Something About Company

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 job hunters, she attended a hiring reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State career opportunities at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

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

The focus of the task fair on state work, instead of work in various markets, 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 firms, who shared their experiences and answered concerns. Following the panel, employers from state firms were available to concerns, said Frank Handoe, deputy shift services supervisor 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 chance to learn what kind of chances 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 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, Gentz stated.

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

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

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

“We see that generally every year,” he said. “We want them to make an informed decision about their career.”

Part of the education piece is discovering finances, consisting of credit reports, referall.us spending plans and “constructing 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 someday,” he said, “but while you’re in, are you doing everything you can to prepare to get out?”

Job fairs also exist to help individuals with networking, seeing what people in the outdoors world are searching for – including accreditations, accreditations and education – and discovering their employing practices, Handoe said.

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

That preparation work consists of getting ready for task fairs.

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

He discussed that participants must determine the business they desire to speak to and research study them ahead of time, to enable educated conversations with employers.

Nolan took pleasure in the Jan. 30 task reasonable and spoke to some employers. A senior details innovation expert with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has actually discovered she wants to serve those who serve in her upcoming civilian role.