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 preparing for the transition at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

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

“I just try to make the most of all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center has to offer, just to make sure I’m as prepared as possible,” she stated.

The focus of the job fair on state employment, instead of 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 agencies, who shared their experiences and responded to questions. Following the panel, employers from state companies were available to answer working with concerns, said Frank Handoe, deputy transition services supervisor for the TAP.

Informational tables represented companies including VERG, anotech.com WorkSource and Washington State’s Department of Veterans Affairs and VA Apprenticeship Program; Department of Children, cn.wejob.info 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, studentvolunteers.us shift services manager for the Directorate of Human Resources.

Additional job fairs like the Jan. 30 event will be held May 8, https://teachersconsultancy.com/employer/147873/jobfinders July 10 and Sept. 11.

To get ready for them, “dress for success,” bring your resume and 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 stated, mentioning that the ability is taught as part of the TAP.

One of the task fair’s objectives was to assist individuals find out about career chances and how their skills line up with them, Gentz stated.

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

“We see that basically every year,” he stated. “We want them to make an informed decision about their profession.”

Part of the education piece is learning about financial resources, consisting of credit reports, https://studentvolunteers.us/ 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 someday,” he stated, “however while you remain in, are you doing everything you can to prepare to get out?”

Job fairs likewise exist to assist individuals with networking, seeing what individuals in the outside world are trying to find – consisting of accreditations, accreditations and schooling – and discovering about their hiring practices, Handoe stated.

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

That prep work includes preparing for job fairs.

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

He discussed that participants must the business they desire to speak with and research them ahead of time, to allow for informed conversations with recruiters.

Nolan took pleasure in the Jan. 30 job fair and spoke to some recruiters. A senior information technology professional with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has discovered she wants to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian function.