Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

[Sapiens]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/...siness_4932271

Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair
Traffic Gets Backed Up For Miles, And Organizers Forced To Shut Down Early

(CBS/ AP) A higher-than-expected turnout at a New Hampshire job fair has forced organizers to turn away throngs of job seekers.

More than 10,000 people showed up Thursday for the event at Southern New Hampshire University's athletic complex in Manchester. The job fair had been heavily promoted on television, but organizers expected just 5,000 participants.

Traffic was backed up for miles and quickly filled the 3,000-car Mall of New Hampshire parking lot, which was being used as a shuttle-bus pickup hub.

Officials say 1,300 people, many of them dressed in business suits, entered the job fair within the first hour. The event began at 10 a.m. and was supposed to run until 3 p.m.

CBS station WBZ in Boston reported that by 12:30 p.m. organizers had to shut it down because they were overwhelmed by the turnout.

"We have stopped the number of job seekers who can come to campus because of capacity," said SNHU spokesman Gregg Mazzola. "It's a safety issue."

"(Turnout) runs the gamut, old, young, black, white. I don't think this economy has any gender barriers, age barriers, ethnic barriers," Mazzola told WBZ.

A bottom, ha! :rolleyes:

[audrey_girl]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

"If the American people ever allow private banks
to control the issue of their money,
first by inflation and then by deflation,
the banks and corporations that will
grow up around them (around the banks),
will deprive the people of their property
until their children will wake up homeless
on the continent their fathers conquered"

T Jefferson

END THE FED

- ag

[Sapiens]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

"If the American people ever allow private banks
to control the issue of their money,
first by inflation and then by deflation,
the banks and corporations that will
grow up around them (around the banks),
will deprive the people of their property
until their children will wake up homeless
on the continent their fathers conquered"

T Jefferson

END THE FED

- ag

What? Are you a conspiracy theory nut or something?

Every good American knows that whatever is good for the Banksters is good for America…

Get with the program!

[Spartacus]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

What would be good is some way to track the frequency of these stories,

and those "xxx show up for one position" news stories


Now I'm wishing I had bookmarked each one. My searches are not finding any - some I've just tried
"show up" "only one opening"
turnout "only one opening"
applicants "only one opening"
applicants "only one position"

Maybe you can get Rajiv to craft an appropriate google search.


I have no reason not to believe this story, BUT I've been seeing and hearing variations on this theme since late 2001.

And, of course, some way to check their veracity would be good too.

[Slimprofits]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

search google or google news for "job fair" "crowd" - many different results from all over the country

This one didn't get as much play in terms of being picked up by wires:

http://www.cleveland.com/sunnews/ind..._and_midd.html

The record crowd at the career fair in Independence a few weeks ago has local police departments and organizations strategically planning for the same scenario next week in Middleburg Heights.

That's when Polaris Career Center, 7285 Old Oak Blvd., is hosting its Polaris-Westshore Career Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 1.

Doug Miller, Polaris spokesperson, has had meetings with the Middleburg and Berea police departments, Southwest General Health Center, and even the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds to ensure the day runs as smoothly as possible.

Miller advised motorists to avoid the area if at all possible. The job fair at the Holiday Inn Rockside in Independence attracted 8,000 job seekers despite cold, rainy weather. The crush of cars backed up Interstate 77 for hours. Miller is hoping to avoid a similar incident here.

[don]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

A friend of mine just returned from his annual week vacation in Palm Springs. He drives past the Union Pacific Colton Railyard every trip. Used to seeing a host of cars, this trip there were miles of out-of-service locomotives. Never saw that before.

In Palm Springs it was the usual store vacancies, restaurant closings and people bailing out of his time share. The national norm.

[GRG55]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

search google or google news for "job fair" "crowd" - many different results from all over the country

This one didn't get as much play in terms of being picked up by wires:

http://www.cleveland.com/sunnews/ind..._and_midd.html

The record crowd at the career fair in Independence a few weeks ago has local police departments and organizations strategically planning for the same scenario next week in Middleburg Heights.

