Mia Cortés Castro Photo
Kristin Washington meets with job-pitchers from state Department of Aging and Disability Services.
Kristin Washington showed up to the Fair Haven public library fueled by a dream to work in public health — and ready to find out if state government employment could be the right career path for her now that’s she graduated from college and hunting for a job.
Washington was one of around two dozen New Haveners who attended the Fair Haven Job Fair on Thursday night. Gathering at the Fair Haven branch of the New Haven Free Public Library at 182 Grand Ave., attendees discussed professional goals and shared a desire to move in new directions with employer representatives looking to hire.
The job fair was organized by New Haven Works, a city government-backed nonprofit that assists New Haveners in job searching, training, and hiring, and helps vouch for aspiring workers during their interview processes. At the fair, attendees could register with New Haven Works to take advantage of their services, as well as directly with the employers present.
“I’m big on staying local and helping the community, so I’m here keeping my options open to see what they have to offer,” said Washington. “You don’t know what you like until you try it.”
Four state booths present at the Fair Haven Branch of the New Haven Free Public Library.
Born and raised in Beaver Hills, Washington has seen how a lack of healthcare education has affected her family who, she said, with the right information, could have avoided many health scares in the past.
Washington has a bachelor’s degree in health sciences from the University of New Haven, and recently received a master’s degree in public health from that same West Haven university.
On Thursday, Washington was on the hunt to learn more about job opportunities in state government’s various health-related departments in order to help people like her family.
At the job fair, Washington visited the booths hosted by by the state Department of Aging and Disability Services and the state Department of Children and Families. At these booths, she inquired about the job opportunities and programs these departments offered. The representatives followed with questions of their own, asking about her education, goals, professional interests, and about why she’s passionate about public health.
Looking forward to applying to positions that will push her towards pursuing her dream, she left with a wealth of more information about what’s available.
Ingrid Derrick-Lewis: "We are here to meet and help different people from different neighborhoods."
“We’re here to help the members of the community,” said New Haven Works Executive Director Ingrid Derrick-Lewis. “Everyone is welcome.”
The Fair Haven job fair is just one of various hosted by New Haven Works in different locations in the city throughout the summer. At Thursday’s fair specifically, representatives from four state departments —the Departments of Aging and Disability Services, Administrative Services, Transportation, and Children and Families— presented and talked to attendees about their job opportunities. The State of Connecticut is one of New Haven Works’ employer partners, whose attendance varies across the different fairs.
Because of this, the fair attracted job seekers of all ages and from all different neighborhoods around the city, each stumbling upon the fair in different ways and attending with varied goals in mind.
“I happened to stop by the library at the exact right time,” said Joseph Crudup, who was at the library with his wife for a different event when he found out about the fair happening simultaneously. “Just this morning, my wife was yelling at me to get a job. It was perfect timing.”
Besides being helpful in providing information and access to resources...
... the Department of Administrative Services booth also had a candy bowl!
According to Crudup, the booths and their representatives were helpful in informing him and his wife of job opportunities around the New Haven area. He stopped for a particularly long time in front of the Department of Transportation’s booth, with whom he is interested in working.
As flyers describing job positions were being passed out and hands were shaken, attendees were able to hear about the differences they could make in the city by working in any of the positions being offered.
The positions advertised at the job fair included office assistants and employment counselors and help with job recruitment for people with disabilities. Representatives served as networking opportunities, means for research, and fountains of inspiration at the same time. They provided advice about job applications, shared their experiences in their positions, and explained the kinds of workers they were looking for.
Flyers detailed the Departments' missions, the job positions they had openings for, and descriptions for these positions.
“You get so much gratification from this job,” said the representative from the Department of Children and Families. “We want people with diverse backgrounds and lived experience who look like the people we serve and who they can relate to.”
With attendees curious about how long the process would take, New Haven Works team members closed off the fair by assuaging their concerns, reminding them that, realistically, the timeline can be long.
“Don’t get discouraged,” Interim Program Coordinator at New Haven Works Tyra Stanley optimistically told attendees. “The process is hard but it’s well worth the hard work.”
This is what Make America Great Again is all about.
It's about people at the local level helping others by staffing at a jobs fair.
I hope everyone looking for a job or career path finds the information they need to move forward.
Thanks to all to sponsored this event and all those who attended it.