College job fair draws crowds

By Gracie Malley and Devon White
The Guardsman

City College hosted its third annual job fair at the Mission campus on May 11, where more than 40 businesses and organizations gathered to share information about their programs, providing opportunities for students and career professionals to brush up on their interviewing and networking skills.

The job fair was open to the public as well as City College students. Lines of hopeful job seekers wrapped around the Mission campus and halfway down Bartlett Street in anticipation of the event.

Businesses and organizations such as State Farm, Wells Fargo, Goodwill and Verizon Wireless. The large crowd cut short the time each prospective employee got to spend with business representatives.

“I planned on being able to talk to each person for a few minutes one on one, but we’re just handing out our applications and moving on to the next person,” said Adam Rogers, who worked at the Goodwill booth.

Rogers added that maybe “they publicized it a little too well.”

The fair was advertised on the the City College website, the City College Business Employment Program Facebook page, One-Stop career centers and by word-of-mouth.

Claire Farley, who worked at the LGBT Center booth, found the job fair to be a great way to meet future candidates for LGBT Center jobs as well as to “connect the LGBT community so it’s represented in everything that people do.”

Farley’s focus at the event was jobs for the transgender community, although she said she felt badly for those who don’t qualify since there were simply not enough positions currently open.

“I wish I could give them all jobs,” Farley said.

Mission campus business and accounting professor Tanaka Begnazarov was at the fair, advertising the noncredit business classes that City College offers, classes where students only have to pay for books.

Since the general public also attended the fair, Begnazarov thinks advertising these classes will be a great way to bump up enrollment.

“I’m amazed how many people are out of work,” Begnazarov said.

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