Las Cruces, New Mexico - The Working for America recruitment fair, continued its eleven city tour with a stop in Las Cruces, New Mexico today where over 1,500 candidates arrived to inquire and apply for Federal positions.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) co-sponsored the fair with the Public Service Career Showcase, an annual showcase held in cooperation with the New Mexico Consortium of Career Educators and Employers. This year's event was expanded to provide opportunities for 62 federal agencies to showcase current vacancies available locally and nationwide for qualified candidates.

"The Las Cruces fair drew job seekers from New Mexico and Texas," James said. "The goal of the recruitment fairs is two-fold, first, to provide opportunities for federal agencies to showcase current vacancies available locally and nationwide and link with qualified candidates nationwide for these positions. Secondly, the fairs introduce the people responsible for hiring, taking applications and following up to motivated Americans who are ready to serve their nation."

Following the launch of the new and updated USA Jobs website, the one-stop website for federal job seekers, OPM Director Kay Coles James created the Working for America recruitment fairs as another innovative tool to make federal employment opportunities more accessible to job seekers.

The fair featured live workshops on interviewing, resume writing and a hands-on presentation at the computerized www.usajobs.gov booth where users were able to access thousands of positions through the internet.

"The Las Cruces fair is one of the last fairs for this year," James added. "Next year we will be able to incorporate the valuable feedback collected from agencies and participants and update our tools and resources to make certain these fairs continue to bridge the gap between the job seeker and the plethora of opportunities available."

OPM is encouraging participating agencies to utilize the unique hiring opportunities these fairs present in connecting with a large, qualified, and diverse applicant population. Each agency that participates in a fair has been asked to track offers and new hires that come as a result of the fair.

During the 2004 season, fairs are scheduled for Detroit, Michigan; Denver, Colorado; Miami, Florida; San Diego, California; and New York, New York.

For more information, visit the one-stop website for federal employment, www.usajobs.gov.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.