Students attending Monday's job fair, hosted by Publix, were able to apply to nearby stores, including the upcoming USF location, and have on-the-spot interviews. ORACLE PHOTO/LEDA ALVIM 

With its grand opening little more than a month away, the new on-campus Publix will conclude its job fair Tuesday. Publix expects to attract more than 400 students and community members to apply at the USF store, which is scheduled to open Dec. 3.

The first part of the job fair took place Monday and will continue Tuesday in Room 2708 at the Marshall Student Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The company will have computers available to fill out online applications and will conduct on-the-spot interviews.

LaTarsha Melvin, a retail staffing specialist at Publix, said that 160 positions will be available during the job fair. In addition to the USF store, applicants will have the option to apply to 10 different locations in the area.

Each applicant first applies to the position desired and then has an interview on the same day at the career fair. The store manager will then decide whether the applicant gets hired. If hired, the individual must go through a drug-screening test.

According to Melvin, all the positions available are highly competitive and, in order to excel during the whole process, some of the attributes that each applicant should demonstrate are strong communication skills, dependability, availability and initiative.

On Tuesday, applications will be open to the public. Monday's fair was strictly for USF students.  

Hourly wages depend on the experience of each applicant and the position for which they are hired. Minimum wage for Publix, if a person is inexperienced or has never had a job before, is $9 per hour. The number of hours per week will depend on the position as well the employee’s availability.

In order to be eligible to work for Publix, applicants must have a valid Social Security card and be allowed to work legally in the U.S.

According to Melvin, to have a successful interview, applicants must show customer service skills, have a clear and organized resume, and dress professionally.

“Our expectations are that they come and bring good quality customer service to our customers and things they learned inside of the classroom,” Melvin said. “We are looking for people who want to continue to grow with our growing company.”