Hiring Heroes Career Fair offers career and job opportunities for military community Published Aug. 10, 2018 By David DeKunder 502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- Transitioning servicemembers will find plenty of career and job opportunities and make connections with employers at the Hiring Heroes Career Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Sam Houston Community Center, 1395 Chaffee Road, located at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. Seventy employers, from the private to the governmental sector, will be at the career fair that is free and open to all JBSA members, including transitioning, wounded, ill and injured servicemembers, military spouses and family members, veterans, military retirees and primary caregivers. The Transition Assistance Program at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston is putting on the career fair. The Transition Assistance Program provides counseling and job assistance to servicemembers who are preparing to leave the military. The Hiring Heroes Career Fair is held twice a year, in March and September, at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston. The first Hiring Heroes Career Fair was held at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston 13 years ago. The upcoming fair in September will be the 26th to be held at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston since 2005. Candace Hillard, Transition Assistance Program transition services manager, said the fair will provide members of the military community the opportunity to explore the many career options that are available to them in the civilian job sector. Those career opportunities include positions in various Department of Defense, federal, state and governmental agencies and private sector companies and businesses. Several employers at the fair will be offering positions in areas JBSA members are skilled, trained and experienced in, including cybersecurity, information technology, law enforcement, financial and medical. Attendees at the fair will be given a sheet that will list the employers who will be there and the tables they will be located at in the community center. Since the fair is four hours long, Hillard said job seekers have the chance to visit with all the employers who will be there. “I would encourage job seekers to network with all the employers, even those they may think they don’t have an interest in,” Hillard said. “Because that employer may have a position that could fit that individual.” Job seekers are encouraged to bring several copies of their resume and come dressed in professional attire because some employers will conduct on the spot interviews at the fair. Hillard said some of those interviews could lead to job offers for transitioning servicemembers and military members. “It’s great to have a job offer on the spot,” she said. “That’s something we’ve seen increase in the last few years. Be prepared for an interview on the spot, it will absolutely happen.” Out of the 600 job seekers who attended the last Hiring Heroes Career Fair in March, 41 were offered jobs on the spot, said Hillard. Hillard said servicemembers who are not transitioning right now can still come to the fair to network, get information from and learn about employers. In addition, transitioning servicemembers at the fair will find information about opportunities for apprenticeships, internships and certification and skills enhancement training that can help them in their post-military career through the JBSA Career Skills Program. Members from the Transition Assistance Program and USO volunteers will be present to review resumes of job seekers, giving tips and pointers on improving resumes that give members of the military community a greater chance of being interviewed for a position. Hillard said transitioning servicemembers and military members have characteristics and skills such as reliability, flexibility, a hard work ethic, knowledge and loyalty that employers are seeking. “I think the skill set our military population brings to the table is very valuable,” she said. Registration is not required to attend the Hiring Heroes Career Fair. For more information about the fair, contact the Transition Assistance Program office at 210-221-1213.