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, and she’s getting ready for the shift at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

As part of a group of about 30 job candidates, she participated in a working with fair Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State profession opportunities at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

“I simply attempt to take advantage of all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center has to provide, just to make sure I’m as prepared as possible,” she said.

The focus of the task fair on state work, sowjobs.com rather than employment in numerous industries, [empty] made it different than others on the installation. Sponsored by the Veterans Employee Resource Group, WorkSource and the TAP, it started with a panel of veterans from state agencies, who shared their experiences and addressed concerns. Following the panel, recruiters from state agencies were readily available to respond to working with questions, [empty] stated Frank Handoe, deputy transition services supervisor altaqm.nl for the TAP.

Informational tables represented companies consisting of VERG, WorkSource and Washington State’s Department of Veterans Affairs and VA Apprenticeship Program; Department of Children, Youth and Families; Department of Social and Health Services, 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 sort of opportunities exist here outside your back entrance,” stated Christopher Gentz, manager 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, “dress for success,” bring your resume and practice your elevator pitch, Gentz stated.

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

One of the task fair’s objectives was to assist people discover profession chances and how their skills line up with them, Gentz stated.

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

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

Part of the education piece is finding out about financial resources, including credit reports, budgets and “building a savings so you have something to deal with when it’s time to go out,” Handoe said.

“Everybody’s going to get out of the Army one day,” he said, “but while you remain in, are you doing whatever you can to prepare to get out?”

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

“You should be doing prep work now for what it is you wish to do later on down the road,” he said.

That preparation work includes getting ready for job fairs.

“You need to enter into an employing reasonable with a plan of what you’re going to do and not just meander around,” Handoe stated.

He described that attendees must determine the business they wish to speak with and research study them ahead of time, to permit educated discussions with employers.

Nolan enjoyed the Jan. 30 task reasonable and talked with some employers. A senior infotech professional with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has discovered she wishes to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian role.