Job seekers and businesses connect with each other at annual Santa Maria expo
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The Santa Maria Valley Chamber, along with the Santa Barbara County Workforce Development Board, held its annual Business Expo and Job Fair at the Santa Maria Fairpark on Tuesday.
The event provided local businesses and companies an opportunity to interact with community members and job seekers, as well as network and connect with other area businesses.
"Whether it's business to consumer, business to business, if they are a job seeker looking for a job, if they are a local employee or just wanting to connect with other individuals, we really welcomed anyone from the community to join us and enjoy it," said Molly Alves, Santa Maria Valley Chamber Vice President of Operations and Membership. "In terms of the success of the business expo, it's really about building connections. I think that's the success we have is from bringing all those people together and having an event like this open to the public and free to attend."
With a theme this year of "I Love Santa Maria," the expo featured more than 70 local businesses, who had either owners or other representatives on hand throughout the three-hour free event.
"It's not just about meeting other business owners, but the community as well, trying to talk to them about all the opportunities we have a State Farm to offer, and not our not just our existing customers, but our prospects that are out there. We are trying to build our business," said Donna Randolph, State Farm Insurance Agency owner. "I'm 18 years into this, but I still consider myself a new agent wanting to grow, and I think that's part of our success."
In addition to the various businesses that took part in the expo, there were also several other local businesses, school, organizations and other workplaces that participated in the job fair.
"We have around 20 different businesses that are participating in a job fair that are looking to hire right now," said Alves. "They have a variety of different positions open and those groups are designated by a 'we're hiring' sign."
For job seekers, the fair provided them an opportunity to speak with several prospective employers face-to-face.
'It's definitely, way better than something like searching on Indeed," said jobseeker Bill Juarez. "Stuff like that. The one-on-one person interaction helps a lot. It's a lot more comfortable for me. It's a lot more easier and straight to the point. You can find out what they're looking for and you discuss with them what you're looking for."
