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VIENNA, W.Va. -- More than 200 job seekers converged on the Grand Pointe Conference Center for the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Job Fair on Friday.
Mary Jo Miller, organizer of the job fair, said there were more than 25 companies at the fair and it was one of the busiest of the job fairs with about 250 coming to see what was available.
"It was very busy at first," she said. "It was packed in here."
Miller said the first job fair was slow compared to the one this year.
Hannah Richards, of Parkersburg, said she was surprised at the number of businesses that were using the fair to recruit workers.
"This is my first time being here and I'm surprised at how many are set up here," she said. "I'm hoping to find something to get my life started and get a career started."
Richards said she found a number of openings that interested her and fit her experiences.
Cody Rockhold, of Parkersburg, said he did not know what to expect at first.
"I had no idea what kind of jobs would be here," he said. "A lot of the jobs here are in fields I go to such as manual labor, food service, health services and others."
Rockhold said he was impressed with the number of jobs that were paying above minimum wage.
"They all seem to be very competitive," he said.
Looking for an opportunity was Lane Boyce's objective at the job fair.
"I want to see what I might like," the Elizabeth resident said. "I've seen a few where I have some experiences and background."
Jason Bailey, executive director of ResCare Residential Services in Parkersburg, said he hired nine people at Friday's fair.
"This is the best one we go to," he said. "We average nine or 10 every time we come here, this is the fifth time we've been here."
Bailey said he was happy with the quality of the people he interviewed.
"I hired a guy with a master's degree in psychology for a position, but we'll be able to integrate him into some better things I think."
Ann Spade of Amedisys said the firm hired an RN for their Marietta office.
Spade said they have recruited at job fair but this was their first experience locally. She said they have recruited at some fairs at schools.
"Some of our folks did one at Marshall earlier in the week and that one was productive," she said.
Brian Vasser of Parkersburg said the fair was exactly what he expected.
"There is plenty of information from the companies and they are very helpful," he said. "This is exacly what I thought it would be to help find a job. They were eager to help."
Among the companies and organizations participating were ResCare, Primecare Medical, Amedisys, United Talent, Sunset Funeral Home, VIP Kid, DHL Supply Chain, Crittenton Services, ST & E Transport, Heartland of Marietta, Carehaven, Westbrook Health Services, Doss Enterprises, Hi-Vac, Molemasters, The Galley, Promanco, Yellow Taxi, ECM Energy, Universal Pressure Pumping, PlyGem, SimEx, Serco Trucking, Simonton Windows, Camden Clark Medical Center, Alliance Industries, Eagle Pointe, McClinton Chevrolet and Magnum Magnetics.