Hundreds interview for jobs at new Va. Beach - Hampton Roads

By Elisabeth Hulette
The Virginian-Pilot
? August 18, 2012

VIRGINIA BEACH

Ashwan Richards arrived at 8:30 a.m. Friday.

At 11 a.m., he was still waiting to interview for a job at the new Target store - one hopeful in a long line of applicants wrapped around Town Center.

"Gotta have a grown-up job. It's a grown-up world," said Richards, a 17-year-old headed into his senior year at Tallwood High School. This would be his second job; he said he needs the extra money to help his mother after his father lost his job.

He's not the only one who said times are tough.

More than 600 people interviewed Thursday at the Westin Virginia Beach Town Center for jobs at the discount department store, which opens Oct. 14 at Pembroke Mall.

By 10 a.m. Friday, another 160 had interviewed, said Shannon Roberts, a human resources leader opening the new store. Hundreds more waited in line.

Today is the third and final day of interviews. The store is hiring for 300 positions.

"It's the biggest turnout we've had in this area," Roberts said. "We're really excited."

Applicants showed up in khakis and T-shirts, skirts and suits. Some stood in the shadow of the Westin hotel; others waited across the street in the hot sun.

Around noon, Clay and Kathi Culbreth and their son Cody arrived with a trash can full of ice and bottled water. As they handed out the bottles to waiting job seekers, Kathi explained that her husband's office overlooks the long line.

"We were driving by and said, 'Let's get them some water,' " she said.

As they waited, people traded stories of lost jobs and bad jobs. Several, including Richards, said they have filed applications at businesses across the area.

Kimberly Landry of Chesapeake said she works at a grocery store, and recently her hours were cut. Even with her husband's income, it's not enough to pay their mortgage and support their 2-year-old, she said.

She hoped a new, better-paying job at Target could provide a boost.

"We live paycheck to paycheck," she said. "We are definitely struggling."

Randy Little of Virginia Beach said he lost a job in shipping and receiving when the company he worked for lost its biggest contract with a drugstore. The loss cost a lot of people their jobs, he said.

He, too, hopes to get a post at Target, maybe in its receiving or stocking departments, he said. But surveying the long line on Friday, he looked doubtful.

"It looks mighty bleak right now," he said.

Elisabeth Hulette, 757-222-5097, elisabeth.hulette@pilotonline.com

Source: http://hamptonroads.com/2012/08/hundreds-interview-jobs-new-va-beach-target

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