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 shift at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

As part of a group of about 30 task candidates, she participated in a working with fair Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State profession opportunities at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

“I just try to take benefit of all the resources and services that the (Transition Assistance Program) Center needs to use, just to ensure I’m as prepared as possible,” she stated.

The focus of the task fair on state employment, rather than work in numerous industries, made it different than others on the setup. 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 address hiring questions, 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 Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A quarterly event, the job fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure opportunity to discover out what sort of opportunities exist here outdoors your back door,” stated Christopher Gentz, transition services supervisor for the Directorate of Human Resources.

Additional task fairs like the Jan. 30 event 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, Gentz said.

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

Among the task fair’s objectives was to assist people learn more about profession chances and how their skills line up with them, Gentz stated.

Education is a key advantage of participating in a task fair, as about 40% of those who begin with the TAP discover they’re “not prepared to make that jump yet,” or they have seen the offered chances and choose to continue serving, Gentz stated.

“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 finding out about financial resources, including credit reports, budget plans and “building a nest egg so you have something to work with when it’s time to get out,” .

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

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

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

That prep work includes preparing for task fairs.

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

He explained that guests must identify the business they desire to talk to and research them ahead of time, to enable educated conversations with recruiters.

Nolan enjoyed the Jan. 30 job reasonable and spoke to some recruiters. A senior infotech specialist with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has actually discovered she wishes to serve those who serve in her upcoming civilian role.