MOUNT VERNON — Brandy Booth is trying to make it as easy as possible for employers and job-seekers to connect through a resume drop-off event on July 13, 14, and 15.
Job-seekers can bring in a resume, browse through job descriptions for open positions, and leave a resume for up to 10 local employers.
“I think it’s going to be mutual,” Booth, administrator at Opportunity Knox Employment Center, said regarding who will benefit from the event. “Employers are telling us they need people … and for job-seekers, with the extended unemployment ending at the end of this week, you’re going to have workers desperate for work.”
Governor Mike DeWine announced in May that Ohio will end its participation in the $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program on June 26.
“They will still get their regular unemployment, but the extra $300 is not going to be there,” Booth said.
Unemployment in Knox County has teetered between 3.5% and 3.7% since the beginning of the year. Employers are looking for workers, with many businesses cutting back their hours due to lack of staff.
“My goal was to make this as painless as possible, especially for employers,” Booth said. “Nobody wants to go to a job fair and set up a table and sit for three days with potentially no one coming in.
“My hope is the job-seekers will browse the positions and choose to connect with employers,” she continued. “We’ve never done this before. The idea came about, and we said we’ll try it and see.”
In the days leading up to the resume drop-off, Opportunity Knox will help job-seekers create or update a resume.
“We have staff who will help with that so that they can have their resume ready to go on the day of the event,” Booth said. “They only have to bring one resume. We’ll make copies for them to give to the employers.”
Opportunity Knox will forward the collected resumes to the respective employers at the end of the event.
Booth has 11 employers signed up thus far. They represent a variety of business sectors, including the healthcare and service industries.
“All sectors, any employer that is looking for workers,” Booth said. “We want to have a variety for people to choose from.”
Booth is hopeful that in addition to basic job descriptions for open positions, employers will provide more in-depth information about the company. Perhaps even some employee testimonials.
“I encouraged employers to put a lot out there, as much information as they can to make them attractive,” she said. “Job-seekers want to know why should I pick you? There are not enough workers to fill the jobs, so job-seekers have their choice of where they want to go.”
The resume drop-off was initially planned for September when the pandemic and extended unemployment benefits were initially supposed to end.
“With the governor’s announcement to end the pandemic payments on June 26, we decided to move this event up,” Booth said.
The resume drop-off event will run from 8 am to 4:30 pm on July 13, 14, and 15. Opportunity Knox is located 17604 Coshocton Road. Job-seekers are requested to check in at the reception desk.
