Date published: 10/17/2007

BY CATHY JETT

Richard Dionne burned out commuting to and working at IT jobs in Northern Virginia, so he quit last year to start his own business.

But the Orange County resident discovered it's hard to make a living doing home repairs and improvements in the current market.

So Dionne went hunting for new employment opportunities yesterday at the 10th annual Fredericksburg Regional Job Fair at Riverside Center Conference Facility in Stafford County.

"I'll take a heck of a pay cut, but I won't go back to Northern Virginia to work," he said. "I made six figures in D.C., but I had a 140-mile commute that took four hours on a good day and six to seven on a bad one."

Dionne said he wasn't sure just what he was looking for among the 79 employers with booths at the fair but would consider any from GEICO to a road management company.

"I'm not ruling anything out," he said.

Dionne was among an estimated 2,000 people seeking jobs at the fair, which was sponsored by The Free Lance-Star Companies and the Virginia Employment Commission.

Many who turned out were looking for jobs in technology or administrative fields, said John Chavis, a Disabled Veterans Outreach specialist with the VEC office in Fredericksburg.

"I've also seen a lot of people looking for sales jobs because real estate companies are letting a lot of sales people and loan people go," he said. "Cars aren't selling as much, either."

Carlton Crump, a local VEC workforce service representative, added that he'd heard a lot of people say they were looking for both full-time and part-time jobs.

"With the price of housing here, some people have to have two jobs," Chavis said.

Employers at the fair ranged from Macy's, which was looking for seasonal help during the Christmas holidays, to defense contractors such as SCCI to such large area employers as GEICO and MediCorp Health System. There also were a number of colleges offering both jobs and job training.

James Russ, a program manager for SCCI, said yesterday's fair was the busiest he's seen in the five years, and many of the people stopping by his booth were looking for IT jobs.

"This is a great place to recruit if you're looking for a shorter commute," he said.

The regional job fair, which is held every April and October, got its start in 1997 at the former Sheraton Inn, now Holiday Inn Select. GEICO, MediCorp and Mary Washington College, now the University of Mary Washington, were among the earliest participants.

"We'll keep doing these as long as people are interested," said Beth G. Loveless, The Free Lance-Star's real estate/recruitment sales manager. "They're always well received."

Date published: 10/17/2007