Opportunities abound at Herkimer College Career Fair

March 27-- Mar. 27--HERKIMER -- Employers are looking to hire and that makes it a good time for those seeking a job or who are considering changing jobs, according to Michael Werenczak, of the Herkimer County Career Center.

Wednesday's Herkimer County Career Fair at Herkimer College, with some 76 participating companies, was a place to start.

"This is a great career fair," said Werenczak, who was staffing the career center's table. "There's a real need for workers right now. It's an employees' market."

The career center works to help people find jobs and assist those who want to change careers, help with retraining and assist businesses looking for employees, he said.

"We partner with the (New York State) Department of Labor and help people in the job market," Werenczak said.

A representative of the Labor Department said that department talks with businesses and affiliates to help connect people with jobs and employers with the people they need. Assistance with resumes and interview preparation are among the services offered.

Hannah Kinzelmann, of Bassett Healthcare, was on hand to point out careers in the health care field are not limited to nursing and direct patient care. Finance, human resources and rehabilitation are just some of the other areas where people are needed.

"There are a lot of opportunities in one small hospital," she said.

Rapid Response Monitoring, which offers medical, video and emergency line monitoring and more, has its headquarters in Syracuse, but offers is services around the country and in some other countries as well, according to Joe Hurlbut and the company is hiring.

"Customer service is huge," he said.

Claudia Johnson and Connie Grant were staffing a display for Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. Inc., which is looking for a maintenance worker and a quality assurance technician.

"Some people don't even realize we have a plant in Dolgeville," said Grant.

Lisa Kellogg was at the Avon table. This was her fifth time at the fair, she said, and she enjoys interacting with college students and members of the community. She noted one student who is interested in fashion design stopped at the table and was surprised to learn Avon offers a line of clothing as well as makeup and skin care products and jewelry. Kellogg was wearing some of the clothing herself.

The Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired is looking for warehouse workers, manufacturers and people to work in the rehabilitation department, according to Sarah Holovitz, who was staffing the table.

Businesses ranging from banks and insurance companies to manufacturing firms, from nursing homes to the Peace Corps and the New York State Army National Guard were on hand to provide information and discuss what they have to offer.

The fair gives students and alumni a chance to look at possible job opportunities, but it is open to the community as well, according to Suzanne Paddock, a career services counselor at the college.

"We've had a good traffic flow," she said.

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