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 task seekers, she attended an employing reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State profession chances at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

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

The focus of the task fair on state work, instead of employment in numerous markets, Small Amount Loan made it different than others on the setup. Sponsored by the Veterans Employee Resource Group, WorkSource and horizonsmaroc.com the TAP, it started with a panel of veterans from state agencies, who shared their experiences and addressed questions. Following the panel, recruiters from state firms were offered to answer employing questions, said Frank Handoe, deputy transition services manager for the TAP.

Informational tables represented organizations consisting of 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 opad.biz Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A quarterly event, the is “a low-stress, low-pressure opportunity to discover out what kind of opportunities exist here outside your back entrance,” stated Christopher Gentz, transition services manager for the Directorate of Human Resources.

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

To prepare for them, “gown 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 wanting to do,” Handoe said, discussing that the skill is taught as part of the TAP.

One of the task fair’s goals was to help individuals learn about career chances and how their skills align with them, Gentz said.

Education is a crucial advantage of participating in a job fair, as about 40% of those who begin with the TAP discover they’re “not prepared to make that dive yet,” or they have seen the readily available opportunities and choose to continue serving, Gentz stated.

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

Part of the education piece is learning more about finances, including credit reports, spending plans and “constructing a nest egg 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 at some point,” he said, “but while you remain in, are you doing everything you can to prepare to go out?”

Job fairs also exist to help people with networking, seeing what individuals in the outside world are looking for – including accreditations, accreditations and education – and discovering their working with practices, Handoe stated.

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

That preparation work consists of preparing for task fairs.

“You need to go into a working with reasonable with a plan of what you’re going to do and not just meander around,” Handoe said.

He explained that guests must determine the business they desire to speak with and studentvolunteers.us research study them ahead of time, to enable informed conversations with employers.

Nolan took pleasure in the Jan. 30 job reasonable and talked with some recruiters. A senior details innovation professional with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has found she wishes to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian function.