MontanaFair Hosts Business Speed Dating for Jobs

Story Published: Aug 17, 2012 at 6:48 PM MDT

Story Updated: Aug 17, 2012 at 6:48 PM MDT

BILLINGS - Energy Day at MontanaFair is all about connecting people and businesses to help out with the Bakken oil boom in eastern Montana. And this first of its kind fair offers a very unique twist.

Businesses and job seekers alike had the opportunity to sit down for a five minute interview, described as a sort of business speed dating. And the business folks who came to participate were not disappointed.

Joe Michels works with Solomon Bruce consulting which looks to play matchmaker between businesses out on the Bakken looking for solid hires and those in the job seeking world looking for good paying work.

"The work ethic of Montana and North Dakota people are very attractive for firms such as ours," said Michels.

Michels said the speed dating gives businesses and job seekers a chance to find out what they can offer each other that's different than your garden variety job fair. And it allows people like Michels to better connect workers to businesses, which he said makes it a win-win for both parties.

"Clients are very happy when that happens because they get a productive employee on day one. They make money on day one. And they find out that the folks that we are able to help staff do an outstanding job," he said.

It's the first time anything like this has been done at the fair and the various local companies and national corporations involved with the first annual energy day have found many local hires already, like Renata Rotello with Sanjel, one of the largest hydrofracking and energy service companies in the nation.

"We wanted to get out here, kind of do some social networking with the other businesses that were going to be here, and also kind of connect with the people coming through the fair," said Rotello. "Maybe some of them are looking for jobs and that's kind of what we're here to help them possibly find."

Michels said that his company out of Fort Worth, Texas has already connected hundreds of job seekers to businesses out in the Bakken and that this first annual energy day has already proven itself to be a great success.

Thousands were expected to pass through the fair Friday and take advantage of the unique opportunity to sit down one-on-one with companies in the hope of finding a job out in the oil fields.

And it's all from a simple event of speed dating to a solid company and business relationship.

Source: http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/MontanaFair-Hosts-Business-Speed-Dating-for-Jobs-166608056.html

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