Elfindale Center generates walk-in interests.

The company has begun hiring to fill 140 jobs.

“Word of mouth also works very well for us,” Hicks said, adding that Gold Mountain has an employee referral program that offers incentives such as a $50 gift card.

Weatherford said she applauded companies that use sites like Craigslist for their resourcefulness. She said often the key to finding the right employee is simply allowing others to help.

“I think it’s something innate and very human about wanting to help other people. If they see a post or see that someone is hiring, they’ll just want to reach out,” Weatherford said.[[In-content Ad]]

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