Lindsay Wineinger, of Lawrence, center, talks about employment with Lawrence Memorial Hospital Human Resources Officer Lisa Kutait at the first-ever Community Career Connection, at Pinnacle Career Institute, 1601 W. 23rd St. in this June 2009 file photo.

Scott Criqui recently thumbed through 206 applications for a part-time payroll clerk position, so perhaps it’s no surprise he’s looking forward to the upcoming Community Career Connection.

Personal contact with job candidates can make all the difference.

“I always tell people: I am more likely to hire you if I have a face to go with the name,” said Criqui, human resource manager for Trinity In-Home Care in Lawrence. “Our society has moved to an online-application base, but I don’t know you. I get a ton of applications. It’s hard to differentiate them all.

“But if I know you, you’re personal, you can talk with me, you know what you’re doing — that lets me know that you’re going to do the same with our clients.”

The value of personal contact and effective networking and communication will be among the topics covered by experts and embraced by employers during the Community Career Connection, a combination workshop and career fair for job seekers.

The event is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Pinnacle Career Institute, 1601 W. 23rd St., Suite 200.

The event follows up on an earlier edition in June, which drew 300 people who polished their résumés, refined their interviewing skills, picked up job-search tips and made contacts with dozens of potential employers.

Criqui even hired a woman who had been among the 75 participants who had stopped by his booth last time. Now the company’s new direct-support professional is working 38 hours a week ministering to the needs of some of Trinity’s 500 clients, who may need help preparing food or tidying up an apartment or keeping up with basic exercises following an injury.

The upcoming career fair could help fill the next job opening on Trinity’s payroll, now 200 strong.

“There’s a lot of qualified candidates out there right now,” Criqui said.

Community Career Connection also will include focused advice, instruction and education, said Michael Machell, a lead organizer for the event. Many of the 300 attendees from the last event filled out feedback cards, which helped guide inclusion of seminars this time around.

• “Hear from the Experts,” explaining what they look for during job interviews.

• “Your Personal Life — Not as Personal as You May Think,” discussing pitfalls to avoid involving drug screens, credit checks and even clicks on Facebook and other Internet sites.

• “Successful Salary Strategies,” detailing how to seek the highest salary while not sacrificing a job offer.

Still available will be one-on-one mock interviews with human-resource professionals, all volunteering their time to help job-seekers improve their chances of finding — and securing — a desired job.

“There are always jobs, no matter how bad the economy is,” said Machell, a Lawrence resident who works as director of human resources at Prescription Solutions in Overland Park. “There is always somebody out there hiring. You just need to dig beneath the surface and find it.”

Sponsors for the event are Adecco, Career Advantage, Douglas County Bank, the Jayhawk Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management, Flory Design, Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, Lee Hecht Harrison, Martin-Smith Personnel Services, Pinnacle Career Institute, Prescription Solutions and The World Company.