That's when Polaris Career Center, 7285 Old Oak Blvd., is hosting its Polaris-Westshore Career Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 1.

Doug Miller, Polaris spokesperson, has had meetings with the Middleburg and Berea police departments, Southwest General Health Center, and even the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds to ensure the day runs as smoothly as possible.

Miller advised motorists to avoid the area if at all possible. The job fair at the Holiday Inn Rockside in Independence attracted 8,000 job seekers despite cold, rainy weather. The crush of cars backed up Interstate 77 for hours. Miller is hoping to avoid a similar incident here.

Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly goes on at these "Career Fairs"?

Are there actually real employers with real job vacancies looking to fill them? Or is this some sort of "growth industry" for conference organizers to sell "hope"?

Are these employers paying the costs of holding these things? Do they really feel this is the most efficient way to screen for talent? If the employers are not paying the costs, then who is? Certainly they can't be charging a fee for out-of-work [and sometime desperate?] people to line up and drop off a resume, are they?

Just wonderin'

[metalman]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly goes on at these "Career Fairs"?

Are there actually real employers with real job vacancies looking to fill them? Or is this some sort of "growth industry" for conference organizers to sell "hope"?

Are these employers paying the costs of holding these things? Do they really feel this is the most efficient way to screen for talent? If the employers are not paying the costs, then who is? Certainly they can't be charging a fee for out-of-work [and sometime desperate?] people to line up and drop off a resume, are they?

Just wonderin'

now that you mention it, i posted this joke on the wrong thread... belongs here with a different punch line

Young Chuck in Montana bought a horse from a farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the horse the next day.

The next day the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news... the horse died."

Chuck replied, "Well, then just give me my money back."

The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

Chuck said, "OK, then, just bring me the dead horse."

The farmer asked, "What ya gonna do with him?"

Chuck said, "I'm gonna raffle him off."

The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead horse!"

Chuck said, "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."

A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, "What happened with that dead horse?"

Chuck said, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at $2.00 a piece and made a profit of $998."

The farmer said, "Didn't anyone complain?"

Chuck said, "Just the guy who won. So I gave him his $2..00 back."

Chuck grew up and now works running jobs fairs during the second great depression.

[GRG55]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

now that you mention it, i posted this joke on the wrong thread... belongs here with a different punch line

Young Chuck in Montana bought a horse from a farmer...

...Chuck grew up and now works running jobs fairs during the second great depression.

I want my $2.00 back...

[metalman]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

I want my $2.00 back...

why, did you get the one job that was actually available at the job fair... running the job fair?

[don]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

My wife runs a job fair every year for the VA. Vendors and businesses pay for their table space with one annual exception- the city agencies, who expect to pay nothing. I'm shocked

[metalman]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

My wife runs a job fair every year for the VA. Vendors and businesses pay for their table space with one annual exception- the city agencies, who expect to pay nothing. I'm shocked

gred asks a good question... why in such a shit economy does an employer bother to pay to look for candidates?

[Sapiens]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

gred asks a good question... why in such a shit economy does an employer bother to pay to look for candidates?

Have you ever run a company? If you have, you would not have to ask.

[metalman]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

Have you ever run a company? If you have, you would not have to ask.

no, i have not. clue me in. so you get to look at the candidates instead of pouring over resumes and trying to guess what each one is about?

[GRG55]

Re: Crowd Of 10,000 Overwhelms N.H. Job Fair

Have you ever run a company? If you have, you would not have to ask.

Well Sapiens, I have run a company. I have hired employees. And I am asking.

What's the game here? Selling "hope"?

If the employers with vacancies are funding the cost, why? It takes a lot of time to wade through stacks of resumes, most of which probably don't meet any of the qualifications of a specific job for a specific company.

Frankly, if I was looking for qualified staff, the last thing I would want is to hear that there's 10,000 people lined up outside ready to bury me with a stack of useless carbon-copy resumes, and that somewhere in there might be one that fits...and I have to find it.

So what is the driver here?