Expanding Aurora Outlet Mall Hosts Job Fair To Staff New Stores
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Hundreds of jobs were up-for-grabs Thursday at a job fair in Aurora.
Kimla Ruff was among those who showed up at Pipers Banquets on Thursday to apply for one of the 300 job openings at the Chicago Premium Outlets, where 50 new stores were slated to open late next month, and some of the 120 existing stores also are hiring.
"I'm getting back into the workforce, and a friend of mine already works at the outlet mall, so I knew they were having a job fair today," she said.
Ruff said she's hoping to land something.
"Most of my past experience has been clerical," she said. "It's difficult finding a job, so I go where the jobs are."
Chicago Premium Outlets general manager Phil Whitsel said the job fair is a "one-stop shop" for people who might want to work for one of the retailers hiring staff at the mall.
"This is kind of that first real dive in to the expansion. We've got a lot of new stores that are here, and represented today, that are looking to hire staff," Whitsel said.
Daniel Nabors, 17, recently graduated from East Aurora High School, and was applying for work at the job fair "so I don't have to keep asking my parents for money, pretty much, until I head off to Columbia (College) in September."
The grand opening for the new stores has been scheduled for Aug. 27-30.
The job fair runs until 7 p.m. at the Pipers Banquets, at 1295 Butterfield Rd., in Aurora.