JBLM Job Fair Showcases State Employment Opportunities
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – Staff Sergeant Danika Nolan’s military exit date is a couple of weeks away, and she’s preparing for the shift at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
As part of a group of about 30 job candidates, she attended a working with fair Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State profession opportunities at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.
“I just try to benefit from all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center has to offer, simply to ensure I’m as prepared as possible,” she said.
The focus of the job fair on state employment, rather than employment in various markets, made it various than others on the installation. Sponsored by the Veterans Employee Resource Group, WorkSource and rotaryjobmarket.com the TAP, it started with a panel of veterans from state companies, who shared their experiences and answered concerns. Following the panel, recruiters from state agencies were offered to respond to hiring questions, said Frank Handoe, deputy shift services manager for the TAP.
Informational tables represented organizations including VERG, WorkSource and la prairie skin caviar liquid lift serum Washington State’s Department of Veterans Affairs and sowjobs.com VA Apprenticeship Program; Department of Children, Youth and Families; Department of Social and Health Services, galmudugjobs.com Community Services Division; and Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
A quarterly occasion, the task fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure opportunity to discover out what kind of chances exist here outside your back door,” stated Christopher Gentz, shift services supervisor for the Directorate of Human Resources.
Additional task fairs like the Jan. 30 occasion will be held May 8, July 10 and Sept. 11.
To get ready for them, “gown for success,” bring your resume and practice your elevator pitch, Gentz said.
An elevator pitch is a “fast introduction of yourself, who you are and what you’re seeking to do,” Handoe said, discussing that the ability is taught as part of the TAP.
One of the job fair’s goals was to assist individuals discover career chances and how their abilities line up with them, Gentz stated.
Education is a crucial advantage of participating in a task fair, as about 40% of those who begin with the TAP learn they’re “not prepared to make that dive yet,” or they have seen the readily available opportunities and choose to continue serving, Gentz said.
“We see that essentially every year,” he stated. “We desire them to make an educated choice about their profession.”
Part of the education piece is finding out about financial resources, consisting of credit reports, akinsemployment.ca spending plans and “developing a nest egg so you have something to deal with when it’s time to get out,” Handoe stated.
“Everybody’s going to get out of the Army someday,” he stated, “but while you’re in, are you doing whatever you can to prepare to get out?”
Job fairs likewise exist to assist individuals with networking, [empty] seeing what people in the outside world are looking for – consisting of accreditations, accreditations and schooling – and about their employing practices, Handoe said.
“You need to be doing prep work now for what it is you wish to do later on down the roadway,” he stated.
That preparation work consists of preparing for task fairs.
“You require to enter into a hiring fair with a strategy of what you’re going to do and not simply meander around,” Handoe stated.
He discussed that participants must pinpoint the business they want to speak to and research them ahead of time, to allow for educated discussions with recruiters.
Nolan took pleasure in the Jan. 30 task fair and talked with some employers. A senior information technology professional with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, Small Amount Loan she has found she wishes to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian function.
