Library partners up for Online Job Fair

The San Marcos Public Library has teamed up with Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area to host an Online Job Fair on April 23 starting at 11 a.m.

More than a dozen regional employers, who are currently recruiting new employees, will be available via a free Zoom chat for information about available jobs and to connect with potential employees during the Online Job Fair Thursday.

Public Services Librarian Deborah Carter was focused on workforce development programs at the library before the pandemic struck. But with the library no longer open to the public for programs, Carter started thinking of new ways to continue helping residents with workforce needs.

“I was thinking about what the library could do during this shutdown for jobs seekers, because certainly we get those kinds of questions and I still get emails from people to work on their resumes,” Carter said. “So I just thought, what if we had an online virtual job fair, because that's where people are right now, everyone's online.”

Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area Business Solutions Consultant Ted Groholske said the timing of the idea for an online job fair was serendipitous.

“It's kind of interesting that Deborah brought this up because we had, at Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area, been having a discussion about how we're not doing job fairs face to face anymore so maybe the virtual ones were the next step,” Groholske said. “And we actually had sat through a seminar on how an online job fair could be conducted and facilitated and so Deborah's cue was kind of right on point with what we were looking for.”

At the Online Job Fair  job seekers will be able to get an idea of the work available, the job requirements, benefits and information on how to apply directly for these positions. 

To join, simply go to Zoom’s website and enter Meeting ID: 939 8383 7784 and password: 686451 to join. Or click on the the Zoom link posted on the Online Job Fair Facebook event page and enter the password: 686451. Participants do not need a Zoom account to attend.

Groholske said Workforce Solutions had been working with employers who were still hiring before the idea of an online job fair came about and had created a website for immediate job postings searchable by county called Jobs Now. Groholske said the Jobs Now website is a great place to start for a job search, but that further employer and job information should be sought on the employers’ websites.

Before COVID-19, the library had been working to expand their workforce development programs and resources, according to Carter, and the job fair is a continuation of that, as well as a continuation of their partnership with Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area.

“The library is often a vehicle from the person who needs the information to the information,” Carter said. “But it's always better to partner because then you have double the amount of people who might have access to that information. We hope that library patrons will be able to plug in to resources and we hope to continue to be helpful in people's job searches.”

For more information about the job fair or how to pick up materials from the San Marcos Public Library, call 512-393-8200.