'I'm crossing my fingers': Sears job fair draws 163 on first day

Newcomers looking for their big break into the Saint John workforce called on Sears on Wednesday,the first day of the company's job fair for a call centre opening in the spring.

Some newcomers who applied for jobssaid they'd been looking for work in Saint John for months, without success.

"I'm crossing my fingers, hoping everything will be OK," saidMeravYakir, who delivered her resumWednesday.

Yakirsaidshe's been in Canada for 10 months and for almost half that time, she's looked for employment.

"It's hard," she said."Especially if you're a newcomer."

KhuramShazhadand his wife,NabeelaIram, told a similar story about the challenges they faced.They said they've been looking for jobs for seven months and haven't landed anything.

"If you don't have a job, you can't survive," saidShazhad."Nobody is going to pay your bills."

Iramsaid she doesn't speak French but can speak Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi.

And she hopes that's an asset to a service centre that will be serving a multicultural customer base.

Statistics Canada says the country's South Asian population is growing considerably faster than the overall population.

The vast majority of that group is of East Indian descent.

'We need a lot of people'

Sears Canada saidits hiring staff made contact with 163 people on the first day of the job fair.

Some were interviewedWednesdaywhile others left after dropping off their resums, hoping to be called back.

"We need a lot of people," said Vincent Power, Sears's vice-president of corporate affairs and communications.

All are welcome.- Vincent Power, Sears spokesman

The centre is to open in the spring and Sears aims to have 350 people trained and ready to go.

Sears said about 25 per cent of its call volume will be handled in French. Most of those francophone calls will be directed to Edmundston, where another call centre will open with 180 workers.

Although Sears hopes to have some bilingual workers in Saint John, the language is not required for everyone.

"All are welcome," said Power.

30-metre lineup

People dropping off resums in the late afternoon said they expected the jobs to pay about $14 an hour.

Iram, Shazhad and Yakir said the lineupWednesdaymorning was impressive, extending about 30 metres from one side of the mall to the Tim Hortonsoutlet at the other.

One man left the site, saying he had already been hired but he declined to be interviewed.

• Sears promises 350 jobs in new Saint John call centre
• Sears set to open call centre in Edmundston, create 180 jobs

Iram said at this point in her job search, she's not being picky.

"At this point, any kind of job," she said. "Like, I can do anything."

The hiring centre inside Loch Lomond Mall in east Saint Johnwill be open againThursdayfromnoon until 5 p.m.