JBLM Job Fair Showcases State Employment Opportunities

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – Staff Sergeant Danika Nolan’s date is a couple of weeks away, and she’s getting ready for the transition at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

As part of a group of about 30 task seekers, she went to an employing fair Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State career opportunities at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

“I simply try to benefit from all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center has to provide, simply to make sure I’m as prepared as possible,” she stated.

The focus of the task fair on state employment, instead of employment in numerous markets, 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 companies, who shared their experiences and responded to questions. Following the panel, recruiters from state agencies were available to answer hiring questions, stated Frank Handoe, www.cbl.health deputy shift services manager for the TAP.

Informational tables represented companies including VERG, jobvn24.com 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 event, the task fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure chance to discover what kind of chances exist here outside your back entrance,” said Christopher Gentz, [empty] transition services manager for the Directorate of Human Resources.

Additional task fairs like the Jan. 30 occasion will be held May 8, [empty] July 10 and Sept. 11.

To prepare for them, “gown for success,” bring your resume and practice your elevator pitch, Gentz stated.

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

One of the job fair’s goals was to help people find out about profession chances and how their abilities align with them, Gentz said.

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

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

Part of the education piece is learning more about finances, consisting of credit reports, budgets and “constructing a nest egg so you have something to work with when it’s time to get out,” Handoe stated.

“Everybody’s going to get out of the Army sooner or later,” he stated, “but while you remain in, are you doing whatever you can to prepare to go out?”

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

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

That prep work consists of preparing for task fairs.

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

He explained that participants ought to identify the business they desire to speak with and research study them ahead of time, to enable for [empty] informed conversations with employers.

Nolan delighted in the Jan. 30 task reasonable and talked with some employers. A senior decreases details innovation expert with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has actually discovered she wishes to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian role.