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Veterans and civilians gather during a job fair at Disabled American Veterans in Jacksonville Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
The Daily News
John Sudbrink \/ The Daily News<\/p>\n
Sometimes finding a job is easier said than done, but that didn\u2019t stop people from all across Onslow County from looking Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Onslow Career Center in partnership with the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 16 hosted a job fair for veterans and civilians that attracted hundreds over the course of the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With employment opportunities spanning a variety of disciplines, employers such as the Onslow County Sheriff\u2019s Office and Home Depot introduced themselves to potential candidates while schools such as Wyotech, who provided lunch for all veterans, passed out information about their programs to prospective students.<\/p>\n
Despite having more than six months left on his contract, one Camp Lejeune Marine, Cpl. Kyle Flynn, decided he would be proactive and use the skills he learned at transitional workshops on base. For him, he said, learning things in the workshops like how to introduce yourself to employers, ask the appropriate questions and how to answer challenging questions is great but getting hands-on experience using his new skills was much more valuable.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing that I\u2019ve been in the Marine Corps for four years, I need to learn all over again how to look for a job, interview and talk to employers,\u201d said Flynn. \u201cI\u2019m rusty and need to learn how to talk to people and find out what my resume needs to look like.\u201d<\/p>\n
While a career in pediatric nursing would be optimal for him, Flynn said he is still making up his mind on the future. One reassuring thing, he said, is that the job market seems to be fairly veteran friendly with assistance and programs available. After attending the job fair, Flynn said he feels more prepared for civilian life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA job isn\u2019t going to get thrown at you,\u201d he said. \u201cIt won\u2019t come to you so get out there yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
As an employer in the Jacksonville community, Lori Ready-Digiovanni of Sodexo said the company is interested in veterans because they make great employees because they hold intangible assets such as consistency, professional style, interpersonal communication skills and follow through.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe majority of veterans seeking employment have the courage to stand up and do what is right and in accordance with company policies,\u201d she said. \u201cThey understand direction and have many leadership skills that some civilians just don\u2019t have because they haven\u2019t served.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacksonville, she said, is a friendly community toward veterans, partly because more and more people are staying in the community compared to years prior and most of them want to contribute back into the community. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest challenge for finding employees locally on both sides of the fence \u2014 both civilian and veterans \u2014 is that they look for the pie in the sky of six figures,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re looking for more of a bigger industry that just isn\u2019t here locally and some are taken aback by the pay range here and need to be explained where they fit in here. With veterans, they understand and have proven in the past that they can start at the bottom and work their way up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without having a means to pay for school, 24-year-old Mindy Hodges of Maple Hill traveled to Jacksonville to take part in the job fair opting to seek employment. Having held a variety of jobs ranging from supervision, management and entry-level positions, Hodges said she feels as though she holds qualities an employer would look for. While a job would mean the world to her right now, a career in radiology would be a dream come true.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve held so many jobs because I wanted to diversify myself,\u201d Hodges said. \u201cI\u2019ve learned with time that I can lead a team and be both dependable and reliable. It\u2019s hard being unemployed but if you want something you have to go out and get it. You just have to be proactive.\u201d<\/p>\n