Annual Job Fair Lures Hundreds

Two weeks ago, Lancaster resident Keisha Green never dreamed she’d be at a job fair Thursday in Panorama City, but the single mother of three is desperate to start working again.

She planned to apply for at least 10 positions offered at the event, including one as a security guard--though she is only 5 feet 1.

“I’m kind of open at the moment,” she said with a chuckle. “I’m looking for anything and everything. I’m devastated to be out of work.”

Until Oct. 4, Green was employed as a customer service representative for a dental supply company in Canoga Park. Her layoff, which she figures is a result of economic woes precipitated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, came as a surprise.

“They said they are downsizing. Dental offices aren’t buying as many supplies because people aren’t going to the dentist right now,” said Green, 33.

About 35 employers--from hospitals to the military to a car-parts store--were on hand for the fifth job fair organized by United Community, a coalition of local businesses, government agencies and elected officials. More than 50 were expected, but some pulled out because they no longer had jobs to offer. All employers that participate must have current job openings, said Felipe Kofman, a United Community spokesman.

At this year’s job fair at the Panorama Mall, which attracted several hundred people, applicants seemed eager to get down to business.

“There’s more of a commitment from people. They’re filling out applications [on the spot]. There’s more sincerity in trying to find jobs,” said Louise Marquez, the mall’s general manager and marketing director.

Two hours into the job fair, one security company had received applications from 15 viable candidates, compared with one application during the entire event last year. Navy recruiters said more people seem interested in signing up than in the past, and there was a steady stream of people filling out cards to be notified of the city Fire Department’s upcoming entrance exam.

“I consider it a pretty good average if we get six cards an hour,” Fire Department Inspector John Dallas said. “We’ve been here less than four hours and we’ve got close to 40 cards. People are showing up and applying--diligently applying.”

One of the applicants was Timothy Archie, who three weeks ago quit his job as a social worker. A father of four whose physician wife is in her third year of residency, Archie said he first thought about being a firefighter when he saw the movie “Backdraft” in 1991. Since the terrorist attacks, the native New Yorker is once again seriously considering the career.

“I feel a desire to do something,” he said. “I’m more focused on serving. These are the things I naturally gravitate toward.”

Besides handing out 100 applications in the fair’s first two hours, Vilda Ballantyne, human resources coordinator for nearby Mission Community Hospital, said she did a lot of career counseling.

“I tell people, ‘Get into nursing and you can guarantee yourself a career,’ ” said Ballantyne, whose hospital has 20 openings for nurses.