Hundreds of job seekers of varying ages, origins and interests attended the Town of Hempstead Job Fair at the Freeport Recreation Center on Thursday, March 26. As the HempsteadWorks Career Center brought dozens of hiring organizations to the event, several participants discussed the difficulties of the current job market and how they plan to gain adequate employment.
Joseph Vasconi, 25, a Merrick resident, came to the job fair interested in graphic design and media advertising, and said that networking as much as possible has helped in his job search so far.
“Talking to people, getting the word out whenever you can, saying, ‘Hey I’m not employed, I’m looking for a job. Do you know anyone?’ cause people are related to people, and they know people in the industry that you’re maybe looking for,” he said.
When asked if the increase usage of artificial intelligence, AI, in visual art is a concern to him, Vasconi expressed that has a moderate outlook.
“It kind of discourages me because they are taking jobs,” Vasconi said. “But some jobs look for someone that knows AI, so maybe it does help in some way.”
Damani Johnson, 23, from Hempstead, shared a similar perspective on AI’s impact on the job market as he searches for jobs in information technology.
“A lot of jobs can be automated, but they still need people to support the AI, because AI gets a lot of things wrong as well,” Johnson said.
Johnson also said that while he appreciated the Hempstead Job Fair, he would like to see such events occur more than once a year.
Franklin Square resident, Monsey Zachariah, 57, also expressed appreciation for the event, stating that he was optimistic about the prospects, although “it is totally dependent on luck.”
Laura Clark, 68, from Franklin Square, spoke highly of the opportunity to network and meet people and companies in and surrounding Hempstead.
“I appreciate the camaraderie and excellent spirt of the people, and reaching out to the public to inform them what job offers there is because we are in dire need of workers in all fields,” she said. Clark added that she would want to see more diverse options in fields in job selections available at future Hempstead Job Fairs.
A recent Hofstra University graduate, Lindsey Joseph, 21, who lives in Queens, New York, said that she was looking for any job that she could do temporarily before going to law school. She said it was important for her to speak to as many employers as possible and networking when she can.
Joseph added that she tries not to let AI’s prevalence discourage her job search, stating, “I’d have to stay encouraged no matter what’s going on. So, AI or not, I need to get a job.”
