The U.S.'s largest online job site and the largest private university in North America are teaming up to bring Charlotte job seekers a career fair that goes above and beyond just offering job opportunities. CareerBuilder and the University of Phoenix are putting Charlotte job seekers in touch with professional resume writers, image consultants and networking experts to help them retool their job-hunting approach and make themselves more marketable to employers.

In addition to job opportunities and career retooling sessions, best-selling author, educator and businessman Stedman Graham will offer a keynote address to attendees. Graham will share how his systematic approach to success, based on advancing life goals and aspirations, can help people become leaders of their own lives. Graham will also attend a special breakfast with University of Phoenix alumni and students and will hold a question and answer session after his address.

The "Build Your Career" event in Charlotte is taking place tomorrow at the Westin Charlotte, 601 S. College St, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. With the unemployment rate in North Carolina currently reported at 10.8 percent, there is an existing need for out-of-work professionals to hone their skills in order to find a new job in the increasingly competitive job market.

"This is one of the toughest job markets in the nation's history," said Randy White, General Manager of CareerBuilder Career Fairs. "A key way to be successful in your job search is to repackage your skills and experience for a variety of employers, so you can maximize your visibility. Our fair will have experts on hand that can help job seekers build a stronger resume, prepare for interviews, expand their networks and pursue further education to open the door to new opportunities."

Leading employers such as Bank of America, TIAA-CREF, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, Robert Half and Hertz will be on site in Charlotte to recruit candidates for job openings.

"We are under critical economic times and University of Phoenix is committed to helping North Carolinians find new career opportunities and develop new skills for job security," said Shannon Eckard, campus director of University of Phoenix's Charlotte campus. "Our goal is to help local residents find the opportunities that will allow them to become business leaders and make greater contributions to the growth and development of the Charlotte area."

While attendees make the rounds to meet with recruiters, they can also visit career makeover stations for one-on-one advice:

Regroup - Creating an Image and Developing Presence: Learn the keys to help you make an impactful first and lasting impression. Ensure that the image you convey during your interview not only reflects your authentic self but also is consistent with the "image" you convey through your resume.

Refresh - Microsoft Office Tech Tips: Get a refresher on the latest version of Microsoft Office, learn how to build an impactful resume in Word, use PowerPoint to present yourself, take away tips for Excel and bounce questions off a skilled software trainer.

Rebuild - Interview and Resume skills: Find out how to create a resume that best represents who you are, create different versions of your resume to give you flexibility to respond to different jobs in the shifting marketplace, plus the dos and don'ts of social media as it relates to your resume.

The Charlotte "Build Your Career" Fair is part of a series of career retooling events being hosted by CareerBuilder and the University of Phoenix featuring Stedman Graham that will extend through the fall. The next career event will take place in Chicago on Tuesday, December 8.

About CareerBuilder ®

CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset - their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 23 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 32 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world's top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to HR consulting. More than 9,000 websites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder's proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. , Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company and Microsoft Corp. , CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix is constantly innovating to help students balance education and life in a rapidly changing world. Through flexible schedules, challenging courses and interactive learning, students achieve personal and career aspirations without putting their lives on hold. During the quarter ending May 31, 2009, 420,700 students were enrolled at University of Phoenix, the largest private university in North America. University of Phoenix serves a diverse student population, offering associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs from campuses and learning centers across the U.S. as well as online throughout the world.

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SOURCE: CareerBuilder; University of Phoenix