More than 80 employers and hundreds of job seekers will flock to the Ohio Valley Mall today for the annual Ohio Valley Job Fair, sponsored by Ohio Means Jobs Belmont County.
The event runs from 1-4 p.m. at the center court inside the mall and extending outward.
Mike Schlanz with OMJ Belmont County admitted the mall it the perfect place in the county to host the fair, now running in its 14th edition here locally.
“We’ve been having at the mall for a number of years,” Schlanz said. “It’s a win-win situation. It’s a good venue for us, and because the fair is held during the week, it will hopefully bring in some business to the mall. It should benefit the stores too.
“People will come looking for work, and probably shop and eat too while they are there.”
Traditionally an annual event, the last fair in the county took place in April of 2019. The pandemic naturally wiped out the 2020 fair and forced a postponement of this year’s fair from April until late August.
But employers are in need of workers and the Ohio Valley Job Fair will feature a nice cross-section of industries and companies from throughout the Ohio Valley.
There’s a large number of employers in general, a list of which you may find by clicking here. Ohio Means Jobs Belmont County’s Facebook page also has a listing, including featuring particular companies and the positions they are looking to fill.
The jobs are available. Schlanz, as well as many others, are hoping for a good turnout so they can be filled.
“It’s been slow at our office the last year and a half,” Schlanz admitted. “A lot of employers are having trouble finding people. But we’ve done a lot of advertising, put out signage talking about the job fair.”
Workers are Needed
The extended unemployment benefits are likely a major culprit in the need of workers. That extra money each week in some cases became more money than workers made during a regular workweek.
To combat that, some companies have started advertising “competitive wages” and “increased starting pay” to lure out more of the unemployed workforce.
“I think everybody is kind of putting it out there about competitive wages to draw in employees,” Schlanz said. “It’s competitive out there, no matter the industry, whether it’s food service, banking, oil and gas—everybody is looking for people.”
Some places were forced to cut back hours, offerings, or even temporarily close up altogether because of a lack of employees. Those that can afford to offer more have begun to do so.
Those seeking employment should show up to the job fair ready for a potential interview. That means to dress well, remember multiple copies of that resume, and have something to write with.
If you don’t have a printer, no problem. Email a copy of your resume to yourself, then print it out at your local library. There’s a cost per page to print it out, but you’ll be able to print out a few copies for less than a dollar.
There’s a library in downtown St. Clairsville across from the Belmont County Courthouse that performs such a service.
Don’t have a resume? Visit www.indeed.com and you can input all of your information and the site will create one for you that you can save as a PDF and also print out.
This is also a great opportunity for someone long out of the workforce looking to get back in, or a first-time job seeker looking to land that first gig to get some experience in networking and job seeking.
For more information, visit the Facebook page and be ready to hit the mall on Thursday from 1-4 p.m.
