Fast-Track Hiring: Inside the OKC Direct Hire Event

Claire Brooks

Welcome to The 405 Payroll. I'm Claire Brooks, and it's Wednesday, October 7th. This is the lunchtime show where live Oklahoma City hiring news becomes something you can use before the afternoon is over.

Miles

And I'm Miles. Today's headline has a date on it, which I like, because a date means you can plan. Monday, October 12th, 10 in the morning to 1 in the afternoon, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission is running a direct hiring event at Oklahoma Works, 5005 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City.

Claire Brooks

It's open to veterans and the public. The commission lists skilled trades, manufacturing, construction, warehouse and logistics, healthcare, customer service, finance, and IT, with interviews available on site.

Miles

Interviews on site. Claire, why is that such a big deal if you're paying rent in this town?

Claire Brooks

Because an online application can get trapped in automated filters before a human reads a word. At a direct hire event you shake a hand, answer a few questions, and some employers can move you from application to interview that same morning. When rent is due on the first, a shorter road to the first paycheck matters.

Miles

The commission also says there's help with job searching, resumes, and applications, plus connections to other workforce resources. So if your resume is a mess, or you don't have one yet, there's help right in the room.

Claire Brooks

Now the wider picture, because it's mixed. The commission's August report has Oklahoma's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate holding steady at 4.3 percent, with 1,700 nonfarm payroll jobs added.

Miles

That's about one tenth of one percent, so small, but it's up. The part that stings is that jobless rates rose from a year ago in 72 of Oklahoma's 77 counties, and initial claims ticked up to 1,168 for the week ending September 19th.

Claire Brooks

So the takeaway isn't panic. It's that employers can be choosy right now, and that makes meeting them face to face worth more than another form submitted at midnight.

Miles

And it's one morning. Three hours. Plenty of people could swing that on a lunch break or a shift swap, and you might not even need all three hours.

Claire Brooks

Today we've got three OKC employers with real pay numbers, a training path toward twenty two to twenty eight dollars an hour, extra money you can start this week, and a local program that helps a raise last. Plus a true story and one thing to do before tonight.

Miles

Then let's start with who's hiring.