More than 50 employers to be part of drive-thru job fair this week in Gwinnett County

If you are looking for a job, you may want to head up to the Infinite Energy Center in Gwinnett County on Thursday.

More than 50 employers are looking to hire more than 5,000 people during a drive-thru job fair.

Organizers say the jobs range from minimum wage, fast food type work to $100,000-plus jobs.

Before you go though, you need to sign up and give some details at CareerConnector.org, which is a Goodwill website. You will also need to link to the Pleasant Hill Road Career Center.

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Sonja Underwood filled out her paperwork and plans on attending.

“I asked God what am I going to do next,” Underwood told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Tony Thomas.

After 14 years as a Grady Memorial Hospital nurse, Sonja Underwood jumped into a new career: an aircraft mechanic and inspector. She’s landed a job in Connecticut, but with COVID-19, Underwood wants to base her family back here in Atlanta.

“Being a first generation of someone getting into the industry, it’s been hard getting doors to open up,” Underwood said.

The group GwinnettCares.org is organizing the effort.

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“We are trying a new model. So many people are struggling with the virtual job fair options,” said Gwinnett Cares spokesperson Paige Havens.

She says Gwinnett’s unemployment was just 3% in January, but jumped up to 12% about 90 days later. It’s now about half that.

“So how does a drive-thru job fair work?” Thomas asked Havens.

“The applicants will drive through and never get out of their car. The employers will be standing at a table or booth and will have a post about who they are looking for,” Havens replied. “So I can stop, have a conversation and pass off information.”

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Havens went on to describe the jobs available.

“Anything from warehouse and hourly jobs. Amazon is still doing mass hiring right now. We’ve got health care positions. It’s really across the spectrum. This is not just one industry segment,” Havens said.

Organizers say they aren’t sure how many jobseekers will come. They had hundreds show up for virtual fairs earlier this year.

Underwood is beyond excited.

“What do you think about a drive-thru job fair?” Thomas asked her.

“I love it!” she replied. “I love it will be face to face, and the opportunity. I’m hopeful because I’m a hopeful person.”

The fair will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday. It will be in a parking deck of the convention center, so rain should not be an issue.

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