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 getting ready for the transition at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

As part of a group of about 30 task applicants, she attended a hiring reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State profession opportunities at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

“I just try to take advantage of all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center needs to provide, just to ensure I’m as prepared as possible,” she said.

The focus of the job fair on state employment, rather than employment in various industries, made it various than others on the setup. Sponsored by the Veterans Employee Resource Group, WorkSource and the TAP, it began with a panel of veterans from state agencies, who shared their experiences and responded to concerns. Following the panel, employers from state agencies were available to answer hiring questions, stated Frank Handoe, deputy shift services manager for the TAP.

Informational tables represented companies including VERG, WorkSource and Washington State’s Department of Veterans Affairs and VA Apprenticeship Program; Department of Children, Youth and horizonsmaroc.com Families; Department of Social and Health Services, Community Services Division; and Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A quarterly event, the job fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure opportunity to learn what sort of chances exist here outside your back door,” stated Christopher Gentz, transition 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 [empty] practice your elevator pitch, Gentz said.

An elevator pitch is a “quick intro of yourself, who you are and what you’re aiming to do,” Handoe said, mentioning that the ability is taught as part of the TAP.

One of the task fair’s objectives was to help individuals discover profession opportunities and how their skills align with them, sowjobs.com Gentz stated.

Education is an essential advantage of participating in a task reasonable, as about 40% of those who start with the TAP learn they’re “not ready to make that jump yet,” or they have seen the readily available opportunities and decide to continue serving, Gentz stated.

“We see that generally every year,” he said. “We desire them to make an informed choice about their career.”

Part of the education piece is learning more about finances, consisting of credit reports, and “building a savings so you have something to work with when it’s time to get out,” Handoe said.

“Everybody’s going to get out of the Army at some point,” he stated, “however while you’re in, are you doing everything you can to prepare to get out?”

Job fairs likewise exist to assist people with networking, seeing what individuals in the outside world are searching for – including accreditations, accreditations and schooling – and learning more about their working with practices, Handoe said.

“You ought to be doing prep work now for what it is you want to do later on down the road,” he stated.

That preparation work consists of getting ready for job fairs.

“You need to go into a hiring reasonable with a strategy of what you’re going to do and not simply meander around,” Handoe said.

He explained that participants should determine the companies they wish to talk to and research them ahead of time, to enable for educated conversations with employers.

Nolan took pleasure in the Jan. 30 job reasonable and consulted with some employers. A senior infotech professional with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has discovered she desires to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian role.