Within 15 minutes of arriving at the Hero 2 Hired job fair at the Nevada Army National Guard Armory in Winnemucca on Friday, Spc. Bobby Riley had already landed an interview with one company and had leads on two other jobs.
Riley, 27, a soldier in the Nevada Army Guard's 593rd Transportation Co., was one of several dozen reserve members who participated in the first Hero 2 Hired job fair in Winnemucca along with personnel representatives from eight organizations offering potential employment opportunities.
Hero 2 Hired is a Department of Defense program that links employers with job-seeking veterans and reserve members and their spouses via job fairs, Internet job postings and social media. Hero 2 Hired also provides advice on topics such as resume and portfolio building and interview techniques.
Riley's background was typical of many of the job fair's attendees. After returning from Afghanistan following a deployment with the 593rd in April, he landed a job in the mining industry. The mine subsequently closed, however, and Riley once again found himself seeking a job.
"For those in the reserve military, H2H is an amazing job resource," said Riley, who was interested in either a job as a mechanic or driver. "These job fairs are tailored for those in the military. I can tell the employers about my military occupation and they can match my skills with their job openings."
The Winnemucca job fair was the fourth in a series of H2H job fairs. Other fairs were held in Las Vegas, Reno and Elko.
According to Annie Emprima-Martin, the Department of Defense employment transition coordinator for Nevada, the job fairs have been especially effective in reducing unemployment in rural counties. In fact, she said the employment rate of Nevada Guardsmen in Elko County is 100 percent and in Humboldt County it is nearly 100 percent.
"It's realistic we can reach 100 percent employment for Guardsmen in Humboldt County," Emprima-Martin said. "In Humboldt County, we can usually find a person a job with two-three hours of H2H assistance and phone calls. In comparison, it takes on average about 20 hours of assistance to land an individual a job in Las Vegas."
Emprima-Martin said the job fairs would continue primarily to assist Post 9/11 veterans throughout Nevada.
According to the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, the unemployment rate for Post 9/11 Nevada veterans in 2012 was 22.6 percent, far higher than the national Post 9/11 rate of 9.9 percent.
Employers participating in the job fair included Allied Nevada, Barrick Gold Co., Newmont Mining Corp., NV Energy, Wal-Mart and the Nevada Department of Transportation.
Winnemucca veterans or reserve military service members requesting job-search assistance can call (775) 625-8286.[[In-content Ad]]
