Job fair caters to vets
When Aaron McNutt came to Thursday’s Veterans Jobs Fair at the WorkSource Spokane center, he wanted just a quick survey of jobs that might be available.
He left within 45 minutes with a job application and a strong chance at landing a parts-specialist position with the Washington Department of Transportation.
With hundreds of jobs waiting to be filled in this area, McNutt and about 150 other job seekers found they have far more choices than they used to have.
The 21-year-old McNutt, a reservist with the Washington Army National Guard, recently took a machinist’s job at a Toyota dealership in Lewiston. He grew up in Spokane County, graduated from Lakeside High School and then served about five years in the Army and the National Guard.
His service included a year-long stint in Iraq where he was a mechanic. “I also did recovery work. Basically we went out and towed back vehicles that no longer worked,” he said.
“I want to move back here from Lewiston,” added McNutt, who is single and unencumbered by debt. “It was good to find that job opening at Washington DOT,” he said. “Even if I don’t get that first job, they have four or five other jobs I’d be interested in.”
Like some others at the fair, McNutt was prospecting, not handing out resumes. He came dressed in a T-shirt and work pants, in contrast to a few dozen vets who wore coats and ties.
Labor-market analysts say it’s a buyer’s market. Job-seekers can be a bit casual as they scope the employment landscape, because employers are now the ones struggling to find enough good workers.
“We have on our Web site 1,800 jobs waiting to be filled,” said Micheal Briscoe, a WorkSource Spokane employment counselor for veterans.
His office has sponsored the fair for five years; it’s open to veterans and anyone else in the community.
This year’s event told Briscoe job seekers are landing good positions.
“I advise them they need to be prepared to take a stop-gap job while looking for that one job they plan to have for a very long time,” he said.
The fair also told him many vets, especially those right out of the service, tend to start with security jobs, either with government agencies or in the private sector.
“Since things changed in 2001, there are always plenty of jobs in security” though they don’t all pay equally well, he said.
The vets job fairs began in Spokane five years ago, Briscoe said, always taking place in June. That’s because the federal government has declared June hire-a-veteran month.
Scott Florence, who served in the U.S. Navy until last year and is now a substitute teacher with the East Valley School District, took part in the fair because companies send people from their human resources departments and “it’s a fantastic way to learn what they’re looking for and talk directly with them,” he said.
Some discussions Thursday also revealed how the game is not totally weighted in favor of the job seeker, said Daniel Clayton, a Spokane resident who served six years on active duty with the U.S. Army and is now a National Guard specialist.
“When you tell some employers you’re in the Reserve, they start acting a bit afraid of you. They say, ‘Well, it’s kind of a risk to hire you. You could be called up anytime,’ ” said Clayton.
“It depends on the employer,” he added, noting some offer clear leave policies for reservists while some are still exploring and developing a consistent policy.