Job seekers skip the stores in favor of FM Career Fair

Some people in Fargo didn't have a typical black Friday experience. At one place, there were no massive crowds, no pushing, and no shoving, just a few companies looking to keep people in Fargo by offering them a job.

Mark Rodenbiker graduated from NDSU nearly six years ago with a degree in engineering. He got a job with a company in Iowa right out of college, but now he is back in the place he once called home, Rock Lake, North Dakota working with his parents in their greenhouse.

Mark Rodenbiker – Hopes to Get a Job: “I worked there for about three and a half years and the economy kind of took a down turn; moved back home, thought I’d be there just a little while.”

Rodenbiker says when he was done with college he wanted to move away and experience new things.

Mark Rodenbiker: “At the time you know Perio Systems, they didn't exist yet, Phoneix was a much smaller company. There wasn't as much opportunity as there is now.”

Now after working with his parents in a green house in he is ready to find a job in the career field that he has always loved. After he received his invitation to the career fair he didn’t think twice about going and passing along his resume.

Mark Rodenbiker: “Job postings are all online now and you submit it and you never actually get to talk to anybody so it's nice to be able to talk to someone and put a face to a name.”

Career fair organizers say there are approximately 350 open positions in the engineering and architectural field, and nearly 140 of those jobs are in the FM area.

Tifanie Gelinske – Economic Development Group: “We have a fairly broad economic base, so we have a lot of different industries that are looking for employees right now, and it is just important because we have a very low unemployment rate compared to other areas of the country and we just don't have the bodies to fill the open positions.”

Rodenbiker hopes to be one of the bodies that will fill the many open positions and says he would much rather find a job than a good deal on Black Friday.

Mark Rodenbiker: “I’m looking over at the mall and I’d much rather be here than over there fighting with all those shoppers.”

If you didn't get the chance to stop in at the career fair and you'd like more information log onto career http://www.careerFM.com

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