Where are all the jobs in Atlanta? (real estate, cheap home)

[movingover]

I am having trouble tapping into the Atlanta job market. I am a veteran software developer, with 15 years of experience. My resume is top notch, an ex-Microsoftie, and 10 years+ of working on Wall Street at the top banks. My skills are relevant and in strong shape, but I cannot get a single call back on my resume, and that includes staffing and placement firms in Atlanta!

I know people will say it's the economy, but I don't buy it. In the NY area, where I am still gainfully employed, I am constantly harrassed by recruiters. And NY is suffering a horrible job loss problem, especially in finance.

So what is going on. Are Atlanta companies just not interested in relocating people from up north? Is the talent pool so good that they can choose local candidates? Are recruiters not interested in speaking, knowing that the chance of getting me a position with Atlanta firms is slim, so they'd rather not even bother to return an email and tell me?

Or maybe my perception of the Atlanta job market is better than reality? I am specifically open to any industry, biotech, finance, software, IT, whatever.

Thanks for any advice, if I can't get any traction I will probably give up trying and focus on a bigger city like Chicago.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by movingover

Or maybe my perception of the Atlanta job market is better than reality?

Bingo!

Atlanta has gained this reputation as being the "Golden Child" city, filled with high-paying jobs just waiting to be filled, and cheap homes, where all may come to live in instant prosperity. Um - no.

Atlanta has been growing faster than the national average for decades, and as such, got a rather lofty reputation as everything from "the" black mecca, to job central, to a real estate investor's dream, yadda yadda. I've about heard every one out there. When the bubble busted on the housing and then the entire economy, Atlanta was one of the last cities to "fall" (so to speak) while others looked gloomy, but it still caught up with us. We're in it with the best of them now.

Not having a local address/phone number is one hit against you right off the bat. Many don't want to fool with out-of-towners who "might" relocate here if they get a position. That being said, even if you used various services to get a pseudo local address and phone exchange, it won't guarantee anything right now. Do some searching on past posts in this forum and you'll find similar stories to your own. A very lucky few landed jobs fairly quickly - more did not, and a handful are leaving town due to no prospects after as much as two years of actually living here.

No doubt once the job/economy/housing scene starts to bounce back, the flood will once again return to Atlanta, but right now, there really aren't any magic pills to toss your way to get you to land something here.

[RZaakir]

I'm in your field, in Atlanta and I get harassed by recruiters. I don't know a single programmer that is out of work. As a matter of fact, I don't know many who are even looking for a better job. Are you using Careerbuilder? I seem to get several pings per week from there.

[marjoriexxx]

Originally Posted by movingover

I am having trouble tapping into the Atlanta job market. I am a veteran software developer, with 15 years of experience. My resume is top notch, an ex-Microsoftie, and 10 years+ of working on Wall Street at the top banks. My skills are relevant and in strong shape, but I cannot get a single call back on my resume, and that includes staffing and placement firms in Atlanta!

I know people will say it's the economy, but I don't buy it. In the NY area, where I am still gainfully employed, I am constantly harrassed by recruiters. And NY is suffering a horrible job loss problem, especially in finance.

So what is going on. Are Atlanta companies just not interested in relocating people from up north? Is the talent pool so good that they can choose local candidates? Are recruiters not interested in speaking, knowing that the chance of getting me a position with Atlanta firms is slim, so they'd rather not even bother to return an email and tell me?

Or maybe my perception of the Atlanta job market is better than reality? I am specifically open to any industry, biotech, finance, software, IT, whatever.

Thanks for any advice, if I can't get any traction I will probably give up trying and focus on a bigger city like Chicago.

You should be in Huntsville, Alabama. Software professionals are in demand there. It really is a nice clean city with very little crime.

[movingover]

Originally Posted by RZaakir

I'm in your field, in Atlanta and I get harassed by recruiters. I don't know a single programmer that is out of work. As a matter of fact, I don't know many who are even looking for a better job. Are you using Careerbuilder? I seem to get several pings per week from there.

No I don't like leaving my resume on a database for recruiters. I work in finance, its a small community and if word got out that I'm looking, it could seriously compromise my bonus, and in the end I could have that happen and still have no new job.

I prefer just emailing recruiters directly, and in the NY area I get calls back usually in 5 minutes. My work experience is *very* good. So I just don't get it. Are there any good recruiters that you know of that are tapped into hiring managers in major technology teams? Maybe you could earn a referral bonus

[movingover]

Originally Posted by marjoriexxx

You should be in Huntsville, Alabama. Software professionals are in demand there. It really is a nice clean city with very little crime.

Thanks for the suggestion. What companies are in the area that are looking for software developers? I'm really not familiar with AL whatsoever.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by movingover

I prefer just emailing recruiters directly, and in the NY area I get calls back usually in 5 minutes. My work experience is *very* good. So I just don't get it.

This reminds me, just yesterday I was reading somewhere that protocols for how you look for a job vary considerably between the Northeast and the Southeast. I don't know if something like that is involved in this case or not, but it does make me wonder.

Maybe we need to have a thread on that topic, as well.

[gt6974a]

Software Engineers/Developers are in demand in Atlanta. I'm in the field. Most jobs in Atlanta seem to be handled through recruiters, most are 6-month Contract to Perm. If you don't want to post your resume I'd suggest going to computerjobs, careerbuilder, dice (in that order, monster stinks, simplyhired will give you all postings) and send it to the recruiters. You should get calls back the next day.

[coolyfett]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Bingo!

Atlanta has gained this reputation as being the "Golden Child" city, filled with high-paying jobs just waiting to be filled, and cheap homes, where all may come to live in instant prosperity. Um - no.

Atlanta has been growing faster than the national average for decades, and as such, got a rather lofty reputation as everything from "the" black mecca, to job central, to a real estate investor's dream, yadda yadda. I've about heard every one out there. When the bubble busted on the housing and then the entire economy, Atlanta was one of the last cities to "fall" (so to speak) while others looked gloomy, but it still caught up with us. We're in it with the best of them now.

Not having a local address/phone number is one hit against you right off the bat. Many don't want to fool with out-of-towners who "might" relocate here if they get a position. That being said, even if you used various services to get a pseudo local address and phone exchange, it won't guarantee anything right now. Do some searching on past posts in this forum and you'll find similar stories to your own. A very lucky few landed jobs fairly quickly - more did not, and a handful are leaving town due to no prospects after as much as two years of actually living here.

No doubt once the job/economy/housing scene starts to bounce back, the flood will once again return to Atlanta, but right now, there really aren't any magic pills to toss your way to get you to land something here.

Flood of people moving here or flood of jobs?

[RZaakir]

Originally Posted by movingover

No I don't like leaving my resume on a database for recruiters. I work in finance, its a small community and if word got out that I'm looking, it could seriously compromise my bonus, and in the end I could have that happen and still have no new job.

I prefer just emailing recruiters directly, and in the NY area I get calls back usually in 5 minutes. My work experience is *very* good. So I just don't get it. Are there any good recruiters that you know of that are tapped into hiring managers in major technology teams? Maybe you could earn a referral bonus

Are you looking to remain in the financial sector?