FLOWERY BRANCH — An employment expo Tuesday at Blackshear Place Baptist Church will feature information on job networking and writing résumés, hopefully opening doors to those in the community who are looking for work.

Northeast Georgia Resource Expo will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday at the church at 3428 Atlanta Highway in Flowery Branch. Everyone in the community is invited, and there is no charge.

The conference is presented by the church in partnership with the Georgia Department of Labor and the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce. Gainesville State College, Lanier Technical College and other businesses will also be available offering information on new vocations.

Planning for the employment conference began in early April.

"We met with another church in Cartersville that hosted their own conference, and we were able to get ideas from them," said the Rev. Jason Nave, minister of pastoral care and missions. "From that, we met with the Department of Labor and the chamber of commerce and this evolved into what we are doing now."

The idea to host the conference came from pastor Jeff Crook.

"God placed this on my heart as I was seeing our own church family and those in our region losing their jobs," said Crook. "I said to our staff we must offer a solution to help and that’s what we have done."

Grady Sutton, who serves as the minister of church programming, said he has kept in mind that some who are looking for jobs are not used to finding themselves in that situation.

"They are not used to writing résumés, going on interviews and presenting themselves to potential employers," said Sutton. "This resource expo will allow them an opportunity to brush up on those skills as they seek employment."

There will be employers looking to fill jobs at the conference, such as Lake Lanier Islands. There will also be three seminars, and each will be offered twice.

The first seminar, "Sharpening Your Résumé Writing," will help people create and improve their résumé. It will be offered at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Kidz Theater.

"Improving Your Networking Abilities" will help people learn how to network with different companies. It will be offered at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Middle School Worship room.

"Applications Done Perfect" will assist people with filling out applications and it will be offered at 12 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Kidz Theater.

"We believe that the conference is going to help people bring some new skills to the table, such being able to apply for a job better and network better," said Nave. "We will have vendors at the conference and the jobs offered may not be what people were looking for, but it will get them to the next step of their employment career."

Blackshear Place Baptist Church is also using the employment conference to introduce people to the 12-week Career Solutions program that they will be offering starting on June 29.

This program is offered to anyone in the community who is seeking employment. The cost is $40 per person, and there will be 12 different classes offered, each helping prepare people to stand out to future employers.

"Networking, résumé-writing skills and interview skills are essential for connecting employees with employers," said Sutton. "The better one does at selling themselves or presenting themselves, the better their chances for landing a job in today’s marketplace. We are all in public relations when it comes to getting a job."