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 job seekers, she participated in a working with reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State career chances 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 use, just to make certain I’m as prepared as possible,” she stated.

The focus of the job fair on state employment, instead of work in different industries, made it different than others on the installation. 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 responded to questions. Following the panel, recruiters from state companies were readily available to answer hiring concerns, stated Frank Handoe, 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 employment Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A quarterly occasion, the job fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure chance to discover what type of chances exist here outside your back entrance,” said Christopher Gentz, shift services supervisor 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, “dress for success,” bring your resume and practice your elevator pitch, Gentz stated.

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

Among the job fair’s goals was to assist individuals learn about profession chances and how their skills line up with them, Gentz stated.

Education is an essential advantage of going to a task fair, as about 40% of those who start with the TAP discover they’re “not all set to make that dive yet,” or they have actually seen the offered opportunities and choose to continue serving, Gentz said.

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

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 get out,” Handoe said.

“Everybody’s going to get out of the Army someday,” he said, “however while you’re in, are you doing whatever you can to prepare to get out?”

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

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

That preparation work consists of getting ready for task fairs.

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

He described that participants ought to determine the companies they want to talk with and research study them ahead of time, to conversations with employers.

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