Range Of Recruiters Heading To ACS Career Fair In Anaheim

Despite growing opportunities in emerging businesses, government labs, and reviving biomedical businesses, the job market remains competitive for chemists on the West Coast.

For those seeking jobs, the ACS Career Fair, which will be held next week during the ACS national meeting in Anaheim, Calif., may be a valuable resource. Candidates will have the opportunity to meet and discuss job opportunities with a wide range of employers at the fair, according to David E. Harwell, assistant director of career management and development at ACS. The fair will be held in Hall C of the Anaheim Convention Center.

More than 30 companies and organizations—including Arch Chemicals, Asymchem Laboratories, Dow AgroSciences, Gilead, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Merck & Co., Momentive Performance Materials, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals—will be scouting for new hires at the career fair.

During the Anaheim meeting, some employers—including Celanese and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory—will be making themselves more accessible by participating in Recruiters Row, a series of booths that will be set up in the Exposition Hall, Harwell says. At previous meetings, candidates were only able to meet recruiters if they had set up an appointment to meet in the career fair hall, he adds.

"Being on Recruiters Row will allow us to promote our company and create interest among future and passive job seekers," says Tricia Hayes, a senior recruiter with Nalco Energy Services. The company will be actively recruiting chemists to fill R&D positions in Sugar Land, Texas, and to work at its new lab in Pune, India.