More than 2,200 resumes and nearly 7,800 web hits leads to 100 people vying for 50 purchasing positions. One of the chosen few is Brainerd High School graduate Russell Talley. "To have an opportunity like this. To have a reputable company move into my hometown- it's an honor," said Talley Wednesday. His invitation was for one o'clock this afternoon. "I had my first round of interviews actually and that went well and I've been asked to come back for a second interview." That second interview was at three o'clock. Volkswagen's General Manager of Human Resources David Bruce says he hopes to offer jobs to the chosen 50 interviewees at the beginning of next week. Then they need to be ready to hit the ground running. "The folks hired can be starting as soon as September 15th," Bruce said. Applicants who made the cut today all have experience in purchasing for large corporations. "The sooner we can get people on the ground, the better," adds Bruce. While they had resumes sent in from all over the country, 90% of everyone interviewed Wednesday are from a 100 mile radius of Chattanooga. J.Ed Marsten of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce expected this. "That's why we worked so hard to win this company. We knew it would mean jobs for Hamilton County residents and for people in our region and that's exactly what we were after," he said. Chattanooga State wants to make sure our region's workforce is ready by creating curriculum geared toward future applicants. The school's Vice President of Economic and Community Development Jeff Olingy said, "I suspect we will have the opportunity to sit down with VW people sometime between now and then end of the year and begin that conversation." "We probably intend to do a second wave of hiring with these purchasing professionals by December of January as well," adds Bruce. Volkswagen plans on holding an open house career fair at the end of September.
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