Quantico’s Wounded Warrior Regiment staff, working in conjunction with personnel from Army Wounded Warriors and Naval Sea Systems Command, hosted a reverse career fair for wounded warriors in the National Capital Region. A reverse career fair is one where the jobseekers are seated at tables with name cards, and the employers — who have received a book of the jobseekers’ resumes in advance — walk around and approach those in whom they are interested.

Carlos Melendez, a transition coordinator with Wounded Warrior Regiment, said the reverse set-up takes away the intimidation and hassle of having to wait in line for an employer at a standard career fair. Melendez said representatives from 60-70 companies attended the fair and included both private sector and government employers such as Lockheed Martin, CACI, Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In addition to employers, representatives from veterans’ service organizations were in attendance to let the veterans know how the organizations could assist them.

Former Army sergeant Brian Doyne attended the event and said this was his first reverse career fair. He was seeking work in the intelligence or physical security fields and was approached by a number of potential employers during his time at the fair, including a representative from Cardinal Bank, who invited him to apply for a branch manager position.

Maria Espin, a former Marine sergeant and current Air National Guard member, said she was there in search of full-time civilian employment. One of the individuals she spoke with was James Custodio, a veteran peer specialist with the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program. Custodio said his organization provides help with finding employment and housing, among other services.

Kavin Sakaki, also a veteran peer specialist with VWWP said the organization also provides claims assistance, advocates for discharge upgrades, helps locate counseling services, runs mentorship programs on local college campuses and operates support groups.

Former Marine sergeant Travis Zabroski left the Corps in 2013. He is currently attending school and working part-time, and was at the fair in search of full-time employment, particularly in the law enforcement community. He said he has attended a few job fairs, and that he much prefers the reverse set-up to the standard arrangement where the candidates walk around the room and wait in line.

— Writer: ebaker@quanticosentryonline.com