"I haven't done this for a while because I've been working for IBM for 13 years," said Ming Thang.
There are 470 jobs up for grabs, but the longest line at this job fair is at the resume table. That's where people can get a resume revamp. At Tuesday's HIREvent, sponsored by the California Job Journal and ABC7, everyone is looking for something, whether it is a new job, a new employee, or a new opportunity.
Right now, Silicon Valley's unemployment rate is 10.1 percent. Last month, the most jobs were added in information technology and manufacturing.
Thang, a manufacturing supervisor, doesn't buy it. He said, "Right now, most jobs for manufacturing are overseas."
Most of the job fair attendees are in their middle 30s, with mid-level jobs like administrators and business analysts, but there are some exceptions. For example, Greg Mitz is a 22-year-old college graduate who just graduated on Sunday and is now immediately standing in line for a job.
Greg Mitz is a 22-year-old college graduate who just graduated on Sunday and is now immediately standing in line for a job.
Jim Lemos is 63. He thought life would turn out differently for his real estate business.
"I would have my business and it would be taking off," said Lemos. When asked what the reality is now, he said, "Well, it's come to the edge."
Competition for every job is fierce. At Del Grande Auto Group -- one of the few places with entry level positions -- the over qualified are applying.
"I've had engineers, I've had folks with MBAs. I've had a lot of college grads," said Tiki Tsakiris from the Del Grande Dealer Group.
A San Jose dealership group, Del Grande, had 39 jobs available. Del Grande operates Subaru, Hyundai, Nissan, VW, Mazda, Kia and Chevrolet dealerships in the South Bay.
Because companies have so many applicants, even human resources can get overwhelmed. According to ProMatch.org, 80 percent of jobs are landed through networking.
ABC7's next HIREvent job fair will be on June 28, noon to 4 p.m., at the Nelson Community Center in Suisun City.
Nelson Community Center
611 Village Drive
Suisun City, CA 94585
ABC7's David Louie contributed to this report
