Editor’s note: In the above video, we incorrectly stated how soon the Texas Veterans Commission Job Fair-CON was happening. The event is happening July 24 at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — When Cory Patton walked into a job fair last year, he was understandably nervous. The Air Force veteran had a background in construction but hoped to find a job where his employer valued the skills he developed over his years in military service, too.
At the fair, Patton met Cody Peres, president of Heritage Roofing and a Marine Corps veteran himself. Peres remembers meeting what felt like thousands of veterans walking around the fair that day but said he saw something special in Cory.
“Posture, stature and confidence,” Peres said. “How you present yourself in an unfamiliar situation like that will tell me pretty much everything I need to know about you.”
Now, Patton works as a sales and project manager at Heritage, and he said it’s a great fit. He said, “It is a camaraderie with other veterans, and it makes you feel at home.”
Peres jokes that his team’s morning meetings are like a military formation.
“The joke is: who’s going to be 10 minutes 15 minutes early. It’s a competition for who’s going to be there first,” he said. “It gives you that feeling — that sense of belonging that you had when you were in the military — whatever branch you were in, and we’re able to replicate that with a high volume of success to provide for your family here stateside.”
The Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) hopes to replicate this kind of connection at its regular job fairs. Its goal is to make the transition easier for people leaving the service and settling back into civilian life.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor in May 2025, the veteran unemployment rate was 3.8%, up from 3.7% the previous month and up from 2.9% the prior year. The veteran employment rate in Texas is higher than the national average. Austin was ranked the No. 1 best city for veterans in 2024 by WalletHub — factoring in job availability, income growth and overall quality of life.
Still, TVC’s Veteran Employer Liaison and Army veteran Isaac Marquez-Diaz said he, too, remembers how overwhelming the search for employment can be. It’s why he opted to host one of the agency’s largest fairs at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Round Rock last summer and marketed the event as a family-friendly “Job Fair-CON” — a play on popular comic conventions.
“They can come, bring their kids, their family, so they can feel more comfortable with who’s around them,” he said about the different approach. “I wanted to make it a little bit fun.”
According to TVC, 37 of the more than 70 vendors at last year’s fair stated that they planned to hire job seekers from the event. The agency partnered with Indeed Flex management, which reported assisting veterans obtain more than 50 on-the-spot interviews. TVC said its veteran career advisors can also assist in translating military experience into civilian resumes.
Marquez-Diaz said the 2024 event was so successful they are bringing it back this year with some additional services.
“We’re going to be able to give veterans maybe a free haircut, free professional clothing, if they come in and they’re struggling and they need those services,” he said. “Like in the military, we always make sure that our soldier next to each other is squared away.”
As a veteran employer liaison, Marquez-Diaz also said he helps companies understand the benefits of hiring veterans, such as tax incentives.
Patton has been on the job at Heritage for several months now. He said it’s going well, and he feels challenged. He thanks the TVC for the opportunity.
“Texas Veterans Commission made it pretty easy — and a pretty easy process — and there’s always people behind you to help you out,” he said.
The upcoming Job Fair-CON will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 24, at Kalahari Convention Center. For more details, click here.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
