The new Raising the Flag employment program prepares job seekers with workshops such as resume writing and interview skills. Then, it provides the opportunity to put those to use with quarterly job and career fairs. Raising the Flag employment events are available to veterans, active duty and transitioning military and their spouses.
Launched in March 2023, three Raising the Flag workshops were held leading up to a job fair on March 30, 2023. Workshops included How to Prepare for Professional Pitch, Speed Interviewing and Networking.
“The experience provided me insight and confidence for my military transition,” said attendee Jeremy Thomas. “Professional Pitch Day offered an opportunity to practice my pitch with local recruiters and hiring managers and receive one-on-one feedback.”
Pictured is Raising the Flag speed interview workshop.
“The Raising the Flag workshops and events were created to better assist our military and veteran community in job readiness throughout the year,” said Laurie Pimentel-Johnson, Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) Veteran Employment Services South Texas District Outreach Coordinator and Army veteran. The program was created by the TVC Veterans Employment Services South Texas District team, which hosts the events.
The team is currently planning out next quarter’s events that will take place in May/June 2023. Stay in the know about Raising the Flag and other employment events with TVC events calendar, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Pictured is the TVC Employment Services South Texas District’s Raising the Flag team: Back row, from left are Veteran Career Advisor (VCA) Clive Parkins and Veteran Employment Liaison (VEL) James Freeland; Front row from left are VCA Eriko Perez, VCA Jimmy Lozano, VCA Veronica Rodriguez, TVC Veteran Employment Services Director Anna Baker, Family Career Advisor Pamela Nash, Outreach Coordinator Laurie Pimentel-Johnson, District Supervisor Gregory Pyrek and District Manager AL King.
Pimentel-Johnson noted that in addition to preparing job seekers for quarterly job fairs, it will prepare them for the annual Texas-wide Hiring Red, White, and YOU! event that takes place every November.
The program is ready to expand “Currently this is in-person in the Alamo area, but we will be looking at ways to make this hybrid to include rural areas and Corpus Christi for the job fair and job readiness event such as speed interviewing,” said Pimentel-Johnson.
Pictured is the Raising the Flag networking session.
Helping the March events take place were San Antonio College and St. Phillips College in San Antonio. San Antonio College provided its Victory Center for the Professional Pitch Day on March 8. St. Phillips provided its Good Samaritan Veterans Outreach and Transition Center for the job fair on March 30.
Thanks to the following organizations for supporting and participating in Professional Pitch Day and Speed Interview workshops in March:
Grand Canyon University
JBSA 802d Force Support Squadron
Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Veterans Leadership Program (TVLP)
ACI Learning
Bexar County Training
Bexar County Parks
Christus Health
Dress for Success
Joyson Safety Systems
Marriott
Toyotetsu
Vericast
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