Cleveland County Government to hold job fair
For Jennifer Hamilton, working for Cleveland County Government is personal. Born and raised in Shelby, the Crest High School graduate enjoys taking care of the city where she grew up.
As the program manager for Medicaid, she was passionate when speaking about what it means to work for the county.
“For me, I am a product of this community,” said Hamilton. “Even the people we can’t help on our side because maybe they don’t meet the qualifications, I still try to connect them to what they need.”
Hamilton gets up every day with a fire in her spirit to help others. She added those are the kind of individuals staff will be looking for at tomorrow’s Cleveland County Government job fair where more than 800 people are currently employed.
The Department of Social Services, Animal Services, the Sheriff’s Office, Register of Deeds and more will be on hand to accept applications.
Hamilton celebrated her 20th anniversary with the county in June, and it is the only full-time job she has held since graduating from high school. What has kept her diligent in serving is knowing a simple act of kindness could take the stress off families in need.
“For us in economic services, it is helping families have those basic needs that most of us take for granted,” said Hamilton. “To me there’s nothing greater than helping people meet their needs. Being able to pour back into the community is huge for us. It can be a very taxing job, but our group is resilient. You need lots of compassion and understanding.”
Jordan Gabri, program manager for Child Protective Services, calls her job rewarding and said no two days are the same. Now in her second stint with the county, she said more than anything, patience is key and you must be able to serve with a devoted heart. Families can be ashamed and embarrassed when they need to ask for financial or other kinds of assistance. She added nothing separates the person sitting behind the desk from the one standing on the opposite side of it, saying any one of us could be in that same situation.
More importantly, both agreed the entire staff works together. They have cultivated a family-like atmosphere where everyone is willing to pitch in to get the job done. The team’s motto is “we got you.”
“Jennifer and I don’t work on the same side of the building, but we do help each other,” said Gabri. “That is something that is promoted and nourished. We know what each other needs to support each other’s families.”
Gabri had been working for the state of North Carolina for 14 years and was encouraged to get involved with child services after a relative suggested she look into it.
“I connected with it immediately,” said Gabri. “It’s rewarding. There’s some instant gratification, but there are also a lot of wait and see moments. We are meeting families on their worst day. We partner with families the best we can. We don’t want them to go without their basic needs.”
She added working in Social Services is like putting together a puzzle to make the family whole. Gabri encourages those interested to do a thorough evaluation of what they want their career to look like years down the road.
“This is a commitment,” said Gabri. “Public service is not for everyone. Some folks come in thinking, ‘I’ll just work for the county.’ It’s a commitment to yourself too. Our days our longer than others, and you have to have the desire to keep coming back.”
Want to go?
The job fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the LeGrand Center at 1800 E. Marion St., Shelby.
Over 50 full- and part-time positions are available. Pay for positions range anywhere from $12.38 per hour to $80,000 plus annually. Positions include animal shelter attendant, heavy equipment operator, social work investigator, paramedic, public health nurse and more.
Latrice Williams can be reached at 704-669-3339 and lwilliams6@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Cleveland County Government will host a job fair at the Legrand Center
