People line up to look for work at ECC jobs fair
After being out of work for two years, Jim Werner of Algonquin admits it's very difficult to stay upbeat about his job search.
“You have to take it one day at a time,” said Werner, 56, who is married with three children, two of whom he is putting through college. “The longer you're out, the harder it gets.”
Werner was one of an estimated 1,600 people who attended Elgin Community College's annual job fair on Friday. Roughly 90 employers with open positions turned out looking for new faces.
Debbie Sage, an employment specialist at TCF Bank, said that on average, she will meet between 75 and 100 people at job fairs and the company usually ends up hiring three or four.
With those sorts of odds, it's easy to get discouraged.
“There's a lot more people, so it's a lot of competition,” said Jehra Malicdem, 23, of West Dundee.
Malicdem is about to graduate from ECC with an accounting degree and has been accepted at Robert Morris College in Chicago. The school is a little on the expensive side for the Malicdem family, so she's hoping to find a job that will help pay for school and get some experience in her intended field.
Werner had been in the mortgage loan consulting business when he lost his job. His twin brother Rick also attended the job fair. He has been without steady employment for seven months. The Elgin resident worked as a truck driver for nearly 17 years before leaving to use his degree in industrial technology.
He estimates he has applied for at least 100 jobs so far, but has managed to pick up a few temporary jobs on the side. Rick Werner doesn't use the word “unemployed” to describe his status. He instead considers himself to be in “transition.”
“It's much better to say that than to say you're unemployed,” he said.
John Swoope of Elgin, meanwhile, gets his motivation from a higher power.
Swoope, 60, had been a receiving manager at the Sears department store in St. Charles before the store closed late last month, leaving him without a job. He has applied for six jobs online and has heard responses from two.
“It can be discouraging if you let it,” Swoope said. “I believe that God has everything under control. I trust in God, and I believe I'll find a job.”