ITT's Marianne Koperniak talks to job-seekers at today's fair^
For the second time in recent weeks, I wound up in the basement rooms of the Roanoke Civic Center this morning, photographing a job fair where so many people showed up that the city's staff was almost overwhelmed. We're in an economy that is demanding creative measures, job fairs, networking and anything else that might lead to getting a job.
The city's fair last month was intended for young people, but when anybody reads "job" these days, he shows up, hoping against hope and thinking "I'll take anything," which is not the best answer in a brief interview, but desperation rules.
CNN this a.m. has a graphic showing how much of the Obama Administration's billions of dollars are going to which states to create how many jobs (93,000 in Virginia) and the NYTimes has a county-by-county breakdown of unemployment in the country.
One of the most interesting and creative networking ideas recently is the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce's inexpensive meal plan, Connect4, wherein four business people are invited to eat together by the Chamber (for about $18 a month for four lunches, which is better than I do on my own). This is a get-to-know lunch and it's just perfect for somebody like me who's cruising for good business stories, but it is inspired for anybody who wants to meet new people and exchange ideas, recipes, football tickets or business information. Some might even get a better job.
The opportunities to connect seem to be out there. Now, if we had some jobs ...
Yeah, that "job fair" was a joke. It was broken up into 1/5's. 1/5 was schools, 1/5 was "Mary Kay" type things, 1/5 was part-time $7/hr jobs, 1/5 weren't hiring now and there was 1/5 actually looking for people looking for full-time careers. If that is the best they can do, why bother?
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