Department of New Mexico brings jobs to veterans
The first Operation Hiring Heroes Job Fair, held in Post 13 in Albuquerque, N.M., connected around 600 current and former military attendees with 55 employers. (Photo by Steven St. John)

Department of New Mexico brings jobs to veterans

The American Legion's Department of New Mexico took took a simple approach to hosting a veterans job fair: find employers with open positions and connect them with veterans who need jobs.

That approach was embodied in the department's first Operation Hiring Heroes Job Fair, hosted last week in conjunction with the New Mexico Workforce Connection and New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions at American Legion Post 13 in Albuquerque. The event connected around 600 veterans, servicemembers and their family members with 55 employers, all of whom were required to be hiring for at least 10 open positions as a condition for attending.

The job fair came at an ideal time, said Department of New Mexico Commander Paul Espinoza, as media reports revealed last week that New Mexico was suffering an unemployment rate that is above the national average.

“The paper just said yesterday that we are just under 6 percent for unemployment in New Mexico, and then this (job fair) came about," Espinoza said. "This is a godsend."

Represented at the event were employers from the public and private sectors, including entities from all levels of government – federal, state and local – and companies offering jobs in fields such as customer service, sales, management, research and development, supply chain and many other areas.

The diverse group of employers was a welcome sight to active-duty servicemembers who came from nearby military bases, like John Kennard, a Navy aviator who has been in the military for 23 years. Kennard, who attended with his wife, said he found the event especially helpful because he has numerous options for fields he could enter in the civilian workforce, and he wants to get a good feel for his options before he separates this summer.

"I am earning my master’s now, an MBA from (University of New Mexico), so I could go the business route – project management, or I could be a helicopter pilot or fixed wing pilot,” Kennard said. "I know about a lot of places that are hiring, but I come here to see what else is out there that I might be interested in."

On the opposite end of the spectrum was Paul Enz, an Air Force veteran who was in the military from 1959-1964. Enz was there looking for a job after spending much of his life as an owner of a local computer store and digital designer.

"I think this is a good deal," he said. “I haven’t found a job, but I’ve got some leads.”

Also represented in large number at the job fair were servicemembers and veterans who were ages 18 to mid-20s. This was an essential demographic to bring to the event because they are the most likely to fall into joblessness after leaving the military, said event organizer Chris Zafra, who is the state veterans coordinator for the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.

"You see a lot of vets in the 18 to 24 or 26 range struggling with unemployment," Zafra said. "There is a disparity between the age groups. The older vets tend to build knowledge, skills and abilities in the workforce that allow them to connect to jobs pretty quickly. The younger age group doesn’t have that."

Ultimately, the employers who were there gain a great deal from attending as well, as the event allows them to connect with a pool of candidates who come from diverse backgrounds and have a variety of skills. Alex DeVargas, who was there representing Convergys Corporation, said such an opportunity is valuable for his company because it is hiring for a variety of positions.

"A lot of (veterans) are really good for management positions because they are good with authority," DeVargas said. "A lot of them make really good agents because they are outgoing and like to talk to people. It depends on their personality...

"They bring a lot of qualities. The fact that they were able to serve in the military shows they have dedication, heart and loyalty. Having that in our company is very important."