Each spring, both local employers and individuals seeking employment look forward to the annual Employment Fair put on by Eastman Immigrant Services, and this year the tradition continues.

Program Director Gwen Reimer says their Employment Fair has always been a huge success in person, but last year, like many other organizations, they moved their event to a virtual platform. Turns out, it was just as successful as previous in-person events, so they’ve decided to do it again.

“Just considering the restrictions, keeping in mind everybody’s scheduling and some of the things that are happening with employers and employment, we felt it was wise to stay virtual this year again,” shares Reimer.

Reimer says the lineup of employers is already impressive, and it’s growing.

“We have some great employers from the Southeast that are looking forward to meeting people who are out there looking for work or maybe changing jobs, or whatever employment looks like for individuals.”

The 2022 Virtual Employment Fair is completely free to those seeking employment, and it will be happening on Tuesday, March 15th, from 1:00-3:00pm.

First, participants will hear from guest speaker Carolyn Peters on the topic of Calming Your Inner Fears as they consider returning to work.

“Maybe not having worked for a while, people may be wondering what does that look like when you’re accustomed to being at home, and now you’re thinking about going back to work,” explains Reimer. “You may be wondering if you’ll fit in. Will it be different? What kind of new things are you going to have to face? What’s the interview going to be like? Maybe it’ll even be a virtual interview – what does that look like? So, Carolyn will be talking to that a little bit, we’re very excited about that.”

Following Peters’ presentation, participants will move into breakout rooms where they will have an opportunity to meet with various employers and ask questions.

“Though things are opening up a little bit, we listened to the employers who were happy to do this virtually and just give them a chance to go into the breakout rooms,” explains Reimer. “This will give people a chance to have that one-on-one visit with an employer and get some excellent information. It’s a great place to ask questions that you might not feel comfortable asking when you’re in person. The virtual platform somehow helps people feel more free to ask questions.”

“People around here seem to be kind of half-and-half with this, depending on the activity,” muses Reimer. “We're hearing that people love to do things virtually for various reasons. Yet at the same time we’re also hearing people say that they’re missing face-to-face interaction. So we’re looking at maybe having an in-person Employment Fair next year. We’ll see.”

As far as 2022 goes, this year’s Virtual Employment Fair is shaping up nicely.

“We’re looking forward to it,” enthuses Reimer.

The Virtual Employment Fair is March 15th from 1:00-3:00 and will be accessible via Zoom, so pre-registration is required.

To receive the link before the event, register by calling Eastman Immigrant Services at 204-346-6609, by emailing viktoria@eastmanis.com, or by visiting the web page below.

https://eastmanimmigrantservices.com/our-events/2022-virtual-employment-fair/