Firms vie for workers at job fair

Greg Yuen, who retired last year from the Air Force after a 26-year career, scoured the “Corner Office” management listings ready for a new career.

Lanoa O Pono Keahinu‘uanu, a recent graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, with a degree in Hawaiian studies, walked up and down the aisles looking for a part-time job to supplement a part-time teaching position he’s expecting at Anuenue School in Honolulu.

And Idilia Seixas, who moved to Hawaii from Brazil three years ago to get a master’s degree and pursue her interest in international studies, got an advance peek at the local job market ahead of her May graduation from Hawaii Pacific University.

The three were among the job seekers networking with more than 130 employers Wednesday at the Hawaii Career Expo at Neal Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, First Hawaiian Bank and ALTRES Staffing were title sponsors of the event.

It was definitely a job seekers’ market as employers lamented that it was getting tougher to find enough qualified applicants with Hawaii’s unemployment rate one of the lowest in the country at 3.3 percent in June.

“The need for quality employees is growing, which is reflected in a lot of our new companies that are with us for the first time,” said Patrick Klein, vice president of advertising for the Star-Advertiser. “They’re just having a harder time finding those quality employees so definitely it’s a job seekers’ market right now. I’d say we have about 30 to 40 new companies that weren’t with us in the past. It’s just reflective of the current status of the job market right now. There are not as many (job seekers), but they’re very qualified.”

Yuen, 49, of Hawaii Kai, retired about a year ago as director of the joint operations center at U.S. Pacific Command at Camp Smith. He has kept busy working for several contract companies doing work for the military. But he’s now seeking work with more responsibility.

“I have a lot of experience running organizations, leading people,” he said. “I also have a lot of aviation experience. I’m looking for jobs that I can take those projects, own those projects, lead people and get the job done. It actually feels like I am starting over in certain respects. Obviously, there’s a lot of experience, but the most difficult part is translating that experience from the military and applying that to the civilian sector.”

Keahinu‘uanu, 23, of Nanakuli, represented the other end of the spectrum as he’s just entering the working world after graduating from college. He said attending the career expo was a good way to get an overview of the job market.

“You get to see a lot of companies so it’s sort of like a platter,” Keahinu‘uanu said. “In this expo, you get to expose yourself to those companies and vice versa, too. You get to know what companies are there and a feel of what you’re comfortable with and willing to learn.”

Natalie Reyno, human resources senior manager for Times Supermarket, said the company was offering about 80 to 90 positions on Oahu, from entry-level courtesy clerk to relief management positions.

“It is very hard right now even drawing the applicants,” said Reyno, who as of noon Wednesday had hired three applicants on the spot. “It’s kind of like we’re going through a slump to get the applicants into our store. It kind of shows with the amount of positions we have available in our company.”

Lauren Pang, a senior corporate recruiter for First Hawaiian, said the state’s largest bank has about 150 openings for a variety of positions. Pang said she was impressed with the quality of applicants at the expo.

“We have some great candidates we’re interviewing today and are looking forward to meeting others that are coming through,” she said about halfway through the six-hour event. “It’s definitely tough for employers. We know unemployment rates are really low, but in terms of the candidate quality, we have a good brand out there and there’s definitely good people.”

ALTRES, the state’s largest staffing company, with clerical, industrial, home care, medical and information technology divisions, has about 500 openings, according to Melissa Mansfield, care manager for ALTRES Medical. She said the tight job market has cut down on the number of applicants for positions.

“It’s a little bit thin right now,” Mansfield said about the number of applicants stopping by the ALTRES booth. “Normally we’re five to 10 people deep, but now we’re talking to an average of 10 people an hour.”

Mansfield called it “very slim pickings” and said that having experience is extremely important in getting the upper hand in landing a job.

“I don’t believe everybody is finding the right job yet,” she said. “There’s always people looking for new opportunities. Maybe it’s a better opportunity with pay increases or they’re looking for part-time work on top of their full-time positions.”

Seixas, 34, of Honolulu, received her bachelor’s degree in international relations in Brazil and said she’s looking forward to entering the job market after graduating from HPU with a master’s degree in international business and information systems. She said the diversity of Hawaii is what prompted her to move to the state.

“I’m looking for full-time jobs in advance of when I graduate,” she said. “I see many good companies here in Hawaii offering good jobs. I’m shopping around and studying the companies so I know which companies I want to apply to to get the job of my dreams.”