Career Expo Helps Student Find Job in Cherokee County

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WOODSTOCK, GA -- There is something to be said about working in your home community. The sense of ownership that comes with living, working and enjoying the quality of life your town or county provides can be empowering to any given citizen.

As many people begin to search for jobs close to home, many of these residents are unaware how to find work locally.

They don’t realize that the positions they are looking for can be found a few miles away from home.

The second annual Cherokee Career Expo -- scheduled for Thursday, March 24 -- is hoping to fill that void.

Last year, nearly 1,000 job seekers attended the first Expo. The vast majority of the attendees were Cherokee County residents, all with different stories and reasons for being there.

One candidate’s story stood out and perfectly describes the importance to nurturing local talent.

Zachary Carr grew up in Cherokee County. A graduate of Creekview High School, Carr attended Kennesaw State University and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in applied statistics & data analysis.

Carr said he began to search for work in his field of study. Four months and 10 to 15 interviews later, he began to feel discouraged when those prospects didn't lead to employment.

"I had valuable experience through school and part-time work, but not the exact experience the companies were looking for," he said.

Witnessing his frustration, Carr said his parents encouraged him to attend the 2015 Cherokee Career Expo. He noted he didn't believe attending the Expo would lead to anything, but nevertheless, he attended the event and sought to hand out 20 resumes.

The venue was packed, and Carr recalled he felt discouraged at the idea that he'd never get chosen. He only handed out four resumes, and spoke to one representative of a company who took notice of his college minor.

That representative invited him to interview for a position as a eCommerce data specialist, a move that led him to second interview.

The result? Carr is now employed at Woodstock-based Pillow Perfect, Inc. in a job that fits his talents.

"I am thankful to Pillow Perfect for seeing my potential and allowing me the opportunity to prove myself," he said. "And I am thankful for the Cherokee Career Expo for helping me find a great employer close to home."

A year later, Zac is still employed at Pillow Perfect, and is still thankful for being able to work in his hometown.

Living and working in Cherokee County, he said, has "truly been a blessing." He noted that he assumed the more profitable and worthwhile jobs were closer to Atlanta -- a situation that called for wrestling with the area's infamous daily commute.

“I encourage everyone reading this to attend the Cherokee Career Expo," Carr added. "I hope it changes your life, because it certainly changed mine.”

It is stories like this that inspired the Cherokee Office of Economic Development to continue the Cherokee Career Expo.

“We love Zac’s story,” said Misti Martin, COED president. “He is part of the millennial workforce we want in Cherokee and a great example of opportunity coming full circle. He grew up here, was educated in our schools, and after college returned to use his talents. This is a hope we have for all of our residents.”

The 2nd Annual Cherokee Career Expo will be held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, March 24 at the Northside Hospital-Cherokee Conference Center at 1130 Bluffs Parkway in CAnton.

Resume review and assistance will be available beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Pillow Perfect will return to event this year, along with 30 Cherokee companies ready to fill hundreds of open positions.

Some of the participating employers include, Northside Hospital, Chart Industries, Inalfa Roof Systems, Piolax, Belnick Inc., MSK Covertech Inc., Universal Alloy Corporation and LAT Apparel. The available jobs run the gamut from nursing, engineering, operations, welding, PLC programming, client services, project management, admin and many more. A full list of employers and job titles can be found at www.cherokeega.org.

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Image via Cherokee Office of Economic Development