Photo By Tyechia Price | Elizabeth Fonk, talent acquisition specialist, speaks to a potential candidate at a...... read more read more
It was a warm summer night in Greenville, S.C., when Andrew Wangelin and his wife, out on a date, struck up a conversation with the man at the next table. The resulting small talk meandered, touching a range of topics before landing on work. While Wangelin was actively searching for work at the time, he never seriously considered a career in government.
Just two months later, Wangelin started as a data scientist, a vital yet hard-to-fill position, at USMEPCOM headquarters in North Chicago, Illinois.
The man he met at dinner was Chris Carr, the chief of USMEPCOM’s Talent Acquisition Division (TAD). Carr leads the command’s strategic, personal approach to recruiting civilian personnel. TAD formally launched in October 2023, seeking out those ready for a career in federal service, becoming a vital link between job seekers and federal employment. Carr and his team have revolutionized how USMEPCOM attracts and brings on talent.
“The human element of HR is going by the wayside, but the Talent Acquistion Division bridges the gap by giving personalized help. Chris walked me through the whole process, it’s very valuable,” said Wangelin.
Hiring personnel is the command’s number one strategic priority, and the TAD is a vital component of seeing results.
“The command has seen huge success in modernizing its business processes and technology over the past two years, and right now our focus is on modernizing how we hire and retain the best people,” said Amy Ramirez, J-1 Human Resources director. “We have to have the right people in place to further improve our processing timelines to meet our partners’ needs. The TAD has seen huge success in streamlining onboarding over the last year.”
Since its launch, the TAD team has crisscrossed the U.S. to attend more than 40 job fairs. Thanks to close coordination with the Civilian Human Resources Agency (CHRA), TAD was able to extend tentative job offers to applicants on the spot at many fairs. The TAD has brought 26 candidates on board with another 32 in the pipeline awaiting start dates. The team is also responsible for 67 intermittent test administrators, a very difficult to fill position, joining the command. In addition to regular prospecting for applicants, the TAD is able to quickly shift gears to target high-priority positions, such as medical providers or human resources assistants at hard to fill locations.
Launching with just Carr and talent acquisition specialist Elizabeth Fonk, the TAD’s success quickly led to expansion with the addition of talent acquisition specialist Jeff McKinley and program specialist Michael Hargrove. The team is set to bring on two more personnel in the next few months.
“My primary objective was to build a team of motivated, dedicated and loyal individuals for TAD to recruit high-quality candidates for the MEPS,” said Carr.
Through challenges, TAD continues to adapt and bring the best talent available to USMEPCOM, focusing on the goals for the upcoming year. While TAD plans to continue to attend job fairs, their main focus will be on building relationships with the MEPS to ensure positions are filled timely and with the right talent. The MEPS can reach out directly to TAD to notify them of open positions
Since October 2023, the social media presence of TAD has also grown, with its LinkedIn now featuring more than 4,830 followers, an increase of mor
| Date Taken: | 10.17.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.17.2024 15:22 |
| Story ID: | 483365 |
| Location: | NORTH CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
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