Coronavirus

Job seekers get 2 chances today during virtual hiring fairs

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Houston Together virtual job fairs to be held Thursday

With the city of Houston surprassing the 5,000 cases mark, workers are needed now more than ever to help contain the spread. This is what a job like that looks like.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- There were two chances for job seekers to get hired today.

The Houston Health Department hosted two virtual job fairs to increase its workforce to monitor and contain COVID-19.

The Houston Together Virtual Job Fairs took place late in the morning Thursday, with another one at 1 p.m. underway on Microsoft Teams. People interested in participating were urged to visit the city of Houston Human Resources careers website to find links to join the virtual events.

The job fairs provided information on 300 new temporary positions, including how to apply. Available positions include contact tracers, call center representatives, community involvement coordinators, epidemiologists, nurses and other roles.

Contact tracers are one of the biggest needs. In that position, you're basically a "disease detective" who works with a patient infected with COVID-19 to track down where that person has been and who he or she has been with.

The tracer will contact all of those people and determine if they're having symptoms and ask them the same questions.

It's a method that has been used for decades. The University of Houston just launched a contact tracer course that will soon be available to the public.

The job fairs are a huge push for help in the fight against COVID-19.

Once contact tracing is underway, many may be receiving phone calls. It's important to answer and respond, but be aware of scammers. No questions will be asked about money or bank accounts.