Even with a change in venue, it was still tight and cozy.The second Southwest Job Fair moved from the Orland Park Civic Center to the spacious south portion of the Tinley Park Convention Center on Jan. 16 and it was still crowded and hard to walk through at times.
In a way – that’s a good thing.
The fair was hosted by the villages of Orland Park and Tinley Park plus the office of Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison. Officials said that 100 employers and an estimated 1,000 jobseekers – up from 60 and 300 respectively from last year – attended last week.
Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau was happy the fair has been successful the past two years.
“There are always people looking for jobs and there are always employers wanting to find employees,” he said. “So, the mayor of Tinley Park (Michael Glotz), Commissioner Morrison and I all got together and said we should collaborate on an event.
“Last year, we hosted it in Orland Park because of a conflict in the schedule but the venue just wasn’t big enough. The event is fantastic. The cooperation has been fantastic.”
Locally, some of the businesses represented were CertaPro Painters of Orland Park, Dogtopia of Orland Park, Georgios Banquets of Orland Hills, Moraine Valley Community College, Orland Park Pet Center, Orland Park Bank, Orland School District 135, the Palos Heights Police Department and the Orland Park Library.
Palos Heights police were there. Their law enforcement reps did a handful of job fairs last year, including a long trip to Macomb for an event at Western Illinois University. The Palos Heights department is eager to get the word out about its force.
“The optimal goal is to get people to join our department,” Officer Lindsey Vanderlaan said. “But we’re also here to spread the good word about our department and what we do and what we’re about.”
Officer Tony Delaney added that there has been a good mix of newcomers and veteran cops from other municipalities looking for a change who visit the Palos Heights booth.
Officer Kevin Apostal, who will celebrate his 16th anniversary with the department in February, said Palos Heights is a great destination for police.
“We have a lot to offer,” he said. “It’s advantageous for people looking for a job to take a look at us.
“For me, it’s a lot of things. It’s a community, it’s the people we work with. We have an atmosphere that is proactive. We’re doing a lot of great things. We have some great equipment and great work hours. There are a lot of good things going on.”
Former Palos Hills resident and Queen of Peace graduate Carolyn Mitera is Tinley Park’s marketing and development specialist and deems the fair a success.
“We thought it was worthwhile last year and a benefit to the community,” Mitera said. “We decided we were going to pick it up again and right around the end of September and the beginning of October, we started talking and putting everything together.”
To complement the scores of employers at the fair, it also provided patrons with mock interviews and critiquing of potential employees’ resumes. Professional headshots were provided by the Village of Orland Park for free.
The post Southwest Job Fair surges in second year appeared first on Southwest Regional Publishing.