Community Corner
Line of Job Seekers Goes On and On and On
At least 3,000 people flocked to a fair in Porter Ranch with hopes of landing a job.
Midway through , at least 3,000 people inched their way toward the sanctuary of a mega-church in Porter Ranch, hoping for a chance to interview with some of the 80 potential employers set up inside.
Marcus Johnson was one of them.
Johnson, 30, was wearing a yellow wrist band indicating the time he would be allowed in to chat up potential employers.
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He has been working since he was 15 years old. He served in the military for 10 years before landing a full-time job at a post office where many of his family members work.
But Johnson has a different type of government job in mind for his future. As a junior at Cal State Northridge, the Sherman Oaks resident is majoring in political science. He’d like to work for someone who is elected to a city, federal or state office.
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“It was worth coming out here,” Johnson said, adding he came straight to Shepherd of the Hills, at 19700 Rinaldi St., from his work shift that ended at 8 a.m. “There are so many employers here. It’s beneficial for anyone to come out. What’s the worst thing that can happen?”
This was the first time church officials held a job fair of this magnitude. It took them nine months to prepare. On Monday, a for the job fair offered personal services such as hair, makeup and clothes.
Everything was free to job seekers. All 300 workers at the fair were volunteers.
Glendy Leslie got “prepared” on Monday and was back waiting in line at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
She had done her homework and planned which of the potential employers she would visit.
“Two of the companies were no-shows. And the Kaiser (Permanente) line was out the door,” said Leslie, 25.
She said she’s looking for a job where she can grow; perhaps, starting off in customer service.
Leslie also gave her resume to two temp agencies, Kelly Services and ExactStaff.
“Other people told me they found their jobs through temp agencies,” Leslie said.
But the best news for her was she landed a telephone interview with Isagenix International. So on Thursday she’ll be patiently waiting by her phone for that call.
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