One came with plans to be a police officer, but first needed a pinch of advice. Another wore a suit and a bow tie, looking for an opportunity to shadow a doctor. Most were simply seeking summer jobs.

In all, more than 800 job seekers from nine area schools and the community attended the third annual Clatsop County Career and Job Fair on Wednesday, where they met with more than 70 local employers at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.

The fair was open to area schools first, adults in the afternoon.

Some students were ambivalent about future plans, others wanted summer work and a few were keen on a career. The Warrenton junior in the suit and black bow tie wasn’t hesitant when asked his ambitions.

“I would like to become an ER doctor,” Robert Barber said. “I’ve been looking for a job shadow with one of the hospitals. I spoke to both Columbia Memorial Hospital and Providence Seaside.”

Barber wasn’t the only one considering a career in health care. Sergei Davis, a senior at Astoria High School, met with Lektro aircraft tug company and Hampton Lumber, before finding his way to Paul Mitchell, director of marketing at Columbia Memorial. Davis listened as Mitchell spoke about the health care profession, an interest that’s grown for Davis while doing a senior project with mentor Chad Rankin, a certified athletic trainer at the hospital.

Henry Meiners, another senior at Astoria High School, has his sights set on a different career.

“I’m interested in becoming a police officer here,” Meiners said.

“I was asking some of the (police) departments here what college they went to and if they think it’s beneficial for me to go and get a degree. They were very helpful,” he said. Meiners plans to study two years at Clatsop Community College.

Not everyone was certain what they want to do, but most left with a better idea.

“I’m keeping my options open, just seeing what there is,” Andrew Conrad, an Astoria High School junior, said. But after a moment, Conrad conceded that he thought the police departments were “really interesting.”

One seafood processor was looking to catch a few committed employees after having issues with high turnover.

“We hire up to 200 employees at a time to process sardines, whiting, shrimp and squid — depending on the season,” Da Yang Seafood human resources manager Adriana Ortega said. The bulge in seasonal employment is needed not only to match increased catch coming in, but also because of high turnover.

“The biggest challenge is getting people to stay for the whole season,” Ortega said. “Sometimes the season drops a little bit, so they think it’s over and start to look for other jobs — it’s up and down all the time.”

Oregon State University forestry and natural resources extension agent Valerie Grant greeted several students at the first booth upon entering the fair. Grant was working alongside other forest and wood product industries to connect students to potential careers in the field.

“Lots of kids like to be outside and a lot of these jobs are working in the field,” Grant said.

Billie Jo Edmonds, general manager for Mo’s Restaurant in Cannon Beach, was busy recruiting summer staff for their new restaurant location in Astoria.

Edmonds praised the exposure the career fair brings for potential hires.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Edmonds said. “We love the career fair.”

Employment opportunities in Clatsop County are changing and diversifying, according to organizer Kevin Leahy, director of Clatsop Economic Development Resources.

“I think it’s evolving in the sense that we’ve always had our strong natural resource industries, which continue to be very strong,” Leahy said.

“Sometimes people think that the forest products, logging and fishing are dead, but it’s still very vibrant in Clatsop County — about half of our income and employment,” he said.

Leahy sees health care and craft beer among the new, burgeoning industries.

“There’s diversification happening in our region that we didn’t used to have,” he said.

Leahy believes the event went “very well” overall.

“This is our third year of doing this and each year it gets better,” he said. More than 70 employers participated in what has become and increasingly tight Clatsop County labor market.

“It’s difficult for employers to find good help,” Leahy said. “We hope this is an opportunity for employers, students and general job seekers.”