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Thread summary:

Transfers to Denver Colorado, better economy, in demand jobs, good economic forecast, high unemployment rate, health care occupations, job lay-offs

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Old 02-01-2009, 12:31 AM
 
Location: Colorado, Denver Metro Area
1,048 posts, read 4,335,666 times
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There are tens or perhaps hundreds of factors to consider before moving to a new city or state, however, there is just one that I really want to “broadcast” and emphasize to perspective people who consider moving here. Given the state of the economy, I really want to emphasize that you really should get a (stable) job lined up BEFORE moving. While this is common sense, I still see many people here (and talk to many people personally) who want to move and hope to score a job quickly.

Previously it was possible to move, start looking for a job, and perhaps scoring one after a “reasonable time.” This is no longer the case, however. The getting a job before moving “suggestion” has turned into a “must have” given the state of the economy here.

Getting an interview when you are out of state is a challenge even during a better economy. Now, however, unless you have a very specific and a very in-demand skills, it may be impossible. The point of this thread is not to scare people, but hopefully to realize that “we will move and then find a job” is a bad route to take. I am not sure if past threads of such claims make people think that it is an option now and that why I decided to post this thread.

Many employers now are concerned to have enough demand and revenue to have the current employees working (not to do layoffs) and not about future great expansion (when you have a good economy). Many businesses have started a “hiring freeze” and if someone does leave/resign (voluntarily) then the position is often not filled at all.

Colorado’s current official unemployment rate is 6.1%. To put that into perspective, that is 167,600 people you may be competing against to find a job. While the rate is for the entire state of Colorado, it is also important to keep in mind that (based on 2007 stats) 62% of Coloradans lived in the Denver, Aurora, Boulder area. Colorado currently has a budget shortfall of $1,000,000,000 through next year.

The 2009 forecasts are not looking good or for thing to be getting better. For now, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
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Old 02-01-2009, 12:41 AM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
7,084 posts, read 12,017,816 times
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It could be worse, I moved from Denver to Oregon which has a 9% unemployment. I agree wholeheartedly, in this economy more then any other time since I can remember having a job before moving is very very important.
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Old 02-01-2009, 03:14 AM
 
Location: Denver, CO
5,610 posts, read 23,235,693 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoWeb View Post
The getting a job before moving “suggestion” has turned into a “must have” given the state of the economy here.
...

Quote:
Getting an interview when you are out of state is a challenge even during a better economy. Now, however, unless you have a very specific and a very in-demand skills, it may be impossible.
So essentially, what you're saying is, unless if you're a hot shot, forget about moving to Denver.

One assumption you are making is that everybody thinking of moving to Denver already has a job. What if someone is currently unemployed where they live? What if where someone currently lives has a higher unemployment rate than Denver, as well as an astronomically high cost of living?

What would you recommend specifically for me? I'm going to be graduating USC with a master's this May. Denver is where I want to live and start my career (as well as one other place that is a consideration). I was born and raised in Denver (okay, technically Aurora), it's still my permanent address, I still have my 303 phone number, and I have the option of living with my family while I continue to look for a job after I graduate if need be. In fact even if I had/get a job offer now in my field in LA (unemployment rate = 9.9%, btw) or elsewhere, it likely wouldn't start until September/October of this year, so I would be living at home for approximately 3-4 months after I graduate anyway. What should I do?
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Old 02-01-2009, 09:14 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,244,119 times
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Well. I read the OP last night, but I was way too tired to respond. I have thought about it some.

I think ColoWeb is giving good advice to the general poster on this forum. That puts you in a Catch-22 situation as far as scoring interviews to get the job. One possible solution I thought of would be to arrange to come out here for say a week or so, and send out resumes stating when you will be in town to interview. Hopefully, you have relatives or friends that you can stay with for that period. Once out here, you also get more of a feel for what's going on than you do surfing the web.

For people just graduating (and I have two daughters graduating this spring), the situation is certainly different. You have to look somewhere. In fact, that is exactly what DH and I did when he got his PhD. We packed everything up in a U-Haul truck and a Ford Fiesta, drove out here and rented a furnished apt w/o a lease while he looked for a job. If things had gotten bad money-wise, I would have looked for one too, but I/we thought it better for him to find employment first, then the locale would be settled.

