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 https://studentvolunteers.us/ she’s getting ready for the transition at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

As part of a group of about 30 task seekers, she attended a hiring fair Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State profession chances at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

“I simply attempt to take benefit of all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center has to offer, simply to make sure I’m as prepared as possible,” she said.

The focus of the job fair on state work, instead of employment in different industries, made it different 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 jobteck.com addressed concerns. Following the panel, recruiters from state companies were available to respond to employing questions, [empty] said Frank Handoe, deputy shift services supervisor for the TAP.

Informational tables represented companies including VERG, WorkSource and [empty] Washington State’s Department of Veterans Affairs and VA Apprenticeship Program; Department of Children, Youth and Families; of Social and Health Services, Community Services Division; and celest-interim.fr Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A quarterly occasion, the job fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure opportunity to discover what kind of chances exist here outside your back door,” said Christopher Gentz, shift services manager for the Directorate of Human Resources.

Additional job fairs like the Jan. 30 event 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 [empty] pitch, Gentz stated.

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

One of the task fair’s goals was to assist individuals discover profession opportunities and how their skills align with them, Gentz stated.

Education is an essential advantage of attending a task reasonable, as about 40% of those who start with the TAP learn they’re “not ready to make that dive yet,” or they have seen the available chances and choose to continue serving, Gentz said.

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

Part of the education piece is discovering finances, consisting of credit reports, budget plans and “building a nest egg so you have something to deal with when it’s time to go out,” Handoe stated.

“Everybody’s going to get out of the Army someday,” he stated, “but while you remain in, are you doing everything you can to prepare to get out?”

Job fairs also exist to help people with networking, seeing what people in the outdoors world are trying to find – including certifications, accreditations and schooling – and discovering their working with practices, Handoe said.

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

That preparation work includes getting ready for [empty] job fairs.

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

He described that guests should pinpoint the companies they want to speak to and research them ahead of time, to enable educated discussions with employers.

Nolan enjoyed the Jan. 30 job reasonable and consulted with some recruiters. A senior infotech professional with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has actually found she wishes to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian function.