About 3,000 people are expected to attend a two-day job fair in Fresno this weekend for Target's newest store that will open in March. Two hundred positions are available.
About 1,700 people applied online ahead of time, while many others showed up early at Rio Vista Middle School, where the interviews are taking place, and waited in line for hours to get their chance to interview.
Angela Diaz is one of the thousands who applied for a position Saturday. She was hired on the spot.
She had been out of work for about one year after she lost her receptionist job due to the company's downsizing.
"I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to get back into the workforce," Diaz said.
It's a situation many in the Central Valley can relate to.
"I'm lucky. I've only been unemployed just for three months. So I got lucky. But I know there's other people out there that have been looking for jobs for a long time," said Josh Tainter, who was also offered a position on Saturday.
Unemployment in Fresno County is at 12.6 percent, higher than the state's rate of 8.5 percent.
Diaz, who is a mother of four, is grateful her situation has now turned around.
"I feel really, really blessed. I'm at the end of the process, they offered me a position, so I'm really blessed and grateful," Diaz said.
Those who attend the second day of the job fair should be prepared to interview, take an assessment, and be drug tested.
"They'll go through the interview process, we'll all deliberate about what that looks like for that candidate. At that point, some people will be job offered today, some people will be asked to interview with us at another time," said Curt Cappello, the newest store's team leader.
The job fair will continues Sunday at Rio Vista Middle School located at 6240 W. Palo Alto Ave. in Northwest Fresno from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.