Fort Hood to host virtual Mega Career Fair

FORT HOOD, Texas -- The Soldier for Life – Transition Assistance Program here will host its Mega Career Fair virtually, Oct. 27, with more than 160,000 positions being offered worldwide.

“A lot of companies have been doing virtual, but they’ve been doing it for their company or for a certain occupation,” Mark Phillips, chief of transition for the SFL-TAP program, explained. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in Korea, it doesn’t matter if you’re in Hawaii, it doesn’t matter if you’re in Japan, it doesn’t matter if you’re in North Carolina, you can join in on this virtual fair.”

Phillips said long before the COVID-19 pandemic, he and Jerry Hernandez, transition services specialist for the SFL-TAP program, had discussed the possibility of a virtual career fair, simply because of how many employers they normally have to turn away from the semi-annual event due to a lack of space.

Hernandez explained that job-seekers can register in advance at https://premiervirtual.com/event/register-jobseeker/1967-virtual-mega-career-fair, upload their resumes and create their own virtual profile for employers to see.

“The good thing about this is once a job seeker or an employer registers,” he said, “it will continue on, they won’t have to re-register again. All their profile information is there.”

Phillips and Hernandez said the virtual platform will allow job-seekers more time to discuss positions with the employers, without feeling rushed by a large line waiting to speak with the employer. When a job-seeker visits a virtual “booth,” he or she signs in at the booth and the employer will contact them.

Phillips and Hernandez said job-seekers should be prepared for a virtual interview or even just a chat. Job-seekers can visit SFL-TAP on the third floor of the Copeland Center for tips about conducting virtual interviews, something they should prepare for, not just now, but in the future.

“I don’t think the virtual will go away. The pandemic will go away, but virtual won’t,” Phillips said. “Even if we do in-person, we’ll still do virtual. It just gives us so many opportunities.”

For updated information about the Mega Career Fair, visit https://www.facebook.com/FortHoodSFLTAP.