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 preparing for the transition at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

As part of a group of about 30 task applicants, she participated in a hiring reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State profession opportunities at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

“I simply attempt to make the most of all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center has to use, just to ensure I’m as prepared as possible,” she said.

The focus of the job fair on state employment, rather than employment in different markets, made it different than others on the installation. Sponsored by the Veterans Employee Resource Group, indianpharmajobs.in WorkSource and the TAP, it began with a panel of veterans from state companies, who shared their experiences and addressed concerns. Following the panel, recruiters from state firms were available to answer employing concerns, said Frank Handoe, deputy transition services 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, jobteck.com Community Services Division; and Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A quarterly event, the job fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure chance to learn what type of chances exist here outdoors your back door,” 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 24-Hour Loan pitch, Gentz stated.

An elevator pitch is a “fast intro of yourself, who you are and what you’re looking to do,” Handoe said, mentioning that the skill is taught as part of the TAP.

Among the job fair’s objectives was to help individuals find out about career chances and how their abilities align with them, Gentz said.

Education is an essential benefit of participating in a task fair, as about 40% of those who begin with the TAP discover they’re “not prepared to make that dive yet,” or they have actually seen the readily available opportunities and decide to continue serving, Gentz said.

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

Part of the education piece is finding out about finances, including credit reports, 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 at some point,” he stated, “but while you remain in, are you doing everything you can to prepare to get out?”

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

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

That preparation work consists of getting ready for job fairs.

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

He discussed that attendees ought to pinpoint the business they wish to speak with and research study them ahead of time, to permit for informed conversations with employers.

Nolan delighted in the Jan. 30 job reasonable and spoke to some employers. A senior Small Amount Loan information technology expert with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has found she desires to serve those who serve in her upcoming civilian function.