Job hunters flood Nassau career fair

Nearly 2,000 job hunters flooded the first-ever Nassau County Career & Job Fair Wednesday, about twice the crowd organizers had anticipated.

People came hungry for jobs, offered by more than 70 companies. But for many, just making the connections and contacts that could lead to a future position sufficed.

"The whole thing is, you never know," said Phil Desmangles, 48, of Roosevelt. "I'm here to try. It kind of makes you feel better that, OK, there's actually work out there."

Desmangles, jobless for more than a year, is looking for work in the biomedical engineering field. At other fairs, there simply weren't any openings in his profession.

As discouraging as his ordeal has been, he knew he had to make the trip to Garden City.

"It will come around," he said of the job market. "I just keep plugging away."

The daylong event at the Cradle of Aviation Museum was a local government initiative spearheaded by Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano.

He called the state of the economy "challenging," but noted: "We have a number of employers here that are hiring."

Employers at the event ranged in size from Citibank, Wells Fargo and GEICO to Passion Beauty Salon and The Garden City Hotel. Representatives of several educational institutions were also present, offering opportunities for resume burnishing and retraining.

Most of the unemployed attendees did their best to project a positive attitude.

Alfred McDowell, 47, of Hempstead said the event was his fourth job fair. Unemployed for just more than a year, he said he's seeking work in warehouse shipping and receiving.

"I'm staying positive, just looking forward," he said. "It's not easy, because one thing I can tell you, the bills don't stop."

The impact of the event won't be known for weeks, when the Department of Social Services sends out surveys to attendees to see who actually landed jobs.

The large crowd, however, has already spurred organizers to consider moving future county-sponsored job fairs to a bigger venue, possibly the nearby Nassau Coliseum.

But for some, the turnout is a stark reminder that the economy is still struggling.

"I know there's probably way more people here than positions available," Desmangles said. "So they'll just have to weed out the best.

"The rest of them -- or us -- will just have to keep on going."