The Clovis Community College (CCC) Resources Center held a job fair for its students on their campus. At the front of the entrance to the campus, companies set up booths with employees and members in order to attract students and possibly, future employees.
Employers were looking for seasonal, part-time, full-time, and permanent positions. Employers were offering flexible hours and working around students’ schedules.
For the YMCA Sequoia Lake, positions for hire were designated for their summer camp on the lake this summer. Positions included Unit Leaders, Program Staff, and regular administration positions including Kitchen Staff, Nursery Specialists, and Registrar Staff.
The YMCA believes due to the current climate, if their booth were to receive three applicants by the end of the day, the day could be listed as a success.
Other booths such as the Parks, After School and Recreation Community Services of Fresno, the SPARK program and the Fresno Parks aquatics division listed a number of programs in which they were hiring. Fresno Parks is currently hiring lifeguards for the summer and will provide the opportunity for certification.
In speaking with CCC Resource Center job developer Diego Hernandez, he mentioned that employers were the driving force behind running the job fair.
“Basically since COVID, we hadn’t really had an event like this and we wanted to bring back this event, it’s been about two years,” Hernandez said. “Employers wanna come out, students are looking for employment.”
He also went on to affirm that the job fair was a way to “bring back energy to the campus” and in order to notify the public of the importance of the Resource Center.
Students were targeted with flyers, email blasts, and classroom presentations. Professors on campus also provided extra credit to students for having attended the job fair.
Raffle prizes were also used as motivation for students to attend.
“Our marketing team outsourced the marketing as well just to invite community members,” Hernandez said.
The plan going forward for the Resource Center now is to continue the job fair every year going forward while adding different businesses, internships and temporary jobs.
“The big thing is we’re preparing our students for the world of work,” Hernandez said. “Really here, students are going to school for a career, and part of the stuff that they’re doing is education-based but there’s more to that puzzle whether it’s talking to employers, networking, knowing how to prepare a resume, interview preparation.”
Hernandez went on to mention that business partners can get involved in working with the college-age group by partnering up with the Resource Center in order to host a table at the job fair, hold mock interviews, as well as provide other networking opportunities to prepare students at Clovis Community.