Several years ago, back in August of 2009, the Round Lake Area Chamber of Commerce partnered up with the Job Center of Lake County. The partnership was designed so that they could host a job fair, which was held at the Civic Center. The idea of holding the job fairs was to help the dozens of unemployed individuals find the kind of work they have been seeking for such a long time but have been unable to find. At the time, WalMart ended up being one of the biggest attractions at the fair because they were looking to hire a large number of new staff members for the new supercenter that opened up. It was definitely a good thing for those who were looking for work and ever since it originated in 2009, the job fair has been a huge success.

The Fourth Employment Expo and Workshops, which now takes place once a year, continued to have success this year. There were already 50 people who were outside of the Civic Center early in the morning, before the Civic Center even opened up its doors. In just 30 minutes of the Employment Expo getting started, there were already 115 unemployed or underemployed individuals inside and ready to start looking for opportunities. There were a number of employers and organizations that chose to participate in the event, which took place on Thursday. Many of the employers were accepting applications right on the spot.

The branch manager for Randstad, Lafay Presberry, said, “We have customer service jobs for a financial services company that is expanding into the area, and light-industrial jobs in Lincolnshire and Vernon Hills.” Preseberry also said, “We’re trying to get people in for the managers to start their training as soon as possible.” Presberry spent plenty of time at the expo collecting filled out questionnaires from those who arrived early. Presberry also let everyone know that the company was planning on responding to all applicants within a 24-hour time frame.

Those who were looking for long-term work in which a resume would be required were even able to receive assistance on how to complete a resume and make it professional and appealing to employers. Those who attended the employment expo were told that they are marketing themselves and it is important for them to display their accomplishments to the employers get an idea of who they are, what they have done, and what they are capable of doing. Individuals were also advised to make a LinkedIn account, which is basically a social networking website designed for professionals.