JBLM Job Fair Showcases State Employment Opportunities

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, employment 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 task applicants, she attended a working with reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State profession chances at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

“I simply attempt to benefit from all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center has to offer, simply to make sure I’m as prepared as possible,” she stated.

The focus of the task fair on state employment, instead of employment in various industries, made it various 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 companies, who shared their experiences and responded to concerns. Following the panel, employment recruiters from state firms were available to answer hiring questions, said Frank Handoe, deputy transition services supervisor for the TAP.

Informational tables represented organizations including VERG, employment 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 job fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure opportunity to learn what sort of chances exist here outside your back entrance,” said Christopher Gentz, shift services supervisor employment 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 prepare for employment them, “dress for success,” bring your resume and practice your elevator pitch, Gentz said.

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

Among the job fair’s goals was to assist individuals find out about career chances and how their abilities align with them, Gentz said.

Education is a crucial advantage of going to a task fair, as about 40% of those who start with the TAP discover they’re “not ready to make that jump yet,” or they have seen the readily available opportunities and choose to continue serving, employment Gentz stated.

“We see that basically 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, budgets and “constructing a savings so you have something to deal with when it’s time to get out,” Handoe said.

“Everybody’s going to get out of the Army sooner or later,” he stated, “but while you’re in, are you doing whatever you can to prepare to go out?”

Job fairs likewise exist to assist individuals with networking, employment seeing what people in the outside world are trying to find – consisting of accreditations, accreditations and education – and finding out about their employing practices, Handoe stated.

“You need to be doing prep work now for what it is you wish to do in the future down the roadway,” he said.

That preparation work consists of preparing for job fairs.

“You require to go into an employing fair with a strategy of what you’re going to do and not just meander around,” Handoe said.

He described that guests ought to pinpoint the business they wish to talk to and research study them ahead of time, to enable educated conversations with recruiters.

in the Jan. 30 job fair and talked to some recruiters. A senior info technology specialist with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has discovered she wishes to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian role.