I would offer a caveat to people in my field, nursing. Last year there was talk of a national "nursing shortage". There was such a shortage when we moved out here. These shortages do not impact Denver as severely, b/c people are always moving here, and, we're not hearing that term any more. Be prepared to take some time finding a job. Last Sunday, there were no RN jobs advertised in the Boulder paper, and only a few CNA jobs.

In short, don't quit your day job!

The other piece of advice I would give is to have enough money saved for at least 6 months living expenses, if you're not living at home.

Last edited by Katarina Witt; 02-01-2009 at 10:00 AM.. Reason: clarify
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Old 02-01-2009, 09:55 AM
 
Location: West of the 100th Meridian
27 posts, read 80,320 times
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I would also offer that if you are in a field where it's possible, you might try online networking with locals in your chosen field. That might take more time then you want, but might allow you to find out about jobs that aren't "public." I just moved back having gotten a job through a guy I knew. It hadn't been made public yet and it was offered to me first because I was a "known quantity."

Might not be possible for all occupations but something to consider.
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Old 02-01-2009, 09:56 AM
 
43 posts, read 102,181 times
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wow, I guess I am not adventurous. I have never moved anywhere without a job except college.

To reiterate the safety thing....you can even "get the job" in another town and then it doesn't work out. That happened twice to my husband in the last decade.

Just keep your nut as low as possible.
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Old 02-01-2009, 12:11 PM
 
Location: Loving the Baker Hood!!
380 posts, read 1,225,539 times
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It is tough to find a job here. I was laid off a couple weeks ago and have never found job hunting so disturbing. Problem is it is bad everywhere...even worse then here in many places. When I first moved here seven months ago I came without a job. I tried to score one before the move with no luck. Of course having a job before you move anywhere is ideal but ideal rarely happens. In my opinion if you have a job keep it no matter what. If you are laid off and looking for a job anyway why not move and seek your job in the place you want to live.
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Old 02-01-2009, 01:41 PM
 
Location: Colorado, Denver Metro Area
1,048 posts, read 4,335,666 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim View Post
...
So essentially, what you're saying is, unless if you're a hot shot, forget about moving to Denver.
Not at all. I am just acknowledging the current economy and that getting a job out of state is hard even during a good economy. Now, it can be even harder so that is all the more reasons to try and find one before the move.

Quote:
One assumption you are making is that everybody thinking of moving to Denver already has a job. What if someone is currently unemployed where they live? What if where someone currently lives has a higher unemployment rate than Denver, as well as an astronomically high cost of living?
You are making a valid and a good point. My suggestion, like all, cannot cover any and all situations. However, the fact that Colorado's unemployment rate today is 6.1% does not mean that when one moves that it will be any better. While I certainly hope we do not get into the 9% or 10% unemployment rates like some states, the 6.1% figure will defiantly rise.

Additionally, one must consider the resources that they have at their location, family/friends etc compared to another place where they may not have or know anyone (which can make it harder to find a job).

One also has to consider their costs of moving as well. If one is out of work and they have 3 places they consider to live/work, I'd suggest that they try to get a job ahead of time from you current location instead of move, wait, no job, move again etc.

Quote:
What would you recommend specifically for me?
I was thinking you were already in Colorado for some reason .
Anyway, what area is your master's Degree in?

Overall, I would say that you should be fine in relocating here. My basis for this opinion is that

1. You have (will have) a master's degree. With high unemployment rates, this puts you near the top of people to consider and you slice away a good portion of your competition. In May, the unemployment will be higher plus you will be competing with all of the Spring grads. Your masters will be of great help.

2. You have family here you can stay with. Even if you did not have a masters degree, the fact that you can live with the family is a great thing.

Hope the move goes well for you and I look forward having you here in Colorado.

- Dr. ColoWeb

Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiana View Post
One possible solution I thought of would be to arrange to come out here for say a week or so, and send out resumes stating when you will be in town to interview. Hopefully, you have relatives or friends that you can stay with for that period.
This is a great point that I should have made in my original post. The intention was not to scare people but to make them think.

Distributing resumes ahead of time and coming to Denver for the interviews would be the best route to take in terms of "getting a job before you move." Having family, friends or relatives that you can stay with is even better!

Thanks Katriana for pointing this out.


Quote:
Last Sunday, there were no RN jobs advertised in the Boulder paper, and only a few CNA jobs.
I was thinking that nursing/medial was much safer. Yesterday, however, I heared that Boulder Community Hospital has closed its internal medicine practice.

