This week Oakland University is having a hiring fair for veterans, military spouses and current military members at the Recreation and Athletics Center.

The job fair will take place from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 12. A number of notable companies will be present at the event hoping to hire veteran personnel to be a part of their company’s work.

Companies including Comcast, Comerica Bank, General Motors, Verizon, Trinity Health and Safelite will be at the event, among a few others.

The event will begin with a personal employment branding workshop. During this period, participants will learn tips on how to improve networking and interviewing.

Happening concurrently with the branding workshop will be a best practices workshop, where job candidates learn about practices employers look for in candidates who come from a military background.

Following the conclusion of the two workshops, the hiring fair will commence from 10:30 a.m. until the event ends at 1 p.m. This is where interested employees can look for a job and a company that suits their needs.

Eric Wuestenberg is the coordinator of Veteran Support Services at Oakland University, a position he has held since June of this year. Wuestenberg comes from a military background, where he served in the United States Air Force from 1995 to 2009.

Wuestenberg feels the job fair is a good chance for veterans to get back into the working world with a great bunch of highly interested companies.

“The career fair is a great opportunity to explore career choices and networking with companies who put an emphasis on hiring military veterans,” Wuestenberg said. “Our workshop is lead by human resources and workforce professionals that will cover important issues such as resume building, interview tips, networking and also taking into account the job seeker’s background and lifestyle.”

Kathryn Poynton serves as the director of events for “Hiring our Heroes” for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Like Wuestenberg, Poynton also served in the military as Lieutenant Colonel in the New York Army National Guard.

Poynton served the U.S. for 32 years, with 24 years on active duty. Poynton, in addition to Wuestenberg, sees the benefits of the career fair.

“The fair gives job seekers just transitioning out of the military or those who are veterans the chance to develop professional relationships and increase their networking circle,” she said.

Poynton hopes participants will understand the great opportunity they have to meet with a group of companies eager to hire.

“Take your time and visit every employer,” she said. “If you have a certain skill set and you are looking for a particular, just don’t target obvious employers, every employer at the event has open positions and is currently hiring.”

Poynton also outlined a tool that will help integrate their military experience into their resume.

“Our resume engine online tool helps a bunch with job seekers,” she said. “This will allow service members and veterans to build resumes that translate their military experience into language that employers will understand.”