Jane Davis, owner of Johnny B. Goode Ice Cream Parlor, tells Ocean City High School freshmen Ellie Franckle, Chelsea Carlos and Courtney Bodenschatz about summer job opportunities.
Representatives of more than 25 local businesses visited Ocean City High School on Tuesday in a search for seasonal employees.
A job fair set up in the school's auxiliary gymnasium gave students a chance to look for summer jobs during a lunch break.
For employers like Brian Hartley of Playland's Castaway Cove on the Ocean City Boardwalk, local students make up an important part of a staff of more than 250 — they're the ones who are around to work in the spring, late summer and fall when summer residents are back at home or school.
Jane Davis, owner of Johnny B. Goode Ice Cream Parlor, said it's always good to try to hire locals, and she relies on recommendations from existing employees to recruit new ones.
"Everybody works for three or four years," Davis said.
Brian Corbett is one of those employees who worked three or four years ... and then some.
Corbett, an Egg Harbor Township native, came to an Ocean City job fair 19 years ago and landed a job with the Original Fudge Kitchen, one of the year-round staples of the Ocean City Boardwalk.
Corbett worked through high school, college and a master's degree and was back at Ocean City High School on Tuesday as the manager of the local Fudge Kitchen.
"It's one of those locations where you want to come back every summer because it's such a good environment," Corbett said.
Some of the employers at the job fair included:
- Air Circus
- Cape May County Administrator
- Century 21 Alliance
- City of Ocean City, Personnel Dept.
- Congo Falls Miniature Golf
- Deauville Inn
- Fazzio Interiors Inc.
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes
- Flanders Hotel, Banquet & Conference Center
- Fractured Prune Ocean City New Jersey
- Haunted Golf
- Johnny B Goode Ice Cream Parlor & Grill
- Johnson's Popcorn
- Manco and Manco
- Mike's Seafood of Ocean City
- Morey's Piers
- OC Hotels & Property Management
- Ocean City FC Nor'Easters
- Ocean City Fire Department (Ocean City Beach Patrol)
- Ocean City Home Bank
- Ocean City Police Dept.
- Original Fudge Kitchen
- Philly Pretzel Factory
- Pirate Island Miniature Golf
- Planet Ice
- Playland's Castaway Cove
- Sea Isle Ice Company
- Seaport Inn
- Shore Water Sports, LLC
- Surf Mall
- Tahiti Inn & Apartments
- Uncle Bill's Pancake House
- Weichert Realtors- The Asbury Group
- Wet N Wild Waverunner Rentals
- Windrift Hotel & Restaurant
- Yesterday's