Hundreds of local high school students took advantage of the spring youth job fair May 11.

The fair, organized by San Joaquin County WorkNet and the Tracy Chamber of Commerce’s Hire Me First program, attracted a crowd of students.

Cheryl Fowler, an employment services specialist with WorkNet, said that 180 students attended the afternoon-long fair at Monte Vista Elementary School.

Lynda Mendoza, a program coordinator with Tracy Industry Education Partnership, said that the job fair also helped students with simple things like filling out an application and how to be presentable to an employer.

The students took advantage of resumé critiques, mock job interviews and face time with representatives from Wal-Mart and Best Buy. For many, it offered a taste of what it’s like in the working world, whether that meant a career or just a summer job.

“It’s very interesting, because you can kind of see what their goals are and what their career paths are,” Best Buy customer service employee Jasmine White said. “I can relate to them. It’s nice to get out here and talk to the community.”

Fowler said that job fairs for youth have been sporadic, with the most recent one happening four years ago. But they are trying to make such fairs more of a regular occurrence.

“I just wanted to do this because maybe I could get job experience,” said Tricia Stafford, a junior at West High School. “They tell us about the job and tell us what we might be getting into.”

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