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 job applicants, she attended a working with fair Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State career chances 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 provide, just to make sure I’m as prepared as possible,” she stated.
The focus of the job fair on state employment, instead of work in various markets, made it various than others on the installation. Sponsored by the Veterans Employee Resource Group, WorkSource and the TAP, it began with a panel of from state firms, who shared their experiences and responded to concerns. Following the panel, referall.us employers from state firms were offered to answer employing questions, said Frank Handoe, deputy transition services supervisor for the TAP.
Informational tables represented companies 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, Community Services Division; and Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
A quarterly event, the job fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure chance to discover what kind of chances exist here outdoors your back door,” stated 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, “dress for success,” bring your resume and practice your elevator pitch, Gentz stated.
An elevator pitch is a “fast intro of yourself, who you are and what you’re seeking to do,” Handoe said, pointing out that the skill is taught as part of the TAP.
Among the task fair’s goals was to help people discover profession chances and how their abilities line up with them, Gentz stated.
Education is an essential benefit of participating in a task fair, as about 40% of those who start with the TAP learn they’re “not ready to make that jump yet,” or they have seen the offered chances and choose to continue serving, Gentz stated.
“We see that essentially every year,” he said. “We want them to make an informed choice about their career.”
Part of the education piece is discovering 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 sooner or later,” he said, “however while you remain in, are you doing whatever you can to prepare to get out?”
Job fairs also exist to help people with networking, seeing what people in the outside world are trying to find – consisting of accreditations, accreditations and schooling – and learning more about their employing practices, Handoe said.
“You ought to be doing prep work now for what it is you want to do later on down the roadway,” he stated.
That prep work includes getting ready for task fairs.
“You need to go into a working with reasonable with a strategy of what you’re going to do and not just meander around,” Handoe stated.
He described that attendees ought to pinpoint the business they want to speak to and research them ahead of time, to permit informed discussions with employers.
Nolan enjoyed the Jan. 30 job reasonable and spoke to some recruiters. A senior infotech expert with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has discovered she wishes to serve those who serve in her upcoming civilian function.