Jasmine Turner, of Lawrence, visits with Lisa Kutait, recruitment manager at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, during Tuesday’s Northeast Kansas Career Expo at the Spring Hill Suites.

Job seekers at Tuesday’s Northeast Kansas Career Expo at the Spring Hill Suites shuffled between about a dozen prospective employers including Garmin, the city of Lawrence and Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

The goal for Lawrence resident Gary Singer, who made the rounds handing out resumes, was simple: a permanent, full-time job.

“I’m pretty experienced,” said Singer, who simply gave his age as “over 40.”

Singer currently has a temporary job with an employment service but was hoping to snag a prized 40-hour-a-week job, or more. “I’m used to working a lot of overtime.”

Singer was one of about three dozen attendees during the lunch hour.

Some, such as Lawrence resident Aaron Jones, were finding the job market more difficult than they’d expected. Jones had taken a few years off to take care of her children, but, with a geography degree from Kansas University, she thought things would be a little easier.

“I didn’t believe it,” said Jones of all the talk about a tight hiring market. “Until I started applying.”

Jones made the rounds as well, but was most interested in the GPS-specialty company Garmin. She spent some time chatting with their recruiters, including Glenn Watson.

Watson said Garmin was mostly hiring in the customer service department and said he spoke to a wide range of job seekers Tuesday, from the young to the middle-aged, looking for full-time work or internships.

“All over the spectrum,” he said.

Watson said the mood from job seekers seemed to be changing some, for the good, during the past few months as unemployment numbers tick downward.

“People do seem a little more hopeful,” he said.