Veterans will have the chance to hone their resumes and job interviewing skills at the University of Louisville this week in the first of two events hosted by the University of Louisville which aim to get more veterans back to work. Data released this month from the U.S. Department of Labor says the national unemployment rate rose slightly to 8.2 percent. For young veterans, that number rose to 12.7 percent, and there may be as many as 5,000 unemployed veterans in the Louisville region, said Leslye Erickson, director of U of L’s Career Development Center. U of L will offer free workshops Wednesday for resume writing and interviewing skills and next week nearly 50 businesses have signed up to attend a job fair. All the business were asked to bring information on open positions, said Erickson. “Whether or not it results in a hire, that’s always the magic question,” she said. The fair will feature employers in a variety of fields, from healthcare to manufacturing, said Erickson. “The event is not meant to be an interviewing event. It’s meant to be more contacting, networking, getting to know, connect up with potential openings. And then interviews will follow,” she said. The workshops will be held at the Swain Student Activities Center's Floyd Theater. The job fair will take place next week at Papa John’s Cardinal stadium. Erickson said she expects anywhere from 500 to 1,000 veterans to come looking for jobs.
