JBLM Job Fair Showcases State Employment Opportunities

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

As part of a group of about 30 task hunters, she attended an employing reasonable Jan. 30 that showcased Washington State career chances at JBLM’s Hawk Career Center.

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

The focus of the job fair on state work, rather than employment in different industries, 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 from state firms, who shared their experiences and answered questions. Following the panel, employers from state companies were offered to answer employing questions, said Frank Handoe, deputy transition services supervisor for the TAP.

Informational tables represented organizations 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, referall.us Community Services Division; and Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

A quarterly occasion, the task fair is “a low-stress, low-pressure chance to discover out what type of opportunities exist here outside your back door,” said Christopher Gentz, shift services manager 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 get ready for them, “dress for success,” bring your resume and practice your elevator pitch, Gentz said.

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

One of the task fair’s goals was to help individuals find out about career opportunities and how their abilities line up with them, Gentz said.

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

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

Part of the education piece is finding out about financial resources, consisting of credit reports, spending plans and “developing a nest egg 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 sooner or later,” he stated, “however while you’re in, are you doing whatever you can to prepare to go out?”

Job fairs also exist to help individuals with networking, seeing what individuals in the outside world are searching for – including accreditations, accreditations and schooling – and finding out about their hiring practices, Handoe said.

“You must be doing prep work now for what it is you desire to do in the future down the roadway,” he said.

That prep work includes preparing for job fairs.

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

He described that participants ought to identify the companies they want to consult with and research study them ahead of time, to permit educated conversations with employers.

Nolan took pleasure in the Jan. 30 task reasonable and spoke with some employers. A senior infotech specialist with the 16th Combat Aviation Unit, she has found she wants to serve those who serve in her approaching civilian role.