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Job fair aims to place military veterans in right lines of work
By: SHANNON WINGARD - For the North County Times
ESCONDIDO -- Approximately 650 veterans donned business attire rather than the uniforms they are used to wearing as they spoke with dozens of job recruiters Wednesday in Escondido about a range of career pursuits.
The RecruitMilitary event, which also is sponsored by President George W. Bush's National Hire Veterans Committee, gave job recruiters a chance to target a unique audience: retired and former members of the military.
For Phil Meiste, of Oceanside, the fair gave the former Marine Corps corporal a chance to explore various professions. Since he once supervised 27 Marines, the 23-year-old said he wants to find a job that will feel like a step forward rather than one back.
"Anyone can find a job," he said. "I am looking for a new career."
Meiste said he believes that people with military experience appeal to job recruiters, because they offer unique capabilities -- meeting deadlines, working well under pressure and "knowing how to get things done."
Larry Slagel, senior vice president for career fairs for RecruitMilitary, agreed. He said the event is designed to "connect veterans with corporate America," because job recruiters recognize their special attributes in the workplace.
Among the companies represented at Wednesday's fair were the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, DeVry University, the Small Business Administration, Ryder, New York Life, Kaeser Compressors and the FBI.
Slagel said an estimated 200,000 veterans get out of the military each year, and "100 percent of that population goes into the work force." The goal of RecruitMilitary, which was created nine years ago, is to help job recruiters reach this population, he said.
This year, he said the organization will host 32 career fairs nationwide in such places as Atlanta, Dallas, Jacksonville, N.C., and Baltimore. In addition, he said it will host two more in San Diego, and details will be posted on the Web site at www.recruitmilitary.com.
According to Angel Torres of Oceanside, the career fair highlighted ways the Marine reservist, who was deployed in Iraq during the onset of the war, can continue to serve his country.
He said the event gave him a chance to speak with recruiters from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the Department of Corrections, two organizations he is interested in pursuing.
Above all, he said the event showed him "that people must still care" about service members after they leave the military.
Donna Salvador, deputy sheriff for San Diego County, said she is one of the recruiters interested in people with military experience, and spoke with approximately 50 people at the event.
"We got a lot of people from the military who want to have a paramilitary structure like law enforcement," she said.
She said these "quality" job seekers are intriguing for the Sheriff's Department, because "they know the discipline it takes to be in law enforcement, so it is an easy transition for them."
For Roderick Knight, who retired from the Marine Corps as a gunnery sergeant after 22 years, figuring out his next professional step is why he attended the fair.
Knight, 43, said his bachelor's degrees in criminal justice and public administration, along with his varied experience in the Marines, have prepared him to enter the civilian job sector.
However, he said his primary focus is finding a job that is a perfect fit for him.
"It's challenging, but once I find something, I know it will be rewarding," he said.
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