JBLM Job Fair Showcases State Employment Opportunities

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, employment Wash. - Staff Sergeant Danika Nolan's date is a couple of weeks away, and she's preparing for the shift at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

As part of a group of about 30 job hunters, she went to a hiring fair Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State career opportunities at JBLM's Hawk Career Center.

"I simply try to benefit from all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center has to provide, just to ensure I'm as prepared as possible," she stated.

The focus of the job fair on state employment, instead of employment in numerous industries, made it various than others on the installation. 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 responded to concerns. Following the panel, employers from state companies were readily available to respond to hiring concerns, 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 VA Apprenticeship Program; Department of Children, Youth and Families; Department of Social and Health Services, Community Services Division; and employment Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A quarterly event, the job fair is "a low-stress, low-pressure opportunity to learn what sort of chances exist here outdoors your back door," said Christopher Gentz, transition services supervisor for the Directorate of Human Resources.

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

To prepare for them, "dress for success," bring your resume and practice your elevator pitch, Gentz said.

An elevator pitch is a "fast intro of yourself, who you are and what you're seeking to do," Handoe said, mentioning that the ability is taught as part of the TAP.

One of the task fair's goals was to assist people learn more about career chances and how their abilities align with them, Gentz stated.

Education is a key advantage of going to a task fair, as about 40% of those who start with the TAP learn they're "not prepared to make that dive yet," or employment they have actually seen the readily available chances and decide to continue serving, Gentz stated.

"We see that basically every year," he said. "We want them to make an educated choice about their career."

Part of the education piece is learning more about financial resources, consisting of credit reports, employment budgets and "constructing a savings so you have something to deal 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 go out?"

Job fairs likewise exist to help people with networking, seeing what people in the outdoors world are trying to find - including accreditations, accreditations and education - and discovering their employing practices, Handoe said.

"You should be doing prep work now for what it is you desire to do later on down the road," he said.

That prep work consists of getting ready for job fairs.

"You need to enter into a hiring reasonable with a plan of what you're going to do and not just meander around," Handoe stated.

He discussed that attendees need to pinpoint the companies they desire to talk with and employment research study them ahead of time, to enable informed discussions with recruiters.

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