Job seekers line up for interviews

TAMPA - Some say the waiting is the hardest.

Job Seeker Michael Lentz says, "I've been here a little over an hour now."

However, for many at the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, it's the not getting hired that is the source of their frustration.

"Getting turned down countless times -- you got to keep with it," Michael says.

AAA Auto Club South held a job recruitment event at the Workforce Alliance on Thursday looking for travel agents and insurance agents.

Hundreds showed up to apply, most in the same situation.

"The call center I was working at closed. So I'm up here looking for work," Charles Bregger said.

"I just recently got laid off from a former company," Michael said.

Their full-time job now is finding new work.

"Job fairs, I'm online. I'm from Pinellas and drove here to Hillsborough for this one,"
Charles says.

The Workforce Alliance says there are jobs out there, companies hiring, and the advice to applicants to be persistent.

Nancy York is with the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance.

"Keep trying. There are jobs out there. There's a lot of jobs out there. We get anywhere from 20 to 50 new jobs a day," she says.

What's unique about this particular hiring event - AAA South has guaranteed that everyone gets a one-on-one face-to-face interview.

"It gives the employer the opportunity to interview and to meet with anywhere between 50 and sometimes 700 individuals in any given day," Nancy says.

The Workforce Alliance says this is just one of several hiring events they have planned in the next few weeks, which does give applicants hope.

"Keep on. I've beat the streets and pounded the pavement and if I have to I'll go door-to-door again," Michael said.

"You just got to keep looking and looking and looking, and putting in applications online," Charles says.

So for many, the waiting and applying continues.

"But I guess they always say -- good things come to those who wait," Michael said.