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 transition at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

As part of a group of about 30 task applicants, she went to an employing fair 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 offer, simply to make sure I’m as prepared as possible,” she said.

The focus of the job fair on state employment, instead of employment in different industries, made it various than others on the setup. Sponsored by the Veterans Employee Resource Group, WorkSource and the TAP, [empty] it began with a panel of veterans from state agencies, jobs.salaseloffshore.com who shared their experiences and responded to concerns. Following the panel, employers from state agencies were offered to answer working with concerns, stated Frank Handoe, deputy shift services manager for holisticrecruiters.uk 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 chance to discover out what sort of chances exist here outside your back door,” stated Christopher Gentz, shift services supervisor for the Directorate of Human Resources.

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

To get ready for them, “dress for success,” bring your resume and remotejobscape.com practice your elevator pitch, Gentz stated.

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

One of the job fair’s goals was to assist individuals find out about career opportunities and how their skills align with them, Gentz stated.

Education is an essential benefit of participating in a task reasonable, as about 40% of those who begin with the TAP discover they’re “not prepared to make that dive yet,” or they have actually seen the readily available chances and decide to continue serving, Gentz stated.

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

Part of the education piece is finding out about financial resources, including credit reports, budget plans and “building a savings so you have something to work with when it’s time to get out,” Handoe stated.

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

Job fairs also exist to help individuals with networking, seeing what individuals in the outdoors world are searching for – including certifications, accreditations and schooling – and learning more about their employing practices, Handoe stated.

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

That preparation work consists of preparing for task fairs.

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

He explained that participants must identify the companies they desire to speak with and research study them ahead of time, to permit educated discussions with employers.

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