PHOENIX — Before anyone knew what the coronavirus was or what it would take from so many families, our nation's heroes were seeing an unemployment rate at a record-low around 3%.
Then, 2020 happened and it skyrocketed once again. "We were on a very, very good path," said Jeff Hall.
Hall is an Army veteran himself who was wounded in combat during the Persian Gulf War.
"As that 3% we were enjoying was very low spiked up to over 10%, more and more people were exploring avenues that they wouldn't necessarily look," said Hall.
Today, Hall is the National Employment Director for the Disabled American Veterans, known as DAV. His mission now is to get the unemployment rate back down.
To help, DAV has partnered with RecruitMilitary to offer Virtual Career Events for veterans, active-duty service members, reservists, and their spouses.
"What we learned through that whole process was we have to take advantage and embrace technology to continue to provide this continuity of services," Hall explained.
They were doing over 100 events in-person and just a few online. They have now pivoted to online-only amid the pandemic to ensure opportunities for job-seekers are still available.
"It could be anybody... in the region," Hall said. "You don't have to be right in Phoenix, you can be any number of places. It's a big area out there," added Hall.
The free event will be on Thursday from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. A wide variety of industries and companies will be there to offer everything from entry-level positions to senior management roles.
To view the list of participating companies, click here.
Hall suggests job-seekers dress as if they are attending the in-person event because the companies could ask for a Zoom interview. He also recommends participants update their resumes.
"Once you enter the career fair space, you're going to see a link to every company that's participating - including DAV," Hall explained. "You simply click on the one... and you have to go in and out whereas in a physical space, you just go from booth to booth."
There is a webinar and information online that can help prepare participants for what they can expect when they enter the virtual event. To view that, click here.
To register, click here.
