Florence Onabolu spent her childhood surrounded by senior citizens, an environment she said opened her eyes to the injustices many face.
So she decided to pursue a degree in social work at Metropolitan State University. But now, two months after the 25-year-old graduated, she has struggled to find a job.
“You get all these calls for interviews, but you don’t hear back or you submit applications and no one wants to meet with you,” she said. “It gets very daunting. I have colleagues who graduated at the same time as me, and they still have a really hard time finding jobs. I think the competition is really high.”
Onabolu was one of about 75 job-seekers at Thursday’s HireLive Career Fair at the Double Tree by Hilton in Greenwood Village. Employers at the job fair were recruiting to fill positions in fields from food service to marketing, consulting to sales.
Although Onabolu said she faced difficulties while seeking employment, others remained optimistic, saying they felt there were more opportunities with Colorado’s low unemployment rate.
Jeff Summit, 46, came to the fair after being alerted by Republic Services, a waste and recycling employer at the fair. As the father of two children, he is looking for a job to help him keep up with housing costs in Denver. He believes the job market has improved since he last sought a job.
“I think it was harder last time, a couple years ago. It took me three or four months, and I felt like it was dragging along. I feel like it’s better now, but we’ll see,” he said with a laugh. “I may feel differently here in a couple of months if I’m not hired.”
For Belle Rebiere, 56, a grandmother returning to the job market, the most challenging part has been building up a professional network. Rebiere moved to Colorado two years ago at the invitation of a firm, and after that job ended, she took time off to spend with her family. After moving from Houston, Rebiere said she lost some of the professional connections she gained there.
“I knew everybody, and I don’t have that benefit here,” she said. “That’s why I decided to come and shake hands, and be in person.”
The fair also provided employers with an opportunity to network, an important part of recruitment in Colorado’s booming economy, said Kaylynn Lousberg, who represented Nelnet, a student loans company.
Lousberg said she has seen a decrease in the number of job applicants as the state’s unemployment rate has fallen.
“It pushes us to look for more unique recruiting methods,” she said. “Coming to career fairs like this, utilizing social media, that’s been a big push for us … and then just sourcing, networking, getting our brand name out there.”
Other companies said the economy has not affected their hiring process. Other factors, however, impact the qualifications of some applicants.
Doug Wetzel, an assistant general manager at Shake Shack, has worked in California, Arizona and Colorado. No matter where he goes, he said it’s a challenge to retain employees outside of a restaurant’s “core team” who may be working multiple jobs.
“The competition is so stiff that they might make a certain amount here and then someone might say ‘I’ll give you 25 cents more’ and they’ll get up and go,” Wetzel said.
Matthew Johnson, a representative at SelectQuote Insurance Services, said the mindset of many in the job pool has contributed to hiring difficulties, rather than Denver’s economy.
“I think a lot of people … want things very much on their terms,” he said. “A lot of people want a stay-at-home opportunity, and a lot of people aren’t willing to put in the work that’s necessary to actually follow through.”
That some of the employers at Thursday’s event weren’t having trouble finding qualified applicants goes against what some economists having been seeing recently.
“I think it’s good news if companies are able to find qualified workers,” Broomfield economist Gary Horvath said. “There are a number of economists who were concerned that the lack of trained, qualified workers is going to keep the companies from being able to provide good service and produce the products that are in high demand.”
