Event turns job seeking on its ear

CHILLICOTHE — Wouldn't it be nice when looking for a job to just sit back and wait for employers to come to you?

For those students and adults served by the Ross County Board of Developmental Disabilities, that wish became reality Monday afternoon during a reverse job fair at the Christopher Conference Center. The format, which flips the traditional job fair format on its ear, features job seekers sitting at tables with stacks of their resumes in front of them as they wait for potential employers to come sit down with them.

Leia Snyder, superintendent of the Pioneer Center, said the somewhat unique approach was turning out to be fairly successful.

"I think one of the things is that employers don't have to commit to a whole day's commitment," she said, referencing how in a traditional job fair it is the employers who are sitting at tables waiting for job seekers to approach them. "They can come in on their lunch break or sometime in the afternoon and meet some high-quality employees all in one place. We definitely have some very good people here and I'm hoping it turns out in a lot of good job matches."

The idea for the reverse job fair came out of discussion among members of the Employment First Council, which is made up of several community agencies. One person in the group had heard about another county trying the approach and finding it very successful, so the decision was made to give it a go in Ross County.

A little more than a dozen job seekers were seated at tables around the room waiting for employers to approach. One was Andrew Darden, who has been working with First Capital Enterprises but is looking for something else. He has interests in stocking work or in car audio.

"I saw one of my best friends do (some car audio work) on my grandmother's car and I (picked it up from there)," he said.

Beth Mitten, with Frontier Community Services, had just finished interviewing Darden.

"I think (the approach) is wonderful, I've just loved everybody I've talked to," she said. "I would hire them all if I could."

Other employers attending shared similar feelings.

"(The approach) is very personable, we can sit down and it's very relaxed," said Sonie Butler with Fluor-BWXT. "We can put them at ease. We're going to them, it's kind of a neat structure."

"Besides it being a rewarding experience in and of itself, it's been a neat concept because you can actually match the individuals (who may meet your needs) ahead of time so some of the vetting is actually done for you," said Trevor Kendall, with Horizon.

For employers who RSVP'd early, the Pioneer Center helped create those direct matches based on company needs.

As part of the process for the reverse job fair, the job seekers received some training on proper interview attire, resume writing and interview skills. After the first two hours of the five set aside for the event, about a dozen employers had come through to interview candidates with another dozen or so expected before the event concluded.

The event was conducted in connection with October's designation as National Disabilities Awareness Month.