Employers talk shop

SJCC hosts successful career fair with hundreds of attendees in April

By Mitchell Pierola / Times Staff
Attendees are actively networking with potential recruiters at the biannual spring career fair at San Jose City College, on April 25.

This year’s spring career fair brought in a staggering number of over 300 attendees and over 80 booths representing companies at San Jose City College on April 25.

A total of 61 employers and resource providers from across the nation were featured in the gymnasium as part of the career fair.

SJCC, Work2future and MFG:SJ hosted the spring career fair. The biannual event is open to the public and attendees have an opportunity to seek job openings by connecting with active recruiters. The job fair seeks people from all backgrounds with diverse resumes.

The event offered free hot dogs and water bottles to everyone who wanted to grab a quick lunch in between networking

A Representative from Work2future, Jennifer Hernandez, spoke to the reasons for putting on the career fair at SJCC.

“One of the main things that we provide is the ability to meet with somebody in-person, not just sending your resume and you’re done,” Hernandez said. “We like to make the opportunity available for people who have experience and people who have no experience.”

The fair was filled with people of all ages and different backgrounds. Some attendees were outside of the event preparing themselves before heading inside to meet with potential employers.

“I have the opportunity to meet with companies and explore the job offerings, I am looking to expand my skill sets,” said attendee Alex Mendoza, 27.

The job opportunities are open for anyone who is willing to apply. Some job openings at the event did not require a degree or prior job experience.

“Whether it’s your first job, we try to make these job fairs accessible to anyone,”, Hernandez said.

Vitumbiko Kambilonje, a student ambassador for the Business and Workforce Development Division at SJCC, shared his advice for future attendees.

“Attend all kinds of events, you don’t know what you’ll bump into and what instructions can be made there,” Kambilonje said.

Kambilonje noted that attendees should open and update their LinkedIn profiles, which can help stay connected and build a network while attending these events.

Additionally, SJCC offers a Job Placement Center online.

Browsing the SJCC website can grant students access to the job board.This student job board is a google spreadsheet which currently contains a total of 49 jobs along with some having open applications and deadline dates.

https://www.sjcc.edu/on-campus-resources/job-placement-center/default.aspx * source *