Knott’s Job Fair Attracts Hundreds

Hundreds of people swarmed a Knott’s Berry Farm job fair Saturday, with organizers eager to round up workers for two soon-to-open Soak City USA parks and expanding areas of Knott’s.

A $25-million Soak City USA water park is being built beside Knott’s, with a debut set for mid-June.

And the company that owns Knott’s, Cedar Fair, recently purchased the $11.5-million White Water Canyon, a Western-themed water park in San Diego County. Renamed Soak City USA and redesigned with a beach theme, the park is scheduled to reopen under Knott’s management in early May.

The new parks and the Knott’s expansion will create more than 1,000 jobs. Officials hoped to hire at least 250 people Saturday; another job fair is set April 8 in Chula Vista, south of San Diego, home of the second Soak City park.

During the job fair, held at Walter Knott Elementary School in Buena Park, applicants filled out forms and waited for interviews. There are jobs in such areas as ride operations, catering, food, traffic control, hotel services, merchandising, games and security.

After his mom dropped him off in a pressed shirt and black slacks, 16-year-old Austin Humphrey of Los Alamitos walked up to the application tables.

“I’m kinda nervous,” he said. “But I could sure use the money.”

He said it wouldn’t be his first job--he’s worked in a Century 21 office--but a job at Knott’s would be ideal for the summer.

The park employs about 3,000 people in the off-peak season but will need at least 5,000 for the summer, especially with the debut of Soak City, said Laurie Wilson, employment manager at Knott’s.

She said Knott’s will most likely be hiring through April, with most jobs in the $6-an-hour range. Some security positions pay about $8 an hour.

The water parks in Buena Park and Chula Vista will operate from May through September. Full-priced adult admission will be about $20, down from $21 at newly acquired White Water Canyon, said officials.

Company interviewers grilled applicants on whether they were available to work holidays, evenings and weekends. They were also looking to fill more than 200 lifeguard positions at Soak City.

“We sent fliers to high school water polo and swimming teams to help recruit,” said Steve Bartholomew, supervisor of employees at Knott’s, who noted an apparent shortage of low-wage applicants with the high employment rate and strong economy.

So Knott’s is targeting high school students, trying to lure them with a fun summer job and cool perks, including free admission.

The average age of applicants Saturday was 18 to 20. One downside of hiring in that demographic, Bartholomew said, is that applicants are more likely to sport gaudy tattoos or pierced tongues--both forbidden in the Knott’s employee guidebook.

“If it’s not visible, then we don’t have a problem with it,” said Bartholomew. “We just have a family atmosphere that we need to maintain.”