Airport Jobs e-UDPATE: Feature story

AIRPORT JOBS e-UPDATE:
News for employers

Scoring a Hire at the Airport Jobs Fair

Airport Jobs e-UPDATE, May 19, 2003



	Bob Moir of Shuttle Express talks with one of the more than 570 job seekers in attendance at the April 24th Airport Jobs Fair.

“We had great success,” said Bob Moir of Shuttle Express’ experience at the Airport Jobs Fair on April 24th.  “It’s the only fair that works for us.”

Shuttle Express was one of twelve employers attending the event held in the Large Auditorium on the Mezzanine Level of Sea-Tac’s Main Terminal.  Over 570 people attended the job fair.  Employers reported seeing an average of more than 150 job seekers each.  They rated the hireability of the attendees as average to excellent and expressed enthusiasm over the event and the job seekers.  Many, including Shuttle Express, hired candidates from the job fair.

“We scored a huge hire by filling a Maintenance Technician opening,” said Chris Keaton, Recruitment/Employment Specialist for HMS Host.  “It’s hard to find the right mix of qualifications for that job.  We’d been trying for three months, including posting it on Monster.  At the job fair, we found someone with the perfect qualifications.”

Greyhound Shore Services hired three new employees, including Becky Sutherland.   Sutherland had submitted her application prior to the event and Recruiter Tammy Miller was intending to call her for an interview.  Sutherland’s attendance at the job fair allowed for an impromptu interview that saved Miller from needing to make that call.

“It was obvious from the interview that Becky is a real people person,” said Tammy Miller, Recruiter for Greyhound Shore Services.  “She has a warm smile.  She has good energy.  She has the qualities we’re looking for in a Passenger Service Agent.”

Sutherland was excited about the opportunity to work at the airport.  “I want to help people get to where they’re going better,” she said.

For Sutherland, landing the job landed was the product of more than a trip to the job fair.



	Becky Sutherland's job search efforts through Airport Jobs paid off when she was hired on the spot by Greyhound Shore Services at the Airport Jobs Fair.

“I would check Airport Jobs website for new jobs every weekend and then go to the office on Monday to apply,” said Sutherland.  “I turned in more than twenty-five applications before the job fair and followed up with all of the employers that were there that day.”

Sutherland’s introduction to the Airport Jobs office came through a field trip with her SST Travel School class.  She had enrolled in the school as a means of turning her love of travel into a career.

The decision to enter SST and pursue a career in travel was an epiphany for Sutherland whose career path had not always been clear or easy.  A string of various jobs and training schools had been interspersed with periods on welfare and one very cold Eastern Washington winter spent homeless.  It was after a job loss while she and her daughter were living in Roy that she enrolled in SST.

At the travel school, she learned a variety of skills to prepare her for a career in the travel industry and received assistance in completing a resume and the 10-year employment history form.  She also got tips on interviewing – tips that helped her when she came to the job fair.

Her success has continued since the job fair, being hired for a position with ICTS to augment her part-time, seasonal position as a Passenger Service Agent with Greyhound.

And she won’t only be helping others to travel:

“I am planning a cruise next year to celebrate my daughter’s high school graduation,” she said.

The next Airport Jobs Fair will be held November 6th.  Watch the Airport Jobs e-Update for more details.

Employer partners:
Peruse the list of airport employers listing their employment opportunities with Airport Jobs.

Trends in traffic:
Take a look at the weekly number of job seekers seeing your employment listings last month within a little historical context.

Port JOBS:
Learn more about Port Jobs, the non-profit that developed and operates Airport Jobs.