Raymond Elkins owns a AAA towing shop in Springfield, and last week came to a job fair at Stratford University at Potomac Mills.
He’s looking for 10 people who can not only change a battery and help stranded motorists, but also for someone who can deliver customer service with a smile.
Lately, he’s gotten some unexpected applicants.
“I’ve had lawyers come up to me and say ‘I’ll drive a truck… I do anything it takes to get into your line of work if it means having a job,’” said Elkins. Thankfully for the out of work lawyers, Elkins says he’s willing to give anyone a chance if they are willing to be trained.
At the university’s job fair last week, there seemed to be just as many people cramming the elevator to reach the potential employers on the school’s third floor as there were cars parked in overflow lots outside the campus.
Potential employers ranged from the U.S. Department of Corrections, cell phone companies, insurance agencies, even a men’s tailoring business. Applicants say it’s better to come here and speak with a real person rather than just applying online.
Unlike many who have been unemployed for longer, Kyndra Settle, 34, of Stafford, has been looking for a job for about a month. She got sick three months ago and by the time she recovered her then employer’s contract with the U.S. Department of Education ran out.
She’s hoping her experience as a property manager will help land her a new job.
“It can be tough out here, but coming to these job fairs allows me to show someone who I am. That’s better than getting the simple ‘apply online’ response that some companies give,” said Settle.
While the national unemployment levels continue to rise, now over 9 percent, the Potomac Communities continue to buck the national unemployment trend.
As for April, Arlington County has the lowest unemployment rate at 3.4 percent. Prince William and Stafford counties show a 4.9 percent rate, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics.
Statewide, Virginia’s 6 percent unemployment rate is below Maryland’s 6.8 percent and Washington, D.C.’s 9.8 percent rating.
Recent Stories
On Sunday afternoon, nearly 100 people gathered in a Taco Bell parking lot less than a mile from the clinic’s doors with a shared aim: taking ownership of its now-precarious future.
The project to widen Balls Ford Road between Doane Drive and Ashton Avenue to a four-lane, divided roadway is now officially complete. The county’s Department of Transportation held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the parking lot of the General Shale Brick Company last week.
Another round of weather challenges is in store today as a robust cold front approaches. The front will bring gusty winds and low relative humidity.
Join us on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at 2:00 p.m., for the dedication of the Town of Occoquan’s LOVEworks sign in River Mill Park (415 Mill Street, Occoquan), designed by artist Darby Leondra. This event is free and open to the public.
To celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week (May 6-10, 2024), Clean Air Partners is working with A Few Cool Hardware Stores to exchange DC, Maryland and Virginia residents’ gas-powered lawnmowers, trimmers, and leaf blowers at select Ace Hardware locations in the region. DMV residents who turn in their gas-powered lawn tools will receive a FREE Ego Power+ replacement including batteries and chargers, while supplies last.
Compared to gas, electric lawn equipment can reduce emissions, noise pollution, health risks and maintenance costs and time. The program aims to remove about a hundred gas-powered polluting tools from yards in the greater Baltimore-Washington region.
The exchanges will take place the weekends of May 17-19, 2024, and May 31-June 2, 2024, at A Few Cool Hardware Stores network of employee-owned Ace Hardware stores in the DC and Baltimore metro areas. To participate and get your free Ego Power+ lawn tool, sign up at https://qrco.de/CAPExchange to reserve your tool and select your trade-in date and location.
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Free Irish Music Concert
Welcoming Spring with music from the Emerald Isle, the New Dominion Choraliers offer a FREE concert on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the First United Presbyterian Church of Dale City.
Joined by Legacy Brass and members of Old
Spring Ceili: An Irish Music Festival
The New Dominion Choraliers of Prince William County and McGrath Morgan Academy of Irish Dance invite you to join them at our Ceili, a grand celebration of Irish music and dance.
A gathering of performance groups throughout Prince William County
