Oakland County

Job opportunities abound at Oakland Job Hub 2012

By Andy Kozlowski
C & G Staff Writer

OAKLAND COUNTY — Imagine: More than a thousand job opportunities — real jobs, available right now — and employers eager to fill them, all ripe for the picking, all in one place.

That’s the promise of Oakland Job Hub 2012.

The career fair will take place at the Oakland University Oakland Center, 2200 N. Squirrel Road in Rochester, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23.

The event is sponsored by the cities of Auburn Hills, Farmington Hills, Madison Heights, Novi, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Southfield and Troy, as well as Lawrence Tech University, Michigan Works Oakland, Oakland Community College, and of course, Oakland University.

At press time, more than 40 companies had already registered. It’s expected there will be between 70 and 80 companies, all based in Oakland County, recruiting for high-tech and professional positions in engineering, information technology, financial services, accounting and sales.

Technical skills and knowledge will be in demand, but the positions vary from entry level to experienced, so there’s something for everyone, from the college grad to the seasoned professional.

Entry is free for job seekers. And attendance should be well worth their time, said Linda Williams, economic development coordinator for the city of Madison Heights. She described the employers as “desperate” for great talent and effective leaders.

“Every job fair’s end purpose is to connect job seekers with employers, but we screen all our employers — they actually submit applications, which are reviewed to make sure they have jobs available now or in the near future,” Williams said. “There are certain criteria they have to meet to be a vendor for us. So when the job seekers come that day, they know there are legitimate, real jobs available. I think that’s a factor that makes us stand out from other job fairs.”

Jennifer Llewellyn, assistant manager at Troy Michigan Works and one of the event organizers, said job seekers should treat the Job Hub like an interview.

“They should bring several copies of their resume, a professional resume,” Llewellyn said. “They should be dressed in business attire; they should come with a positive attitude and a smile. And be prepared to interview on the spot — first impressions are everything to an employer. They should come prepared to the Job Hub like they would come prepared for an interview.”

But before they meet the various employers, job seekers will check in at a registration table where they will submit a copy of their resume and receive a listing of all the companies present at the event, complete with their locations in the Oakland Center.

Last year’s event was the first Job Hub. It attracted well over 1,400 job seekers checking out offerings from 75 companies. The focus was on careers in both Oakland and Macomb counties; this time around, it’s all about Oakland County.

Some companies may even request follow-up interviews the same day, meeting with potential hires after 3 p.m.

“There’s a greater chance they will have that one-on-one with job recruiters,” Williams said of Oakland Job Hub.

For more information, visit www.mijobhub.com.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Andy Kozlowski at akozlowski@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1104.