MEMPHIS, Tenn. — More than 30 employers and close to 1,000 job seekers flooded Raleigh on Tuesday for a shot at making the perfect match.
“I’m currently working right now, but it takes awhile. It does take awhile,” said job seeker Celeste Box, who is hoping to find a higher-paying job.
Job fairs pop up around Memphis all the time, but sponsors of the Raleigh Super Job Fair believe this one has built a brand over the past seven years. It has established bragging rights based on the number of hires that has come out of it.
“It’s in the hundreds,” said State Rep. Antonio Parkinson, who is co-sponsoring the event. “Lots of people have gotten jobs through this vehicle. It’s a very good vehicle, to the tune of the fact that we’ve actually had to turn some employers away.”
Raleigh United Methodist Church opens its doors for the job fair twice a year, and many applicants said they are thankful for the face-to-face opportunity to job hunt.
“Most everything is online, you know, with the modern-day technology, but yeah, there are still some companies that are looking for great employees,” job seeker Clyde Holt said.
“Our mission, simply, is improve quality of life,” Parkinson said.
Census figures show that just shy of 30 percent of Memphians live below the poverty line. Others, like Box, a recent college grad, just want the chance to improve.
“The journey to find a better opportunity is what I’m on right now,” Box said.
Parkinson said the next Raleigh Super Job Fair will be sometime next year.
