Professionals and veterans from all over the Bay Area found jobs and were helped with essential skills at the Bay Area Career Fair.

The Bay Area Career Fair and Workshops was held at CSU East Bay Concord Campus on Friday, April 11.

The event was created to help the issue of unemployment of local professionals and veterans. The event connected people to the careers they wished to pursue, along with offering numerous workshops. There were workshops for how to use LinkedIn, interview techniques, problem action result statements, resume building and review.

Over 35 employers attended this job fair which included Lowes, Safeway, BART, Michael Kors, Bank of America, Live Nation, DKNY, State Farm and much more. The attendance of these companies created more than one thousand job opportunities for local job seekers.

The event was hosted by a Monique Lazzarini, a volunteer who works for Experience Unlimited,  a non-profit group funded by the state.

Experience Unlimited found Lazzarini her new job, and she felt inspired to help this company further other successes in the community. The event also had guest host and speakers such as State Sen. Mark Desaulnier, Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla and Supervisor Federal Glover. All of these individuals were involved in the planning, organization and success of this event.

Lazzarini spoke to the audience regarding her own perseverance within her job quest and the patience and determination that is required to land that new job.

“The most productive thing about today was connecting people with opportunity; several people here walked away with a job,” she said. “That means one less person needs to worry.”

Desaulnier stressed how events such as these add value to our current day economy and how important it is to have events to help connect people with employers.

Bonilla spoke about the various things going on in the community regarding employment, from the good to the bad. She felt that getting people together in a helpful environment such as this job fair really encourages people in their job search and eliminates a lot of confusion or doubt they may have.

Darice Ingram, the communication assistant at CSU East Bay felt the most productive part of the day were the workshops that helped guide people to their future employment.

“Today really got the word out about employers, especially to job seeking veterans,” Ingram said.

CSU East Bay student volunteer Aubria Bauder explained how important encouragement for those who are seeking jobs is.

“This event provided networking opportunities with employers, and really gave information regarding what they are looking for,” she said.