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 applicants, she went to an employing fair Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State career chances at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.
“I just try to take benefit of all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center needs to provide, just to ensure I’m as prepared as possible,” she stated.
The focus of the job fair on state work, instead of employment in various markets, 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 agencies, who shared their and responded to concerns. Following the panel, recruiters from state companies were offered to respond to working with concerns, said Frank Handoe, deputy shift services supervisor for the TAP.
Informational tables represented companies including 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 what sort of opportunities exist here outdoors your back door,” stated Christopher Gentz, shift services manager for the Directorate of Human Resources.
Additional task fairs like the Jan. 30 occasion will be held May 8, jobvn24.com July 10 and Sept. 11.
To get ready for them, “gown for success,” bring your resume and practice your elevator pitch, Gentz stated.
An elevator pitch is a “quick intro of yourself, who you are and what you’re seeking to do,” Handoe said, teachersconsultancy.com mentioning that the skill is taught as part of the TAP.
Among the job fair’s objectives was to help people learn more about career opportunities and thematragroup.in how their skills line up with them, Gentz said.
Education is a key benefit of attending a task fair, as about 40% of those who begin with the TAP discover they’re “not ready to make that dive yet,” or they have seen the offered opportunities and choose to continue serving, Gentz said.
“We see that generally every year,” he stated. “We desire them to make an educated choice about their profession.”
Part of the education piece is learning more about finances, including credit reports, budgets and “constructing a nest egg 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 at some point,” he said, “but while you remain in, are you doing everything you can to prepare to go out?”
Job fairs likewise exist to assist people with networking, seeing what people in the outdoors world are trying to find – including accreditations, accreditations and galmudugjobs.com schooling – and learning more about their hiring practices, Handoe said.
“You ought to be doing prep work now for what it is you want to do in the future down the roadway,” he stated.
That prep work includes preparing for task fairs.
“You need to go into a hiring fair with a plan of what you’re going to do and not simply meander around,” Handoe said.
He discussed that participants ought to pinpoint the business they wish to talk to and research them ahead of time, to permit for educated conversations with employers.
Nolan enjoyed the Jan. 30 task reasonable and talked to some employers. A senior information innovation expert with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has actually discovered she wishes to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian role.
