Sunriver Resort is preparing to hire between 400 and 500 seasonal employees, as it does annually for the summer months, but applicants will encounter a new screening process this year.

“With tourism as the single largest industry in the region, the industry as a whole employs more than 7,000 people annually,” said Alana Hughson, president and CEO of Central Oregon Visitors Association.

Sunriver Resort is one of Central Oregon’s major employers, ranking second with 875 employees on Economic Development for Central Oregon’s 2011 list of top private employers.

“Big destination resorts are hiring people during the peak season because their business grows,” Hughson said. “About 75 percent of the visitor volume comes into the region between June and September. That’s why a lot of these businesses are gearing up now.”

Over the years, Sunriver Resort’s employment has accounted for a significant portion of summer leisure and hospitality employment in Deschutes County, said Carolyn Eagan, regional economist for the Oregon Employment Department.

During summer 2011, there were about 10,700 jobs in leisure and hospitality in Deschutes County, Eagan said.

Kelsey Card, human resources generalist for Sunriver Resort, said that within the next two weeks, the resort expects to start hiring employees for positions ranging from housekeepers, cooks and front desk agents to entry-level managers.

In the past, she said the resort has held a one-day open job fair for all sectors of employment.

“It’s a really long process for both our managers and our candidates,” Card said.

While thousands applied for jobs last year and all positions were filled, Card said the resort only hired about 30 of the more than 500 people who attended the job fair last year. The others did not meet qualifications for a variety of reasons.

The experience led the resort to try a new strategy for this season’s hiring.

“We’re hoping this format streamlines the process for both ends,” she said.

The resort plans to screen job applicants ahead of time by having them apply online, she said. If they qualify, candidates will receive an invitation to meet hiring managers face to face.

“Instead of one all-encompassing job fair, our hiring managers will be hosting individual, invitation-only job fairs pertaining to the position that they’re hiring,” she said.

Although Card wouldn’t specify a date for the different job fairs, she said the housekeeping fair will be the first, and is scheduled to occur within the next week or two.

“For the positions that are posted (online), there’s most likely going to be a job fair within two to three weeks after it is posted,” she said.

Card said heavy hiring will continue through May, but there could be a few openings in June.

“Come October and November, we start doing our seasonal layoffs,” she said. “(But) for the immediate future it will help, because we are able to add 400 to 500 jobs.”

Interested in applying?

For information about jobs at Sunriver Resort or to apply, visit www.sunriverresortjobs.com and follow the directions.