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 hunters, she participated in a hiring reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State career opportunities at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.
“I just try to benefit from all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center needs to provide, just to make certain I’m as prepared as possible,” she stated.
The focus of the job fair on state work, instead of work in different industries, made it various than others on the installation. 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 responded to concerns. Following the panel, recruiters from state agencies were available to respond to working with questions, stated Frank Handoe, matchboyz.nl deputy shift 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 Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
A quarterly occasion, the task fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure chance to learn what type of chances exist here outdoors your back entrance,” stated Christopher Gentz, transition services manager 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 prepare for them, “dress for success,” bring your resume and practice your elevator pitch, 64.227.136.170 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 skill is taught as part of the TAP.
One of the job fair’s goals was to help individuals find out about career chances and how their skills line up with them, Gentz said.
Education is a key advantage of participating in a task fair, as about 40% of those who begin with the TAP learn they’re “not prepared to make that jump yet,” or they have seen the available opportunities and choose to continue serving, Gentz said.
“We see that basically every year,” he said. “We want them to make an educated decision about their profession.”
Part of the education piece is discovering finances, consisting of credit reports, spending plans and “developing a savings so you have something to work with when it’s time to go out,” Handoe said.
“Everybody’s going to get out of the Army one day,” he said, “however while you’re in, are you doing whatever you can to prepare to get out?”
Job fairs likewise exist to help individuals with networking, seeing what individuals in the outside world are looking for www.opad.biz – consisting of accreditations, accreditations and schooling – and discovering their employing practices, Handoe said.
“You ought to be doing prep work now for what it is you wish to do in the future down the road,” he stated.
That prep work consists of getting ready for task fairs.
“You need to go into a working with fair with a plan of what you’re going to do and not simply meander around,” Handoe stated.
He discussed that participants need to identify the business they wish to speak to and research study them ahead of time, to enable for educated discussions with employers.
Nolan took in the Jan. 30 task reasonable and talked to some employers. A senior info innovation expert with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has actually discovered she wants to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian role.