Fort Bliss ACS hosts hiring fair for military spouses, transitioning service members

Photo By Michelle Gordon | The next ACS hiring fair is scheduled for Aug. 13, 2020, at the Fort Bliss Centennial Banquet and Conference Center, but all DoD ID cardholders are encouraged to reach out to the Fort Bliss Employment Readiness Program for assistance rather than waiting until later this summer.  

EL PASO, TX, UNITED STATES

02.25.2020

Story by Michelle Gordon 

Fort Bliss Public Affairs Office

One of the most difficult parts of being a military spouse is trying to have a successful career alongside your Soldier, so, to make the process a little easier, Fort Bliss Army Community Service hosted a job fair, Feb. 13, 2020.

Twice a year the ACS Employment Readiness Program staff transforms the Centennial Banquet and Conference Center on East Fort Bliss, Texas, into a hiring event for military spouses and service members transitioning out of the military.

Employers are invited to participate in the hiring fairs free of charge – with one stipulation – they must be actively hiring.

“We had 110 employers register, which is a record for the ERP, it’s the most we’ve ever had,” said Employment Readiness Program Specialist Nicole Mendoza, one of the coordinators of the event. “We have a wide variety of employers. We target those who have positions here in El Paso because that’s where our job seekers are typically looking, but many are national companies. We have federal agencies here as well, so they may have positions at other locations.”

Hundreds of tables divided the ballroom into a maze of employers, many of whom were repeat attenders.

“We have some new employers this year, but 90 percent of them have been here before. They come back every six months because they’ve seen the process work,” said Denise Carothers, an employment readiness program specialist who assisted Mendoza with planning the event.

Carothers highlighted the mutual selection process of the hiring fair, explaining that the job seeker needs to ensure a potential employer is the right fit for them, for reasons other than they have an open position.

“We encourage job seekers to go to employer websites – see what they do, their mission statement, their goals – because the employer is going to want to know why you want to work for them, and you’re going to need to know that information,” she said. “It can’t just be you have a vacancy and I need a job. We encourage them to do their homework.”

ACS hiring fairs are open to all military DoD ID cardholders, which are checked upon entering. All attendees receive a map of the fair depicting where each employer is located, as well as a survey to complete to let Mendoza and her team know how the process can be improved for future hiring events.

Fairs are held in February and August each year, but the ERP sends out job leads throughout the year.

Mendoza said, “We assist job seekers with resumes, interview practice, and job leads, and we also offer classes. We try to prepare them for the entire job search process. We push things out through email and we also post items on our Facebook page.”

The next ACS hiring fair is scheduled for Aug. 13, 2020, at the Centennial, but Mendoza encourages all DoD ID cardholders to reach out to the ERP for assistance rather than waiting until later this summer.

“The ERP is here to assist,” she said. “We are in the main ACS building so just give us a call at [phone] and we’ll give you some assistance for your job search.”

• Date Taken: 02.25.2020
• Date Posted: 02.26.2020 12:53
• Story ID: 363935
• Location: EL PASO, TX, US