Job and Career Fair draws substantial crowds

MOSES LAKE - Private companies and public agencies looking for workers and people looking for work were brought together by the Job and Career Fair at Big Bend Community College Thursday.

About 65 businesses, public agencies, colleges and training programs provided information and applications to interested inquirers, ranging from teens to seniors.

Actually job searching, and a job fair, is about more than filling out applications. "Networking is going to be the most important," said James Webb, Moses Lake, a job counselor at the Moses Lake Job Corps facility. Webb and some of his students were circling the room, getting information from prospective employers.

Moses Lake is attracting new employers in addition to already established companies with jobs people might not know about, Webb said. "A good way just to see what's out there," he said. That was the motivation for Jorge Corrales, a Brewster High School graduate now living in Moses Lake and getting his post-graduate training at Job Corps, Corrales said.

James Carro, of Moses Lake, represented the aviation company Sonico, which has a facility in Moses Lake. But local residents may not know the company has a place here, or jobs to offer, he said. "It (the job fair) helps get your name out there," Carro said.

Steven Castro had a 12-year career in the Marine Corps, he said, but even the Corps is downsizing these days. Castro came to Moses Lake because this is his wife's hometown, he said. As a Chicago native he's not plugged into the local job scene.

In that case the job fair was a good way, Castro said, to connect with possible employers and find a job - well, no. "I don't mean a job, I mean a career," he said.

Linda Mattson, of Moses Lake, said she recently moved to the area from Spokane, and "I'm just kind of seeing what's available in the (Columbia River) Basin. A lot of opportunity here." Brittany Yzaguirre and Jessica Hernandez, both of Moses Lake, are young moms looking to get back into the work force, or continue their education, they said. "Working on it," Hernandez said.

The job fair also is valuable for employers, especially in demanding professions. The Spokane Police Department sent two officers to the job fair. The department wants to cast as wide a net as possible, because the job is pretty demanding, said recruiter Mel Taylor, Spokane.

"The more the better. The more to draw from," Taylor said. A test in 2011 drew 125 applicants, of which one actually joined the force, he said.

Job counselors from the state Department of Employment Security were on hand to help with agency paperwork. The job fair also featured workshops, people to help with resumes and help completing applications.