Hundreds Of Vets Turn Out For Job Fair At Heinz Field

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Hundreds of veterans turned out Thursday for a special job fair at Heinz Field focused on this region's vets and the special skills they offer.

"It's professionalism.  It's leadership.  It's courage under pressure.  It's the fact that some of these guys have been able to do jobs being in a foreign country, being shot at.  Think what they could do inside a company here in corporate America," noted Rob Arndt of Recruit Military.

Recruit Military is the company that puts on these job fairs, and Arndt says 52 local employers set up shop here, and they will hire, many like Jay Mahmood of Duquesne Light told KDKA money editor Jon Delano.

Delano:  "So you think you might find a veteran to hire here?"

Mahmood:  "Actually, not one.  I would say quite a few."

Delano:  "Quite a few?"

Mahmood:  "Yes."

"Specifically, we've talked to about six or seven people we feel are very well qualified for the position," said Dale Meinbresse of New York Life.

"We've collected over a hundred resumes. We have some great follow-ups scheduled already," added Chris Phillips of PNC Bank.

Most veterans thought the job fair was worth it.

"So far I've made a lot of good connections. I've given out 15 resumes, and I ran out. I have one left," acknowledged Bill Rafaloski of Beechview.

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Patricia Phillips of Highland Park, once an Air Force nurse, is looking for something different.

"I have transferable skills, so I'm looking for receptionist, health and science lab tech, any of those things," she said.

After 21 years in the air force, says Donald Walden of Canonsburg, "I'm looking to maybe try something new, a second career, banking, finance, insurance maybe."

But there's not a job for everyone.

"I think overall the event is good.  For me specifically, I just recently graduated so a lot of positions, they need a little bit more experience than I have right now," said John McDonough of O'Hara.

Still, for many, it's a start.

Hopefully, there lots of job interviews scheduled for the weeks to come.

If you missed this Recruit Military job fair, don't worry.  Another one has been scheduled for this October here in Pittsburgh.