NEWARK, NJ — In Newark, the news of jobs to be won can spread like wildfire.

Last week, more than 500 job seekers flocked to a job fair for positions at St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark, organizers stated. The job fair – hosted at Essex County College in partnership with the hospital - was open to both students of Essex County College majoring in health-related fields and residents of the community interested in a career in the healthcare profession. Saint Michael's had announced openings in nursing, rehabilitation services, finance, information technology, engineering, clinical laboratory, respiratory care, security and support services.

The hospital, which is licensed for 358 beds, employs more than 1,250, nearly a third of whom live in Newark, administrators say. "Saint Michael's is growing and as we add more services to the hospital, we need more staff," said John Regina, director of Human Resources at Saint Michael's. "Despite all the technological advances, hospitals are labor intensive. It takes dedicated, compassionate and competent healthcare workers to deliver the highest quality patient care services."

While 500 job seekers is an impressive total, the real pool of people seeking work was probably much higher. After receiving an overwhelming response to their original job fair post, college administrators announced that the fair had been filled to capacity and was no longer accepting applicants. A Patch article in advance of the job fair garnered 4,500 Facebook likes.

See related article: UPDATE: St. Michael's Medical Center Job Fair Reaches Capacity Due To 'Huge Demand' Other recent job fairs in Newark have drawn similarly large responses from the local community. When the Council for Airport Opportunity hosted a job fair at the Newark Public Library for positions at Newark Liberty Airport, the event drew hundreds of job seekers and a huge social media response.

See related article: Newark Airport Job Openings: Job Fair Set For Library Newark resident Myrlene Mondelus said her experience as a breast cancer patient at Saint Michael's in December 2016 made her want her want to work at the hospital.

Mondelus, who is applying to Essex County College for its nursing program, said she is seeking a job in housekeeping at the hospital, according to hospital officials. "From the moment I walked through the door to the moment I left, everyone was kind and open minded," Mondelus said. "They made it so easy when I was scared. That's why I would love more than anything to be a part of it."