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 the shift at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

As part of a group of about 30 job hunters, she went to an employing fair Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State profession chances at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

“I just attempt to make the most of all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center has to provide, simply to make certain 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 companies, who shared their experiences and responded to concerns. Following the panel, recruiters from state agencies were available to answer working with concerns, stated Frank Handoe, deputy transition services manager 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 Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A quarterly occasion, the job fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure opportunity to discover out what type of opportunities exist here outdoors your back entrance,” stated Christopher Gentz, shift services supervisor 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 referall.us them, “gown for success,” bring your resume and practice your pitch, Gentz said.

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

Among the task fair’s goals was to assist individuals discover profession chances and how their skills align with them, Gentz said.

Education is a crucial advantage of participating in a job reasonable, as about 40% of those who start with the TAP discover they’re “not prepared to make that jump yet,” or they have seen the available chances and decide to continue serving, Gentz stated.

“We see that basically every year,” he stated. “We desire them to make an educated decision about their career.”

Part of the education piece is discovering finances, consisting of credit reports, spending plans and “constructing 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 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 individuals with networking, seeing what people in the outside world are searching for somalibidders.com – consisting of accreditations, accreditations and schooling – and discovering about their hiring 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 stated.

That preparation work consists of getting ready for task fairs.

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

He described that attendees need to identify the companies they want to talk with and research study them ahead of time, to enable informed conversations with employers.

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