Expo offers hope for job seekers

Are you one of the 7,900 people in the Flathead Valley looking for work or a job change?

Perhaps you're among the county's 5,400 people on unemployment right now.

If you fit in either category, more than 70 employers, trainers and service providers will be looking for you at a job fair in Kalispell on Thursday.

The 2009 Employment Exploration Expo will run from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Kalispell Center Mall.

Last year's expo drew 1,500 job-seekers and 75 employers and training providers. With January's 11.3 percent unemployment rate pegging Flathead County at fourth-highest in unemployment in Montana (the state rate was 5.6 percent), the tables will be turned this year.

"If you're going to go out looking for a job you've got to be really proactive, you've got to spend a lot of time looking," Roberta Diegel said. She's a work-force consultant for the Flathead Job Service and has been spending a lot of time organizing Thursday's event with her colleague Marcy Roberts.

"For every position we have [posted on the jobs board], I have 200 applicants," Diegel said. "And for one job that pays $10 an hour I had 250 applicants in a day and a half, and that's when they cut us off."

But, Diegel wants job-seekers to know, there's hope out there. One of the prime features of Thursday's employment expo will be training opportunities for people wanting to pursue their dreams after a layoff rather than just work another job.

"It's time in people's lives to think about doing what they love," she said, "not what they know."

Diegel and Roberts head up a committee of the Flathead Workforce System Community Management Team to bring together just about everything people out of work need to get back to work, and stay on their feet in the meantime.

Flathead Valley Community College, state university and trade school representatives will be there to talk about training opportunities and financial aid.

Diegel said 1,000 people in the Flathead Valley qualify for free training under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, targeted at large-scale layoffs triggered by global competition.

Agency representatives, including the Montana Apprenticeship and Training Program, will be on hand to discuss internships and apprenticeships.

Local members of the Society for Human Resource Management will volunteer to critique resum's, conduct one-on-one mock interviews and offer tips on filling out applications.

Social services such as the state Department of Public Health and Human Services on the Child Health Insurance Program, Northwest Montana Veterans Food Pantry, Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana and others will explain what help is available to tide families over between jobs.

"There are so many programs out there that people can tap into while they're living on $400 a week," the maximum unemployment benefit, Diegel said.

Laura Gardner, program supervisor for the Flathead Job Service, said her crew is gearing a part of the expo toward the Trade Adjustment Assistance program because of the large-scale layoffs in the Flathead in recent months.

A day later, she will head up a similar event in Eureka to help workers out of jobs as Plum Creek closes its Ksanka mill in Fortine.

"Workers who have not yet started on a resum will be directed to the Job Service where they can work on our computers," Gardner said.

And there will be some companies on Thursday interviewing and beginning the hiring process for their job openings that day.

Stellar Recovery, a major sponsor of the expo, will hire 100 people. Walgreens will hire for its new store in Whitefish, the U.S. Army and Navy and state Job Corps have opportunities, and the state prison in Deer Lodge is looking for corrections officers.

"Most of the employers are going to be there because they want the community to know they are still a viable business," Diegel said, whether or not they are hiring currently.

Job seekers should come prepared and ready for interviews. Dress professionally, bring at least 10 copies of your resum and all the information needed to complete applications.

See the accompanying tips for more ideas.

Free informational seminars will be offered and prizes will be awarded for the best job application, best interview and best resum.

Employers, training providers and service agencies have until Tuesday to sign up and be included in the event brochure.

Call Diegel at 758-6273 or Roberts at 253-4133.

"Compared with last year, we probably have less opportunity so far," Diegel said. This is typically a slow time for the local work force anyway, she said, but the winter weather is keeping heavy construction work at bay for now.

"In another month there might be a lot of opportunities, but not yet," she said.

Even so, "I think it's really going to come around. With as late as we've had our spring this year, people are just a little cautious."

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com

Hunting for a job? Here are a few helpful tips

Appearance

n Assess your overall appearance. Find out what clothing is appropriate for your industry; acceptable attire for most industries is conservative.

n Have several sets of appropriate clothing available since you may have several interviews over a few days.

n Your clothes should be clean and pressed, and your shoes polished.

n Make sure your hair is neat, your nails clean and your general grooming is good.

The day of the interview

n Shower and brush your teeth.

n Be sure you know the exact location and time of the interview, the interviewer's full name and how to pronounce it, and the title he or she holds.

n Take your application and resume.

n Arrive five to 10 minutes early.

n Be aware of your behavior as you enter the business and meet employees.

n Let them know you arrived. Walk up to the receptionist, smile, shake hands, introduce yourself and state that you have an appointment. Offer your resum and application and wait.

n Don't take friends, cell phone, dog or other distractions.

n Use your mouth for talking only. Nothing should be in your mouth but words. Drinking, eating, smoking and chewing gum don't work during an interview.

Interview do's and don'ts

Do:

n Be sincere and direct.

n Be attentive and polite.

n Ask relevant questions.

n Answer questions concisely.

n Use specific examples to illustrate points.

Don't:

n Smoke.

n Try to control the entire interview.

n Bring up salary, benefits or working hours.

n Be too serious.

n Let your depression or discouragement show.

n Make negative comments about anyone, including former employers.

n Look at your watch.

n Take extensive notes.