TRENTON, N.J. — Mercer County recently offered job seekers an inventive way to discover employment opportunities by bypassing the customary meet and greet of traditional job fairs and, instead, having residents stay in their cars. 
On Sept. 29, for the third time during the coronavirus pandemic, Mercer County One-Stop Career Center conducted a “Drive Thru” job fair at CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton.
At the fair, visitors receive packets of information from the 85-plus potential employers who participated. More than 460 vehicles — some of which had multiple occupants — attended the event and gathered information on opportunities in manufacturing, warehousing, health care, food service, retail, community agencies, customer service, government and more.
“Offering a drive-up fair allows us to provide a much-needed service while keeping attendees, our employees and participants as safe as we can during this pandemic,” said Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes.
“Individuals were able to obtain information without the anxiety of meeting employers if they were not ready to do so. They were also able to obtain a wide array of employment possibilities in one stop. In their own time, they have the opportunity to review in depth the job information provided to them,” Mr. Hughes added.
The job fair is not the last connection job seekers will have with the Mercer County One-Stop Career Center. “We know that connecting people to jobs and services often requires multiple touch points, and the job fair is just one interaction on the journey,” Mr. Hughes said.
All who attended received a follow-up email listing the names and websites of employer participants. The One-Stop also notifies fair-goers about other upcoming hiring events and informs them about services available to them at the One-Stop, such as job training, resume building and access to online skill-building programs.
”Events such as our drive-up job fair are among the many ways Mercer County has exercised creativity in how we deliver services to our residents that most need it,” Mr. Hughes said.
The One-Stop consistently offers multiple virtual job recruitment opportunities. For more information go to https://www.mercercounty.org/departments/one-stop-career-center/