OTHELLO — SkillSource put on its first job fair in Othello Friday at the organization’s Thieme Career Development Center. The event’s coordinator, SkillSource Adult Training Manager Emily Anderson, said the event went very well. 

“It was incredibly successful. It far surpassed our expectations. The community just responded really well,” she said. “We had 159 job seekers show up, and while a lot of them had never attended an event like that before, they still responded really well to our employers. They were interested, they were eager to be there, and most of them left with job leads in hand. They were just genuinely happy as they left, and those are really satisfying things for our staff.”

The businesses involved gave positive feedback, Anderson said.

“The number of people was just shocking, frankly. We were hoping for 30-50 people and 159 showed,” she said. “I don't think anyone was disappointed in the number of people that were there. It was tighter, meaning that there was less space for everyone because we had so many people show up, but that was something we just did not fully anticipate.”

Othello Basin Salvage and Recycling Manager Tammy Everett said she was getting good engagement from job seekers at the event. 

“It's going really well. There have been lots of people through here. I've lived here 25 years and this is the first (job fair) to my knowledge,” Everett said. “It's a variety of ages, a variety of experiences. So it's been a great turnout so far.”

Othello School District Human Resources Coordinator Brett Getz was pleased with the response from job seekers. 

“I've been to several different career fairs, and it's been a good turnout,” Getz said. “A lot of times we'll have people that'll apply immediately. I’ve had some that apply that I remember their name and write their name down because you can tell when they're really, really interested.”

Anderson said the small space was the main challenge at the event.

“That was our major negative feedback, that it was too crowded and a little noisy, and we will take that happily for the first event,” Anderson said. “We have a plan in place; we will do this event again, absolutely. We have other locations already lined up. The Lighthouse (Community Center) has volunteered their space, so we anticipate moving into that for next time.”

Anderson said Lighthouse’s Program Director Angela Kudsk and Othello’s Mayor Shawn Logan were integral in helping set up the event, as were the event’s other partners, the Adams County Development Council and Bethel Assembly of God. 

Job seekers seemed to be satisfied with the event as well.

“So far, what we've seen is great feedback,” Anderson said. “Many of them anticipate at least an interview, if not a job offer from this process. Overall, (they were) very happy with the event, happy with the staff and that staff were very friendly and approachable. And then the other question we ask is, ‘How did you find out about it?’ and the utility bills were a huge success. Social media, like always, was popular. Then a lot of them said they just heard it from friends or family or their mom — word of mouth really traveled as well.”

Anderson said the event held up well in comparison to SkillSource’s Moses Lake hiring events, bringing in a large amount of people for the number of businesses involved and the size of Othello. The information and resume practice sessions held at SkillSource prior to the event didn’t draw as much attention, however.

“We did not have as many (participants) as we would have hoped, but it was the first time we'd ever done it,” Anderson said. “We had, I would guess, probably 15 local job seekers who came in for some assistance. It is something we will absolutely do in future events because those that came in really did get some help and preparation.”

The committee in charge of planning for the future of the job fair has not met yet, Anderson said, but she said it will likely be a yearly event unless they see demand for more than one fair a year as the event grows.

“We were very surprised at the diversity of people. We had job seekers as young as 16, going all the way up to those who are looking for part-time jobs in retirement; a variety of careers and a variety of career-seekers,” Anderson said. “We had employers that were representing law offices, employers that were representing salvage yards, manufacturing, healthcare. It was a great variety, and there really seemed to be a job for almost every person.”

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.

    Job seekers visit booths run by local businesses at SkillSource’s Othello hiring event Friday. SkillSource Adult Training Manager Emily Anderson said almost 160 jobseekers participated in the event.
  

    SkillSource Adult Training Manager Emily Anderson, seated left, speaks to and welcomes event attendees at Friday’s Othello hiring fair at SkillSource’s Othello location.
  

    Job seekers at Friday’s Othello job fair, held by SkillSource, speak with various businesses for job leads and networking opportunities. SkillSource Adult Training Manager Emily Anderson said a significant number of jobseekers walked out with leads or interviews.