Thousands flock to OCC’s job fair

COSTA MESA — Finding a job isn’t an easy task, but Orange Coast College made it a little easier Tuesday afternoon by bringing employers to students.

As students traipsed back and forth from class, or stopped in at the cafeteria, they couldn’t help but see more than 50 business and nonprofit representatives on the lookout for potential employees and interns.

At least 3,000 stopped by OCC’s annual Job and Internship Fair to meet with recruiters, get brochures on different career fields and information on the services the college’s job and internship center offer.

Getting the businesses to the fair, though, was no easy feat this year, said Rena Quinonez, OCC’s career services, job center and internship specialist.

“I had to do a lot of phone calls and e-mails,” she said.

Many big-name employers, such as the Los Angeles Police Department, Verizon Wireless, Target and the Ritz-Carlton, sent representatives to talk with students.

Freshman Alejandra Mondragon, 19, said she was walking from class when she saw the lines of tents.

The Costa Mesa resident said she’s been trying to get her first job for a couple weeks, but hasn’t had any success yet.

“I think nobody’s hiring, or calling back,” she said.

Mondragon said she was just looking for some kind of job and potentially found one. During the job fair, though, she snagged an interview Wednesday morning with Vector Marketing, a sales firm that markets Cutco Cutlery.

“I think it’s really helpful for students looking for jobs,” she said.

Stephanie Normandin, who works in OCC’s Watson Hall, said there is a perception that nobody can get a job right now, but she hopes the fair will show students they can.

“There has been a lot of students (who) have been down here, so hopefully they will get a lot out of it,” she said.