Fresh Market Career Fair Attracts Hundreds

Pat Cona, a Lakewood Ranch resident visits her neighborhood Fresh Market nearly every day. She has always admired the store's attention to detail and to customer service.

So it's no surprise that the former bank manager, was among the hundreds of people who came out to the Fresh Market's career fair today at the Courtyard Marriott in Bradenton. The company is hiring nearly 90 people to staff its new west Bradenton store, set to open Aug. 15. The career fairs continues until 7 p.m.

Cona has been looking for a job for a year. She wants something that offers health benefits, but also wants to be part of a company that offers quality customer service. She read about Fresh Market and figured that it was a good fit for her. She was interviewing this morning for a job as a "Coffee and Candy Specialist."

""I really need the benefits," Cona said. "I can't afford COBRA."

The company decided to open in West Bradenton after having great success with its Lakewood Ranch storel, said Kelly Flanagan, talent acquisition manager for Fresh Market.

The career fair attracted people from all over the county and with all kinds of skill sets. Many of those job seekers had been looking for jobs for months and were eager to have an interview. The fair officially began at 8 a.m. and the first person was at the door at 6:30 a.m. Flanagan said.

A team of 20 interviewers were prepared for the hundreds of applicants. Nearly half of the team were already booked with pre-arranged interviews, Flanagan said. Team members got to the job fair by 5 a.m. to set up a bank of computers to allow job seekers who don't have home computers to apply online.

Rufus Jefferson, 33, was in line by 9 a.m. He had already filled out his application and was waiting for an interview. Jefferson said he had some grocery store experience because he had worked for Publix when he was in high school.

Jefferson found out about the career fair through Suncoast Workforce. He said he's been looking for a job for more than a year after getting laid off from his full time job. He's been working part-time for minimum wage, but it's not nearly enough to make ends meet, especially with a baby on the way. If he can start working next month, he'll beat the baby's birth by a few weeks.

The timing doesn't matter so much, Jefferson said, "as long as I get the job."

Emmanuel Avalos, 19, graduated from Manatee School of the Arts two years ago. He has been looking for a job for the past couple of months since the landscaping company he was working for shut down.

A strong-looking young man, Avalos said he was hoping for a job in the bakery or as a cashier, but suspected that he might be stocking shelves for the store. He had no grocery store experice beyond having "shopped at Walmart."