More than 100 employers gathered at Langley Events Centre for the Black Press Extreme Career Fair on Thursday May 11.

From the Canadian Coast Guard to Value Village, the career fair featured a wide variety of different companies 鈥� and also attracted many qualified applicants.

鈥淭here鈥檚 tons of people here with lots of experience 鈥� may have fallen on hard times, been laid off, whatever it may be,鈥� said Crystal Coutre, human resources manager at Lordco. 鈥淣ow they鈥檙e just looking for a new opportunity.

Coutre said Lordco saw a lot of those people applying for their positions, bringing in a huge stack of resumes only two hours after it started.

Some people, like 28-year-old Kyle St Germain, came looking for new opportunities. St Germain currently works at a warehouse, but is hoping for something a little different.

鈥淚 came out here to see what was available for my future,鈥� he said.

If job seekers are feeling nervous, Fraser Valley Driver School director of operations Joel Donnelly said they shouldn鈥檛 be.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 the worst thing someone could say?鈥� he asked. 鈥淭he worst thing someone could say is no. So once you get that out of your head, there鈥檚 nothing to be nervous about.鈥�

In addition to job opportunities, there were also a number of speakers and presentations at the Black Press Extreme Career Fair, including a talk by B.C. Lions鈥� wide-receiver Marco Iannuzzi.

Iannuzzi echoed what Donnelly said, noting that one of the best things job seekers could take from his experience as a football player was to never give up.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e gonna be told you鈥檙e not good enough. You鈥檙e gonna be told you鈥檙e not fast enough, you鈥檙e not tall enough,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was told never, never, no, no every year of my life for big things in my life.鈥�

But, he added, 鈥渋f you鈥檙e having a tough time 鈥� know that that鈥檚 okay because other people are having a tough time. Maybe you鈥檙e getting 鈥榥o鈥檚 at certain places you want to be and 鈥榶es鈥檚 at places you don鈥檛 want to be.

鈥淵ou have to find your spot. It鈥檚 not going to be black and white.鈥�

Iannuzzi has been finding his spot over the last 20 years, as not only a football player, but also an investment advisor at RBC and a small business owner.

鈥淪tarting from the age of nine or 10, that鈥檚 when I started trying to figure out what football was, what academics was, what business was to me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 still learning every day.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you come to one of these events thinking that you鈥檙e going to figure it all out today. But I think you come to one of these events knowing that you鈥檙e going to figure out some part today.

The Black Press Extreme Career Fair took place on May 11 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre