KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nearly 45 Kansas City-area businesses in the hospitality industry set up tables Thursday at the Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City.
The job fair was organized by the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association, the Hotel Lodging Association and Visit KC.
Organizers estimate there are currently more than 300 hospitality jobs available in the Kansas City area.
It's a job-seeker's market for people like Anita Sisk.
"I need to be happy, I’m not willing to slave away for someone else’s benefit only," Sisk said. "I’m willing to give my all to a company that respects and wants me to succeed as well, so mutual benefit is extremely important to me."
Sisk said she is taking the time to look for that perfect match.
"I’m looking for a job with the right company, with the right amount of pay, the right benefits, the right everything," Sisk said.
Many local companies, like Company Kitchen, are offering incentives like sign-on bonuses and monthly raises. The company currently has upwards of 30 positions available.
Jonathan Branstetter, account sales manager, said the company is offering up to $1,000 sign-on bonuses to employees who stay with the company a certain amount of time.
The company is hiring for a variety of positions, including administration, route drivers, commissary workers and cafeteria workers.
"We’ve never really had to do a job fair, you know we’ve always had word-of-mouth and people come work for us and we have tenure in our building that have been with the company for over 40 years," Branstetter said.
Branstetter said most interested job-seekers want to know about the company's benefits.
"They ask 'what do you have benefits wise, do you have medical, dental, what kind of paid vacation do you have, what kind of sick leave do you have?" Branstetter said. "The great thing about our company is we have all of that to offer and more, we have tuition assistance, we have on job training."
Frank Smith came out to the job fair Thursday to look for work. Smith said he's willing to do just about anything as long as he makes a livable wage.
"You know if you’ve got a lot of expenses going on around your household or with your children you need to have enough income to take care of them so a $10 job is not going to help me," Smith said.