National Job Fair Results

April 7-10 my colleague and I were in Toronto at the National Job Fair, representing the Saint John Community and a number of local employers who took advantage of our open-access job bank. Here are some quick tidbits to give you a sense of the trip:

• 9,900 job seekers attended (we were busy)
• 155 exhibitors (NB Zone, Ontario & Alberta Zones, Government and Retail Zones, etc.)
• A variety of backgrounds – welders to doctors to customer service reps to counsellors, and everyone in between
• 115 types of positions in our job bank (thank you Saint John area employers for your support!)

Our results? Over 100 emails to send to very keen job seekers upon our return (emails included the job postings the candidate had chosen from our job bank, application instructions and community information) and dozens of connections made with other employers who may not have had a chance to post their position but we knew would want to talk to these candidates.

I came home from this trip feeling really charged about all of the incredible things life in Saint John has to offer these people. I couldn’t even guess at the number of candidates we spoke with who were genuinely excited about the prospect of life in a small coastal city, with friendly supportive neighbours, opportunities for their families, a growing social and multicultural scene… all of the reasons that we live here and choose to stay. There was no need to “sell” Saint John; just the truth about day to day life here was appealing enough for these folks. Not surprising if you ask me!