Brian Hislop says it is tough for veterans looking for work in this economy.
“It’s just frustrating, you're looking for work, you put in applications, you show up the next week, and there's just nothing there,” said Hislop, who is an Army veteran.
He said he worked landscaping jobs for some restaurants in Bakersfield but recently fell on hard times. He had never been to a job fair before, but heard about one Dollar General was holding and thought he would give it a shot.
"This is all new to me,” he said. “But these people have been friendly, they obviously want to help us, so it’s great."
Dollar General held a job fair at the Bakersfield Armory specifically targeting unemployed veterans to fill dozens of positions at its new Grapevine facility. Some serving in the military think it's great the retailer is looking to hire veterans.
"Dollar general is able to get access to military personnel,” said Army Capt. Bill Mendelsohn. “Military personnel are good employees because they have good training, which makes them dependable.”
More than 11 percent of California veterans are currently out of work. This number is only slightly higher than the state's overall unemployment rate at 11.3 percent.
Dan Snowden is a senior airmen in the Air Force. He and his wife traveled from Ventura County to come to the career fair. He said he is trying to get a head start on looking for jobs before he retires next year.
"I’m getting older, and I’m not so much into backbreaking or heavy lifting right now,” he said. “I'd like to do work with my mind.”
He’d like to fill one of Dollar General’s management positions. The store has job openings at both its retail and distribution centers. It has hourly full time and part positions for store managers, store associates and warehouse workers.
In addition to Thursday’s job fair, another one will be held next week at Hodel's Country Dining. It’s called “Hiring Our Heroes” sponsored by the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Labor Veteran’s Employment & Training Service and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.
Tim Terrio, Chairman of the Greater Bakersfield Chamber’s board, said more than 100 veterans have registered on their Web site to attend the fair.
“We strongly encourage that veterans register before the job fair because employers can use their information to start contacting them now about work opportunities,” Terrio said. “These businesses are veteran friendly, and they really want to help out.”
He says more than 60 employers are scheduled to be at the fair, including Home Depot, Frito-Lay, Bolthouse Farms and several staffing agencies.
Hislop said he hopes to hear something soon about a job.
“It's tough for everybody,” he said. “But this job fair is helping more than if you just went down to the unemployment office and just filled out job applications, this is straight to a job.”
The “Hiring Our Heroes” fair job fair will start at 10 a.m. at Hodel's. For more information or to register, log on to bakersfieldchamber.org
