More than five people showed up for every hospitality job available at yesterday’s trade fair.Government’s Hospitality Industry Job Fair saw 836 people file through the Fairmont Hamilton Princess in hopes of landing one of approximately 155 jobs.Government MPs who attended said they were surprised at the turnout. The Royal Gazette spoke with some of the hopeful candidates, all of whom are currently unemployed. Everyone praised Government for holding the fair, but many were doubtful they would be one of the chosen few actually given a job.Kiuntae Smith, 18, graduated from CedarBridge Academy last year. She showed up to the fair smartly dressed with a resume in hand. “I think of this as a job interview,” she said. “I know with different companies it matters, you need to stand out. You can’t dress as if you are going to town.“It’s been hard to get a job since I graduated, as they want people with degrees or experience. I expected there to be a lot of people here as it is a recession. People are getting laid off. It’s great that they have organised this but there are so many people and there aren’t as many jobs.”After working as a guidance counsellor at a US university, Andre Carr is now looking for any job that will help him get by.The 40-year-old recently married a Bermudian and moved here from Michigan. He was one of a dozen who arrived at yesterday’s hospitality job fair in a suit and tie while this paper was there. Throughout the morning Mr Carr visited the various stalls and spoke with staff already working at the hotels.He could be seen filling out form after form, itemising his work history.“There seems to be hospitality jobs available, I don’t think they have anything in my job field. I have a bachelor’s and master’s in psychology and was a university counsellor at Wayne State University.“I’ve talked with some schools here and am hoping that will work out. In the meantime, I am going to take whatever I can so that I can eat.”Mr Carr said it appeared many of his fellow job seekers, particularly those under 30, did not seem prepared. “I’ve done a lot of work with students in the past, some people here don’t seem prepared to look for a job,” he said. “There is a real disparity in what people are wearing.”His comments echoed those of Youth On the Move founder Carlton Simmons. Mr Simmons has set up a job readiness programme to help instill soft skills, which he said were sorely lacking. The lack of soft skills was apparent yesterday too. While a lot of people showed up well dressed with a resume, others did not.Economy Minister Kim Wilson had to reprimand one young man whose pants had slipped down too far.Others showed up in velour jumpsuits sporting shades. Mothers could be seen instructing their sons to fill out applications. While many sat down and filled out several applications, others left the room soon after arriving, complaining it wasn’t worth their time to fill out the forms because no one had offered them a job on the spot.Susanne Jones, 49, was not one of those people. Mrs Jones was a housekeeper at 9 Beaches before it closed for renovations.“I’ve been working for years, in hotels, in construction. I just need a job,” she said. “It’s hard, the hospital is telling you that you need a GED to clean a toilet. I don’t need a GED to clean a toilet; I’ve been doing that for years. I just want a chance.“I’ve filled out my forms and have spoken with people here today. I’m hopeful, I hope it works out for everyone here.”A 24-year-old college graduate was also determined to find a job. “I don’t have much experience,” she said. “I have a degree in communications and graduated last year. It can be hard to stand out in a resume when you don’t have much experience. I came here today prepared to show people some of my strengths in person, hopefully that will help.”A group of four 23-year-old high school graduates were less confident. The women graduated from Berkeley Institute in 2003 and have had temporary jobs since then. “If you want the truth,” one of them said, “I don’t feel confident. There are so many people here, how am I going to get a job over them? I didn’t think there would be so many people.”A 43-year-old mother-of-three came to the fair looking to enter the job market for the first time in nearly a decade. “I’ve stayed at home taking care of my children,” the woman said. “My husband lost his job as a compliance officer at an exempt company nearly a year ago and has been out of work.“It has been good to hand my information out but at the same there are so many people here today. To be honest though, I am thinking of leaving Bermuda.“My husband has a US passport. you hear about places in the US that are coming out of the recession and Europe, look at Spain. I think it is going to be harder here, look at all these people. There aren’t enough jobs for them.”