"You never know which organization will work best for the veteran," said Josh Wheeldon, leader of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) in Washington state. He was chatting with other veterans and advocates at the Cask and Trotter in Seattle last Thursday as they shared their experiences over drinks for "Veteran Strong."

The event, jointly hosted and sponsored by Northeastern University and the IAVA, is just one part of a series of events bringing together veterans and corporate recruiters to network and build larger professional networks in Washington state.

Andy McCarty, Northeastern University's Director of the Center for the Advancement of Veterans and Servicemembers, flew out from Boston for the event. "It's great to meet vets doing great things in Seattle," he said. "Every time I come out here, I learn something new."

Victor Jabri, military outreach specialist at Northeastern's Seattle campus, was one of the chief organizers. "We always hear about events in the South Sound and JBLM," he explained. "But there are a lot of us making things happen in Seattle and the North Sound."

Seattle's economy has been growing in part owing the "tech boom," with both startup and established technology companies growing and venturing into new territories. Microsoft, Nokia and Amazon are Seattle institutions and Google recently opened a Seattle office.

Many servicemembers are seeking tech careers as they leave the military for the private sector.

"We initiated a ‘Vets in Tech' career series focused on identifying key roles in the tech community, preparing career-seekers with pertinent tech-specific interview techniques, and mock interviews," Jabri explained. "We are also venturing into identifying women veterans in tech, and diversity in tech, which are both interesting challenges."

Cooperation and networking are vital for veterans organizations and advocates. Wheeldon has been working to build bridges between various programs. In addition to being the state leader for IAVA, he's also a member of the PNW Veteran's Coalition. "We're trying to do things all over the state and connect as many people as we can," Wheeldon said.

The event Cask and Trotter also brought out representatives from Bellevue College, University of Washington, and University of Washington's Bothell campus. Jabri and McCarty explained that they want to work together with other universities and maintain contacts with their veteran outreach offices. That way if student veterans can't find the programs they want to pursue at a particular university, they can get a referral to a university that would.

"It's all about finding the right program for the veteran," Jabri said.

Next week, Northeastern University Seattle will host a "Veterans Hiring and Career Development Summit" at its Seattle campus on March 3 from 5-9 p.m. This event will bring HR professionals - recruiters and hiring managers - together to learn how to properly identify veterans and transitioning military personnel seeking careers.

"We will introduce them to several talent pools they can use to find veterans seeking career opportunities, such as Work of Honor, The VA's Veterans Economic Communities Initiative, and several others," Jabri explained.