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 job candidates, she participated in a working with reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State career chances at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

“I just try to benefit from all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center needs to offer, just to make sure I’m as prepared as possible,” she said.

The focus of the job fair on state employment, instead of work in different markets, 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 addressed concerns. Following the panel, recruiters from state firms were readily available to respond to hiring concerns, stated Frank Handoe, deputy shift services supervisor 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 event, the task fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure chance to discover what sort of chances exist here outside your back entrance,” stated Christopher Gentz, shift services manager 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, “gown for success,” bring your resume and employment practice your elevator pitch, Gentz said.

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

One of the task fair’s objectives was to assist people find out about career opportunities and how their abilities line up with them, Gentz said.

Education is a crucial benefit of going to 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 seen the offered opportunities and choose to continue serving, .

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

Part of the education piece is finding out about finances, consisting of credit reports, spending plans and “developing a savings 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 one day,” he said, “but while you’re in, are you doing everything you can to prepare to go out?”

Job fairs also exist to help people with networking, seeing what individuals in the outside world are searching for – including accreditations, accreditations and schooling – and finding out about their hiring practices, Handoe said.

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

That prep work includes getting ready for job fairs.

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

He discussed that guests should determine the business they want to talk to and research study them ahead of time, to permit informed conversations with employers.

Nolan enjoyed the Jan. 30 job reasonable and spoke with some employers. A senior details innovation expert with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has actually discovered she desires to serve those who serve in her upcoming civilian function.