Job Fair Comes to the Merced Fairgrounds
By Diane Booth Conway,
Merced County Fair Publicity Director
Maybe it’s time to change jobs or perhaps you’re an employer searching for a few good men and women to help your business expand.
If you’re looking for a new job, plan to attend "The Job Fair," Saturday, March 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Merced County Fairgrounds, Commerce Building, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Merced. Admission to the event is free.
Businesses wanting to participate in the Job Fair to recruit new employees should contact Sharon Cresswell, special events/ marketing manager for Buckley Radio (KUBB Country and Hot 105), the company presenting the event. For information, call 383-7900.
Co-sponsors of the job fair are CellularOne, County Bank and KMPH Fox 17 TV. Several area businesses participating in the fair include: Arbor Career Center, Buckley Radio Merced, Cingular Wireless, Merced Transportation/VIA Adventures, Modesto’s Institute of Technology, Razzari Automotive, UC Merced, the US Army, the US Forest Service, the US Air Force, Heald College and Careentree, discount medical services.
Other employers represented at the event include: AT&T Broadband, Avon, California Department of Corrections, Action Business Center, Foster Farms, Hoffman Electronic Systems, Merced Adult School, Spectrum Personnel, Inc., Tiger Lines, Inc., Plastic Money, the US Marines, the US Navy, Wells Fargo, Worknet Employment Resource Centers and Yosemite Concession Services Corp.
"The fair is an opportunity for job seekers to check out a variety of top notch employers in one place and it’s also a cost effective way for businesses to recruit new personnel," Cresswell said. Employers can meet potential employees face-to-face, take applications, screen potential applicants and even conduct interviews.
KUBB Country and Hot 105 have hosted four previous job fairs. "Exhibitors, attendees and community agencies have agreed our previous job fairs were very successful," Cresswell said. She said past job fairs have averaged 39 exhibitors each and a minimum of 1,200 jobseekers have attended.
Yosemite Concession Services Corp. will return to this year’s Job Fair. The company found several people to fill positions at Yosemite National Park at last year’s event , said Debbie Brown, Manager of Employee Relations and Recruitment.
"We definitely want to draw people from our immediate area, and Merced has a wealth of qualified people with a good work ethic," Brown said. The park’s concessionaire, a hospitality services corporation, runs four lodging establishments as well as gift shops, grocery stores, several restaurants offering everything from fast food to fine dining and all guest recreation services, all within the park’s boundaries.
"We have many jobs available, both seasonal and full-time," Brown said. "We are looking for roomskeepers, dishwashers, recreation attendants and positions up to mid- to upper-level management. We really do have something for everyone."
The US Navy recruited personnel on the spot at the 2001 Job Fair, according to Navy spokesperson, ABF 2 Thomas Wallace. "We had two people at last year’s job fair who joined the Navy."
Having a booth at the Job Fair is designed to "build awareness about the Navy and let the people know what the Navy has to offer," Wallace said, adding there are a lot of pluses to joining the military, including health and travel benefits.
Correctional officers from Valley State Women’s Prison in Chowchilla will be on hand again at this year’s Job Fair, to provide information about job openings at that facility as well as information about job opportunities throughout the state’s Department of Corrections, said Nate Castro, a Recruitment Officer for the Department of Corrections.
"They will be on hand to answer any questions that applicants might have," Castro said, adding, "The hiring process is the same throughout the department’s system."
The Department of Corrections has a variety of jobs to fill, he said, adding "Each correctional facility is like a city within a city and we offer the same jobs you’d find in any city or town."
However, the state’s system of correctional facilities is particularly interested in recruiting people from two specific areas. "We are continuously looking for law enforcement personnel and medical personnel," Castro said. People wanting to pursue a position with the state prison system in the medical field must possess an LVN or RN license or are in the process of obtaining one within six months, Castro said.
For information about Merced County Fairgrounds facilities, call the fair office at 722-1507 or email to Info@MercedCountyFair.com or fax at 722-3773.
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