The first-ever career fair held jointly by Durham College and Metroland newspapers was a great success.
Approximately 550 visitors came to the college's Oshawa campus yesterday to meet employers, promote their skills and experience, and check out job vacancies. Attendees could also get information about a number of Durham College programs, as well as the University Centre at Durham, which had booths at the fair.
The 12 participating employers included Human Resources Development Canada, Minacs Group, London Life, Matthews Conveyor and Durham Region Attendant Care. They had a special opportunity to meet potential employees, recruit for vacant positions and raise awareness of their organizations among hundreds of Durham Region residents.
"It was a pleasure to work with Metroland newspapers to create such a successful career fair," says Margaret Greenley, director of career & employment services at Durham College. "Our college has a lot of experience hosting this type of event, so we were very interested when the opportunity for the joint career fair arose."
The fair also drew praise from participating employers.
"Very, very well done! We received a lot of potential clients," said Lita Farris of Transport Safety & Compliance Systems Inc. Lisa Geier of Manpower Services commented, "Everything was well organized. It was nice to see the community involved because it gives us a broader range of applicants.
Among the special events were presentations by Colleen Clarke, a well-known career management specialist, and Rita Harte, a senior partner of Harte Expressions.
Ms. Clarke spoke passionately about the power of networking, what it is and how to network effectively. Most people have between 100 and 1,000 contacts, ranging from grade school classmates to past and current work colleagues, she told the audience. When approached in the proper way, these contacts can be a great source of information and assistance that can help you toward your goal-whether it's landing a job or buying a used microwave.
Ms. Harte, who has devoted her career to corporate research and training, developed a system to identify people's main thinking styles. Recognizing and understanding an individual's way of thinking can help people communicate better with others and, ultimately, achieve what they want.
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