While Veterans Day is an annual event that passed on November 11, the sentiment behind the holiday is evergreen. It’s a day meant to honor former members of the military and highlight the ways their lives change when they retire from duty.
For many, one of the most difficult parts of that transition back into civilian life is finding a job, the Dallas Veterans Job Fair aims to help in that struggle.
The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) organization is hosting a North Texas job fair at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Thursday, November 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A spokesperson for DAV, Dan Clare, spoke with KERA News about why it’s so important to support veterans as they attempt to acclimate back into everyday life and begin new careers.
Clare said, “They’re leaving behind the community they know, a very close-knit community, a way of life. There’s security in serving in the military, and I think the hard part for veterans is now you’re entering a new world.”
He understands what it’s like firsthand, as Clare is both an Air Force and a Marine veteran. He knows how difficult it is to navigate those changes without any clear sense of direction.
A contributing factor to that challenge is that veterans are used to receiving an abundance of information during bootcamp and through various training exercises completed during their years of service.
Clare explained, “What we hear time and again is that there’s not enough information. It’s hard to find the resources that are out there” once they try to rejoin civilian life.
Given how vexing it is to find and apply for any job nowadays, it’s understandable how it can feel especially overwhelming when trying to determine which military skills transfer to other jobs and which don’t.
Clare wants to tell businesses that veterans actually “bring a lot to the table —They’re trainable. They are used to working in fast-paced environments,” all of which is advantageous to employers.
He also wants to gently remind veterans themselves that they often “underestimate how important it is when you have leadership training, when you’ve managed a budget, when you have — performed complex operations.”
Clare added, “Those things aren’t always on resumes and we’re working with veterans to make sure that they’re putting their best foot forward” to showcase how those can become transferable skills.
Dallas Veterans Job Fair details
The Dallas Veterans Job Fair will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington (1 AT&T Way) on Thursday, November 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will be hosted inside AT&T Endzone West, and attendees are asked to please enter through Entry “G” when arriving at the stadium.
Parking is provided free of charge at Lot 6 and 7. To access these lots, take I-30 toward the stadium and get off at Exit 30 to Collins Road. Once there, you’ll take a left onto Cowboys Way and the lots will be visible on your left. A map can be found here for reference.
NOTE: There’s a food drive happening at AT&T Stadium on the same day, and organizers have stated there may be some traffic delays because of this. To avoid any potential issues, refrain from driving on Randol Mill Road and give yourself a little extra time to get there before the job fair kicks off at 11 a.m.
You can register for the event in advance at this link, and a helpful tutorial on how to create an account to complete that process is available here. Roughly 5,333 exhibitors will be in attendance with about 26,000 available jobs.
Event success tips can be found on that link that brings you to the registration page. Simply scroll down to “Upcoming Job Fair Information” then click the “Event Success Tips” button to populate those.
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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