Quote:
Originally Posted by the_koolkat View Post
It is tough to find a job here. I was laid off a couple weeks ago and have never found job hunting so disturbing.
I am very sorry to hear that. I know it is difficult now but I hope things will get better for you. Just don't give up and Keep trying!
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Old 02-01-2009, 02:33 PM
 
Location: Denver, CO
5,610 posts, read 23,235,693 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoWeb View Post
I was thinking you were already in Colorado for some reason .
I was back home for about a month during winter break (when I posted all those photo tours), but that was just visiting.

Quote:
Anyway, what area is your master's Degree in?
Accounting.

Quote:
1. You have (will have) a master's degree. With high unemployment rates, this puts you near the top of people to consider and you slice away a good portion of your competition. In May, the unemployment will be higher plus you will be competing with all of the Spring grads. Your masters will be of great help.

2. You have family here you can stay with. Even if you did not have a masters degree, the fact that you can live with the family is a great thing.

Hope the move goes well for you and I look forward having you here in Colorado.

- Dr. ColoWeb
Thanks, ColoWeb.

I'm have a pretty interesting dilemma right now. Actually it's a "trilemma." Despite my Denver "credentials," so to speak, I'm physically living in Los Angeles right now. The original plan was last fall I wanted to get hired with one of the "Big Four" or national "mid tier" accounting firms and they would refer me directly to their offices in Denver. And in fact, a year ago, there were several students at my school who accomplished exactly that, and got a job directly with the Big Four in Denver coming straight out of USC. This year, they still talked the talk as if they would "refer" my application, but in actuality they figured they didn't want to waste their time (the campus recruiters here are interested primarily in filling bodies in downtown LA) and threw my application in the garbage can instead.

There's going to be another major school-wide career fair and an accounting specific career fair (mainly the smaller, local firms) and wave of interviews beginning this week and continuing over the next several weeks and months. So if I just stuck with the program like everybody else, I could probably land some sort of job offer here in LA before I graduated. Problem is I hate it here, and I don't want to get stuck here, and I don't even want to hang on for a few years. I want out now (well, May). And one of the reasons I wanted to go into public accounting in the first place is because you meet so many of your clients face to face, building relationships with people all over the local business community. And LA is not the community I want to be a part of. I want to start off right-- not living somewhere where I KNOW I'll want to get the heck out ASAP before I even start day one on the job. I think if I'm living somewhere where I'm happy, everything-- work, life, friends, relationships, will be better.

The other issue is there's actually two cities I'm interested in living in, and I'd be happier in either one than in LA-- Denver or Albuquerque. Denver is probably where I'll be when all is said and done, however I find ABQ highly appealing for a number of reasons. Several people on the ABQ forum claim that I could probably probably get a job with a local firm there in my field somewhat easily. Not sure if that will really be true or not. However, New Mexico actually has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation right now. If it in fact turns out that I get a job offer there before graduation and nothing pops up in Denver, I might very well take it and trade my 303 number for 505. And if I do get a job offer in Denver before graduation, then I'll be thrilled to take it.

The scenario that I'm afraid of though, is if I haven't landed anything in either DEN or ABQ, but I have a pending job offer or a significant chance of landing one in LA. Then I would be extremely confused what to do. I'm perfectly willing to move back home with my family without a job, then look. And as I've said before, even if I had a job offer now, most of these firms don't actually start their new hires until September, so I'd be back home for 3-4 months anyway (spending time getting a head start on the CPA exam). My only concern is if by then, with the flood of all the college graduates hitting the market, there is no more open positions for public accounting jobs left in Denver. In other words, the dilemma could be a choice between a sure poison and a total uncertainty. I could look into jobs other than public accounting, but ideally I want to become a CPA.

I'm sure many people out there would love to have my problems! But it is a pretty grinding issue for me right now, especially with the career fair coming up this week.
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Old 02-01-2009, 03:28 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,244,119 times
Reputation: 35920
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoWeb View Post

I was thinking that nursing/medial was much safer. Yesterday, however, I heared that Boulder Community Hospital has closed its internal medicine practice.
Boulder Community Hospital owns several medical practices. They are closing one, supposedly due to poor medicare reimbursement.
Boulder hospital shutters popular practice : County News : Boulder Daily Camera (http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jan/30/boulder-hospital-shutters-internal-practice/ - broken link)

I work in pediatrics. We have not been as busy this winter as in years past. It's hard to know just why that is.

There were two RN ads in today's Sunday Boulder Camera, one full time and one part time, and one ad for CNAs.
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