Columbus resident David Dugan realized just how competitive the job market is when he submitted a resume to a Shelbyville company.
Dugan went for an interview and was told the company 400 online resumes within the first hour the job was posted. Hundreds more followed.
Hunting for a job in the current market is tough, said Dugan, who lost his job in quality management when Kobelco in Seymour closed this summer.
Also tough is paying for COBRA health insurance coverage, costing $1,200 a month, which eats up his unemployment benefits.
“I’m looking for a job in quality management or as a manufacturing manager,” Dugan said.
With so much competition, Dugan said he feels lucky if he gets one interview a week.
Dugan attended Friday’s Career Fair at Columbus Learning Center with hundreds of others who handed out resumes and attended seminars to increase their job-search skills.
The event was presented by The Republic and EcO15, a regional initiative to promote careers in manufacturing and coordinate with local educational institutions to align workers’ skills with business needs.
The fair included seminars where participants learned about resume writing, interview techniques, upgrading skills and ways to maximize their odds of landing an interview and a job.
“We wanted to have more of an educational focus this year,” said Jaime Hampton, classified advertising and recruitment manager at The Republic.
Past job fairs included more than 1,000 job-seekers.
Doug Firenze, human resources manager at Columbus Container, said he had accepted about 50 resumes and job applications by about noon Friday.
“It’s been a pretty steady flow of people,” Firenze said.
One difference he noticed this year compared to past years was that more job-seekers came prepared with resumes.
Classrooms where seminars were conducted were so full, extra chairs were moved in from other rooms.
Brenda Hotopp, director of career services at Ivy Tech Community College, led presentations on resume writing and dressing for success.
“Your resume is your marketing brochure,” Hotopp said. “Be selective what you put on there.”
She encouraged job-seekers to take the time to assess their skills and strengths and to conduct practice interviews with questions that likely would be asked.
No matter what job people are applying for, Hotopp said, dress in a professional manner.
“Your appearance is a statement of who you are,” she said.
Thomas Dunker came to the career fair dressed professionally and with business cards in hand. Although the cards did not include a company name, it listed his desired job: Materials manager.
Dunker has been unemployed since the end of February and spends time each week looking for jobs and coordinating finances that are stretched thin while he awaits results of an appeal for unemployment benefits that were denied.
Dunker said he receives help with the job search, networking and emotional support through the local Business Professional Exchange group and a ministry for unemployed workers offered at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.
Jeanie Scofield, EcO15 advanced manufacturing manager, said businesses seem hopeful but cautious about an improving economy.
She encouraged job-seekers to consider advancing their education to gain skills employers want.
“If employers weather the storm, they will be in a better position to take on new workers,” Scofield said.