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 employment the transition at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

As part of a group of about 30 task candidates, she attended a working with reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State career chances at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

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

The focus of the task fair on state employment, rather than employment in numerous 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 companies, who shared their experiences and answered questions. Following the panel, recruiters from state companies were readily available to address working with concerns, employment said Frank Handoe, deputy transition services supervisor for the TAP.

Informational tables represented organizations including VERG, WorkSource and Washington State’s Department of Veterans Affairs and employment 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 find out what kind of chances exist here outside your back entrance,” stated Christopher Gentz, employment transition services supervisor for the Directorate of Human Resources.

Additional job 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 looking to do,” Handoe said, pointing out that the ability is taught as part of the TAP.

One of the job fair’s objectives was to help individuals learn about career chances and how their abilities line up with them, Gentz said.

Education is a key benefit of attending a job fair, as about 40% of those who begin with the TAP learn they’re “not ready to make that jump yet,” or they have actually seen the readily available chances and decide to continue serving, Gentz said.

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

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

“Everybody’s going to get out of the Army sooner or later,” he stated, “however while you’re 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 looking for – consisting of accreditations, accreditations and schooling – and learning more about their employing practices, Handoe stated.

“You should be doing prep work now for what it is you want to do in the future down the road,” he said.

That prep work consists of preparing for task fairs.

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

He discussed that attendees must determine the business they wish to talk to and research them ahead of time, to enable informed conversations with recruiters.

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