WASHINGTON, N.C. (WITN) – The Beaufort County Job and Resource Fair opened its doors to about a hundred high school students and the public at the Washington Civic Center.

Students from five different high schools in Beaufort County stepped in with resumes and questions.

Zion Collins goes to Washington High School and is in the JROTC program. Collins says exploring different paths, such as JROTC, helped him learn an important lesson.

“Take chances and try new stuff out in the world. It’ll be cool,” Collins said.

Brad Hufford, the Beaufort County Economic Development Director says the job fair focused on bringing in local employers.

“Not every student after they graduate high school will go right into a college or community college, a lot of them would want to take that high school degree and go to work and there are a lot of jobs that do not require advanced degrees here in Beaufort County and needing students right out of high school,” Hufford explained.

BTW Global is a growing e-commerce company specializing in coiling spiral books. Jon Wall, the director of human resources, says they are looking for certain values in their potential employees.

“When I came to the company, I was recruited because of the culture. We want people that are going to work hard, want to do a quality job for our customers but also we want to hire good people,” Wall shared.

Hufford added that even if the employers don’t have immediate openings, a job fair is a good opportunity to get your name out in the community.