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 shift at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

As part of a group of about 30 task candidates, she went to a working with reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State profession opportunities 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 offer, simply to ensure I'm as prepared as possible," she said.

The focus of the job fair on state employment, instead of employment in various markets, made it various than others on the setup. Sponsored by the Veterans Employee Resource Group, WorkSource and the TAP, it started with a panel of veterans from state agencies, who shared their experiences and addressed questions. Following the panel, employers from state agencies were readily available to answer working with questions, said 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, [empty] Community Services Division; and opad.biz Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A quarterly event, the job fair is "a low-stress, low-pressure chance to find out what kind of opportunities exist here outdoors your back entrance," stated Christopher Gentz, shift services supervisor for the Directorate of Human Resources.

Additional job fairs like the Jan. 30 occasion will be held May 8, July 10 and Sept. 11.

To get ready for them, "gown for success," bring your resume and practice your elevator pitch, [empty] Gentz said.

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

Among the task fair's objectives was to help people discover career opportunities and how their abilities align with them, Gentz said.

Education is a crucial advantage of attending a job fair, 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 opportunities and jobvn24.com choose to continue serving, Gentz stated.

"We see that basically every year," he stated. "We want them to make an informed choice about their profession."

Part of the education piece is discovering financial resources, including credit reports, budget plans and "building a savings 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 get out?"

Job fairs also exist to assist people with networking, seeing what people in the outdoors world are trying to find - consisting of accreditations, accreditations and education - and discovering their working with practices, Handoe said.

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

That prep work includes getting ready for task fairs.

"You need to enter into an employing fair with a strategy of what you're going to do and not just meander around," Handoe stated.

He described that participants ought to identify the companies they wish to speak to and research them ahead of time, https://studentvolunteers.us/ to enable for informed conversations with recruiters.

Nolan enjoyed the Jan. 30 job reasonable and spoke to some recruiters. A senior infotech professional with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has actually discovered she wants to serve those who serve in her upcoming civilian role.