JBLM Job Fair Showcases State Employment Opportunities

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – Staff Sergeant Danika Nolan’s military exit date is a few weeks away, employment and she’s getting ready for the shift at Joint Base .

As part of a group of about 30 job hunters, she went to a hiring reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State career opportunities at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

“I just try to make the most of all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center needs to use, just to make certain I’m as prepared as possible,” she said.

The focus of the task fair on state employment, rather than employment in numerous industries, made it various than others on the setup. Sponsored by the Veterans Employee Resource Group, WorkSource and the TAP, it started with a panel of veterans from state companies, who shared their experiences and responded to 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 Washington State’s Department of Veterans Affairs and VA Apprenticeship Program; Department of Children, Youth and Families; Department of Social and employment Health Services, Community Services Division; and Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A quarterly event, the task fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure opportunity to discover out what kind of opportunities exist here outside your back door,” said Christopher Gentz, shift services supervisor for the Directorate of Human Resources.

Additional task fairs like the Jan. 30 event will be held May 8, July 10 and Sept. 11.

To get ready for them, “gown for success,” bring your resume and employment practice your elevator pitch, Gentz stated.

An elevator pitch is a “fast introduction of yourself, who you are and what you’re wanting to do,” Handoe said, discussing that the skill is taught as part of the TAP.

Among the task fair’s objectives was to help individuals find out about career opportunities and how their skills line up with them, Gentz stated.

Education is an essential advantage of attending a job fair, as about 40% of those who begin with the TAP learn they’re “not prepared to make that dive yet,” or they have actually seen the available chances and choose to continue serving, Gentz stated.

“We see that essentially every year,” he stated. “We want them to make an educated choice about their career.”

Part of the education piece is finding out about finances, employment consisting of credit reports, budgets and “developing a nest egg so you have something to work with when it’s time to go out,” Handoe said.

“Everybody’s going to get out of the Army someday,” he said, “however while you’re in, are you doing everything you can to prepare to go out?”

Job fairs also exist to help individuals with networking, seeing what people in the outdoors world are looking for – including accreditations, accreditations and employment schooling – and discovering their employing practices, Handoe stated.

“You ought to be doing prep work now for what it is you wish to do in the future down the road,” he stated.

That prep work includes preparing for task fairs.

“You require to enter into a hiring fair with a plan of what you’re going to do and not simply meander around,” Handoe said.

He explained that guests ought to pinpoint the companies they wish to speak to and research them ahead of time, to permit for informed conversations with employers.

Nolan enjoyed the Jan. 30 job reasonable and talked with some recruiters. A senior infotech specialist with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has actually found she wants to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian role.