VALLEY GROUP LOOKS TO JUMP-START CAREERS\In twist, employers get job fair invite from unemployed.

Byline: Dawn Yoshitake Daily News Staff Writer

After scanning the classified ads in a fruitless job search for four months, Ray Abdun-Nur decided it was time to turn the tables.

So the Camarillo accounts payable professional attended a job fair Wednesday at the Airtel Plaza Hotel in Van Nuys where the unemployed invited 150 employers, ranging from Western Data Systems in Calabasas to Microcosm Inc. of Torrance to give them a chance.

"When you go to a traditional job fair, you're begging to see them," Abdun-Nur said. "Whereas this way, we're not begging."

It was the first reverse job fair held by the North Hollywood chapter of Experience Unlimited, a network of unemployed people sponsored by the Employment Development Department. In all, six Experience Unlimited chapters participated.

Employers scanned tables lined with resume packets while more than 200 job candidates waited in an adjoining room to prove they were the best people for the job.

"I interviewed with three companies and, basically, I feel this is the initial screening interview," said Annette Woodbury of Moorpark, who sat by the resume table and watched potential employers sort through her packets of resumes. "I think this is a good idea. I don't know if I'll necessarily get a job, but you never know."

Employers lauded the fair as a quick way to scoop up potential candidates worth interviewing.

"It's a lot more effective at getting at a candidate we want to talk to," said Jeff Cloots, software development manager for the space-mission engineering firm Microcosm.

He added it also yields more qualified candidates than placing a help wanted ad, posting the position on the Internet or contacting employment agencies, including the EDD.

"It's hard to explain your job requirements to someone else if they're not from a technical field," said Cloots, who interviewed six people about computer programming positions at the fair.

But, like other job recruiters, Cloots said the top tool in filling jobs is through personal referrals by employees.

Linda McKee, human resources director for Prudential Preferred in Woodland Hills, said the reverse job fair, however, has one drawback.

"The people here are unemployed and need a salary right away, while most people who attend regular job fairs are employed and looking for something else," said McKee, who said she needs to find applicants who can afford to wait for their first sales commission check.

Christopher Rollinger, a Newbury Park computer programmer, snared a few job interviews during the day. But Rollinger, who has been unemployed for six months, said he didn't believe his chances of landing a job through the fair were any better than attending other job fairs, responding to want ads or by networking.

"The most I can hope for is that they'll contact me faster because they can meet with me automatically while I'm here," he said.

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Photo (1--Color) Microcosm representative Jeff L. Cloots examines resumes at a job fair held Wednesday. Gus Ruelas/Daily News (2--Color) Christopher Rollinger, left, interviews with James Bunker, a product development manager at Western Data Systems.