MONTICELLO, NY — A job fair kind of sounds like speed-dating, only it’s about work.

“You only have a couple of minutes to make a great first impression,” said Laura Quigley, commissioner of the community resources division in Sullivan County.

Sullivan County’s Center for Workforce Development (CWD), which is part of Community Resources, is holding a job fair on Wednesday, April 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kartrite.

What’s a job fair? It brings companies and organizations and people who want jobs into one place. It’s a great way to see what’s available, to interview if you spy a job you’re interested in, and to collect information about different companies if you aren’t sure what you want.

The CWD had planned a job fair to be held at the Kartrite in April 2020; that was canceled. But it’s a great venue, Quigley said. “It’s a wonderful place, plenty of room—”

“Easy parking,” added Loreen Gebelein, director of the CWD.

Forty businesses have signed up for the 2022 job fair.

Who’s looking? “Healthcare, residential facilities, hospitals, restaurants, banking, manufacturing,” said Gebelein. “There’s a variety of businesses, smaller and larger.”

What do you need for a job fair?

The right clothes. “It’s the first impression that you make,” Quigley said. “Come dressed to make a good impression.” That means work clothes. Don’t know what to wear? The CWD will help you.

The resume. Bring your resume to the job fair, Gebelein said. Don’t know how to write one? The CWD will help you with that too—organizing your work experience, writing about those jobs concisely, and more. “They’ll spell-check it too,” said Quigley.

The pitch. Get ready to introduce yourself to an employer. That means having a speech ready, explaining why they should hire you. It’s about proper word choice and projecting confidence. “Shake hands firmly, look someone in the eye. Learn about the company ahead of time,” said Quigley.

Not sure what to say? Have a tendency to stare at the floor and mumble? Mind go blank at the worst possible time? You guessed it, the CWD will help with that too.

It’s all about practice.

The payoff is potentially excellent. “Businesses will be hiring right there,” Gebelein said. “You can walk out of there with a job.”

Employers are hiring seasonal workers for the summer; they’re hiring permanent workers. The worker shortage (see “The Great Resignation,” page 10) has hit all industries and small businesses.

It might be hard to take that first step. But the Center for Workforce Development is there to help.

The Kartrite is located on Resorts World Drive. For more information about the job fair, call Megan Yelekli at 845/807-0606.

To learn more about what the CWD can do, call 845/807-0387.