Brian Duggan/Nevada Appeal
After two years on a fruitless job hunt, Scott Bruce, 33, showed up to the Kohl's job fair at the Plaza Hotel prepared for anything.
The former home builder and single father was one of more than 3,000 applicants applying for 130 jobs at Carson City's newest department store that opens in late September.
The job fair offered a rare bright spot in one of the worst job markets in the nation.
"This is the closest thing to actually working I've had in two years," said Bruce, who said he earned $16 an hour while building homes. "I'll work minimum wage right now if I had to, I just need something."
Among the positions the company was filling were sales associates, customer service representatives and jobs in the warehouse - all part-time. Those who get the jobs will be notified next week.
Other hiring events for Kohl's have netted thousands of applicants in Reno and the surrounding region, too, according to a Kohl's representative.
On Thursday morning, the last day of the job fair, a few dozen people - from teenagers to seniors - sat around tables filling out paperwork while a company video played on a big screen television surrounded by balloons with the Kohl's logo.
Philip Bjork, an out of work machinist, said he has been looking for a job since June. He's now applying for a part-time warehouse job at Kohl's.
He said he hopes to get something for winter to help make ends meet for his wife and child in Carson City.
While waiting for her name to be called for an interview, Sarah McCann, 25, sat with other applicants filling out paperwork.
McCann said she has a seasonal waitressing job at a California resort, but is hoping for something more permanent at Kohl's.
"Just seeing if I can set one up for something after October," she said.
Like many of her friends, Brittany St. John, 17, has been looking for a job all summer.
"So here's hoping, right?" she said, while waiting for her group interview.
"I only have a few friends that actually have jobs right now," she said. "Everybody else is running around job hunting."
Ali Lasher, 39, has been looking for work "for a short while," and is hoping for a sales job at Kohl's.
"Anywhere you go there's always a chance to seek out opportunity," Lasher said.
Bruce said he has supported his son by taking part-time handyman jobs and using child welfare from the state.
"It's not paying the bills," Bruce said, who also is studying automotive mechanics at Western Nevada College. "I'd flip burgers right now, but they're not hiring either."