Laura Glesby Photo
Applicants fill out forms in the basement of the main library branch.
Selena Martinez — Amazon’s “number one customer” — is ready not just to receive packages at her door, but help send them to other doors.
Martinez attended a job fair at the Ives Main Branch of the New Haven Public Library on Wednesday afternoon, where Amazon screened applicants for positions at its soon-to-open 1.2 million square-foot North Haven warehouse.
Martinez and hundreds of other applicants trickled in by appointment throughout the day. They filled out forms for a background check, sat for a badge ID photo, took an oral drug test, and watched a video presentation about the warehouse jobs.
The job entails locating, packaging, and transporting customers’ orders. A video shown to applicants said that the jobs would involve “standing in one place while bending, lifting, and twisting.”
The jobs will pay between $15 and $18.50 an hour, depending on the shift. The company plans to hire between 1,800 and 3,000 residents in towns nearby the fulfillment center.
Martinez said she’s interested in working for Amazon partly because of the benefits offered. Amazon has promised college tuition assistance and healthcare for the fulfillment center workers.
“I’m tired of working minimum wage jobs,” Martinez said. She has previously worked in the fast food industry.
An applicant takes a badge ID photo.
At noon, Mayor Toni Harp stopped by the job fair to share a few remarks with the applicants.
“I bet that each one of us could talk about how Amazon has impacted our lives and brought something that we love and that we really needed to our doorstep,” she said. “And now you’re gonna be a part of that, you’re gonna be hopefully impacting the lives of so many people who depend upon the services that Amazon brings.”
Harp said that she and Amazon representatives have been working with CT Transit to establish a bus line that will go directly to the fulfillment center in North Haven. The bus will have between one and five stops in New Haven, Harp said.
“It’s a good-paying job,” she said, noting the benefits offered. “It’s the kind of job that can change families’ lives.”
Carlos McKill.
According to Charles, an applicant who asked to be identified only by his first name, the application did not require an interview. The online application required him to play a sorting game in which he arranged virtual boxes by color.
Carlos McKill had seen signs for the job fair outside the library, and decided to walk in.
“It’d be nice to work for Jeff Bezos,” he said, joking that maybe Bezos could share some of the wealth with him. Bezos is estimated to be the richest person in the world, owning a stake in Amazon worth about $108 billion.
Bliss Collins.
Bliss Collins said she used to work as a floral designer, but business had been tough, and she hasn’t been working for the past year. “I just want to work and keep busy,” she said.
She had heard about the job opportunities by word of mouth. “Everybody’s been talking about it,” she said.
Signs outside the basement entrance to the library.