Almost 5,000 graduating seniors and recent CUNY alumni presented themselves, in proper business attire and with resumes in hand, to scores of recruiters at the 15th annual Big Apple Job Fair at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

During the jobfair juggle at the Javits Center

Despite the tight job market and weak economy, there were real jobs on offer. Walgreens had about 150 openings for management trainees and interns; Sherwin-Williams expected to have 86 positions, including one for an outside sales representative in Manhattan. Metro-North railroad was looking for electricians, engineers and planners; the Hartford (Connecticut) Public Schools system had openings for teachers at all levels, at annual pay ranging from $34,000 to more than $73,000.

Sixteen of the more than 100 companies and agencies that took booths on April 4th to interview prospective employees have used the fair for recruiting for more than a decade; these included Bear Stearns & Co., the New York Public Library, JP Morgan Chase, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, WCBS/Viacom, the Ford Foundation, MetLife and the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. For about the same number of recruiters, this was their first time at the fair.

Among the newcomers, Colgate Palmolive, played a dual role: It was recruiting in Booth 147, and Philip A. Berry, a CUNY alumnus who is vice president for Global Employee Relations and Best Place to Work at the $12-billion consumer products company, was the Job Fair’s keynote speaker. Berry, who holds an Associate’s degree from the Borough of Manhattan Community College and a B.A. in sociology from Queens College also serves on the Chancellor’s Business Leadership Council.