Shaniese Stacker, a Matteson resident, said it has been hard finding a job in the south suburbs but said she intends to keep pushing.
Looking for full-time jobs, she said, has meant competing with young applicants fresh out of college and driving to the downtown Chicago area for opportunities. Stacker said she has worked part-time jobs since she lost work in a large 2023 layoff.
Stacker said she was excited when she heard there was a job fair in Tinley Park, a 15-minute commute for her, rather than in downtown Chicago which means an hour commute and parking costs.
She attended the Southwest Job Fair Thursday alongside more than 1,000 other residents and 100 employers. She said she was amazed by the number of employers interacting with participants and actually taking resumes, especially after she saw the job search process move more online after the pandemic.
Stacker said it’s important to have an in-person interaction, because so many of her job applications have been run through algorithms and get filtered out if they’re missing key words.
“It feels so good to talk with employers,” she said. “I love the face to the name type of deal.”
The annual fair at the Tinley Park Convention Center also provided opportunities to have a professional headshots taken and participate in mock interviews.
The first 100 attendees received gift cards, and participants also had the opportunity to enter a raffle for a laptop, paid for by the municipalities hosting the event.
The fair was produced by a collaboration the villages of Tinley Park and Orland Park, Orland Township and Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison’s office.
Ray Piattoni, director of recreation & parks in Orland Park, said Thursday’s attendance seemed the highest he has seen. About 1,200 people attended last year, he said.
He also said the number of employers and participants has grown over the years, forcing them to relocate from the Tinley Park Civic Center to the convention center.
The job fair grew by nine employers this year, said Carolyn Mitera, business retention and marketing specialist for Tinley Park.
Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady said he partially attributes this growth to businesses recovering since the COVID-19 pandemic.
O’Grady said during the pandemic, there was a lull in employment and even the job fair was small and had to be held outside for distancing. This year, he said, more businesses appeared to be hiring and more people were getting back into the workforce.
“There was this like COVID hangover, and now we’re kind of coming out of that,” he said. “People want to get involved and are looking for better jobs.”
O’Grady also said the types of jobs have changed. He said grocery stores such as Pete’s Fresh Market have moved into the area and started attending the job fair.
He also said the number of employers from information technology, insurance and government fields appeared to increase this year.
O’Grady said it’s important for local governments to help residents get back into the workforce.
“It’s not just helping them with general assistance, it’s helping them get back on their feet,” he said. “There’s more to a job than just a paycheck. It’s a feeling of worth, and that’s what’s important.”
Mitera, with Tinley Park, said unfortunately there have been large business downsizes in recent years. She said it’s important to help residents find positions that are still within their community.
Viviana Obenland, human resource supervisor for Agile Cold Storage, said several people looking for jobs told her their previous company had downsized and had large layoffs.
She said she received more than 85 resumes in the first hour of the job fair.
Experts said in 2024 many south suburban towns have unemployment rates significantly higher than the state average. These areas, with predominantly Black populations, face unique challenges such as lack of transportation, disinvestment and a fluctuating job market, experts say.
Other employers handed out resources. John Omoworare, a public information specialist with the Cook Count Circuit Court clerk’s office, said several people asked him about legal resources. He said one person asked for help getting a passport.
“I was really touched by the crowd here today,” Omoworare said. “I’m grateful that people are coming out just to get something and even because they just want food sitting on the table for their family.”
awright@chicagotribune.com
