Hundreds hired at New Jersey job fairs in 2014

The American Legion Department of New Jersey recently began its fifth year of hosting veterans job fairs and career events with a successful Hiring Our Heroes job fair at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst near Trenton, N.J.

The event, held Jan. 21 at the joint Army-Navy facility, welcomed 78 employers and 406 attendees, most of whom were active-duty servicemembers located on the base. More than 200 interviews were conducted on the spot, and 51 "firm" job offers were extended.

“We had a captured audience," said Bob Looby, past department commander of New Jersey. "(All the attendees) were all there already on base so whether they were looking for a job or not, it was convenient for them."

The job fair was the Department of New Jersey's 22nd career event since its first job fair at Post 129 in Toms River, N.J., in October of 2011. In the time since, Looby and other department Legionnaires have organized successful job fairs throughout the state - sometimes in coordination with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other like-minded organizations.

The department has also hosted career resource and opportunity events, which help veteran-attendees in the area find employment and process their VA claims, as well as homeless outreach events, financial and legal assistance, and general health-care aid to area homeless veterans.

This year, the department's crowning achievement was its New Jersey-New York Shipping Association Hiring Event held in May 2014 in Toms River. The event helped veterans get hired as longshoremen with the New York & New Jersey Port Authority.

To date, almost 300 veterans have been hired as longshoremen. That number is still growing as the Port Authority continues to work with the Department of New Jersey to fill open longshoremen positions with willing veterans.

The Department of New Jersey has plans to continue its efforts into 2015. It will host a Resource & Opportunity Fair tomorrow at the Woodbridge Armory from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Woodbridge, N.J. Veterans, servicemembers and spouses can attend free of charge to receive help with resume writing and interviewing, or for general assistance with homelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder or criminal justice.

Future career and assistance events include a job fair at Rider University in Lawrence, N.J., on March 19, and a military outreach event on April 30 at the State of New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.