Each of the more than 60 employers participating in a community job fair Tuesday hope to find their future workers there.

The 2019 Pathways Job Fair will be held at the Thames Conference Center on Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Wesson Campus. The free event is open to the public. Employers will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Organized by the Co-Lin Career, Technical and Workforce Education Center, the annual fair attracted about 250 job-seekers each of the past two years. Many made connections and employers who attended said they were impressed with the pool of applicants they met.

Last year saw about 25 vendors participating, but that has more than doubled this year.

“A large variety of employers plan to attend and we encourage the community to make this event a priority. Those who are seeking employment should plan to attend prepared with resumes and dressed to make a positive impression on potential employers,” said Angela Berch, Co-Lin’s workforce education director.

“There are not many places you can look for a job where there are 60 employers under one roof,” said Celeste Williamson, workforce media specialist.

Organizers have room for a few more employers.

The $100 registration fee for recruiting businesses includes one booth with chairs, wireless internet access and two boxed lunches. Monday is the deadline for employers to sign up online at workforce.colin.edu/job-fair.

Williamson said job-seekers should prepare before the event by updating a resume and making several copies to bring along. Visit the website to find links of the businesses already registered and research those companies prior to making an application, she said.

Making a good first impression is crucial, Williamson said.

“They may see dozens of interviewees and people may run together,” she said. “Present yourself in a way that will make a positive impression.”

She suggests YouTube as a resource to find how-to videos designed for job-seekers attending job fairs. A nine-minute video is on the workforce.colin.edu website, she said.

“Investing just nine minutes of research will help you promote that better image,” she said.

Among the employers planning to attend are Aspen of Brookhaven; At-Home-Care; Bedford Care Center of Mendenhall; Belhaven Adult, Graduate and Online; C-Spire; CableOne; CF Industries; Copiah County Medical Center; DG Foods; Empire Truck Sales; First Bank; Forrest General Hospital; Franklin County Memorial Hospital; Georgia-Pacific Monticello; Gulf Relay; Hood Industries; Howard Industries; Ingalls Shipbuilding; Jumpstart Test Prep; King’s Daughters Medical Center; Key Constructors; Lawrence County Hospital; LoveVets Ministries; Magnolia Bluffs Casino-Hotel; Magnolia Electrical Power; McLane Companies; Merit Health Natchez; Methodist Rehabilitation Center; Mississippi Air National Guard; Mississippi College; Mississippi Department of Corrections; Mississippi Department of Corrections — Division of Victim Services; Mississippi Department of Human Services; Mississippi Department of Transportation; Mississippi Job Corps Center; Mississippi State Personnel Board; MMC Materials/Bayou Concrete; Mississippi Army National Guard Recruiting; Penske Truck Leasing; Peterbilt of McComb; Pike National Bank; PriorityOne Bank; Puckett Machinery Co.; Raytheon; Sanderson Farms; Sheldon Labs; Silver Cross Health and Rehab Center; Southwest Electric; Sullivan Ford Lincoln; TempStaff; Tyson Foods; US Army; Walmart Transportation, and Workforce Development at the Mississippi Department of Human Services.