Where are the jobs in the Twin Cities? (job market, buy)

[judlee]

I know of so many who are looking for jobs in the Twin Cities. I have a daughter who moved here from another town in Minnesota who has a wonderful admin and customer service resume. She has been applying for a job for two months without success. There are others in my circle of frends and family who have been laid off from jobs in the Twin Cities and can't find another job. I know of any number of teens and college students who would take any job they can find...and can't find one. Any ideas or tips about jobs?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by judlee

I know of so many who are looking for jobs in the Twin Cities. I have a daughter who moved here from another town in Minnesota who has a wonderful admin and customer service resume. She has been applying for a job for two months without success. There are others in my circle of frends and family who have been laid off from jobs in the Twin Cities and can't find another job. I know of any number of teens and college students who would take any job they can find...and can't find one. Any ideas or tips about jobs?

Things are tough all over the country. The job market in the Atlanta area is no better, and I know of several people who are actively looking, some of them for many many months.

Keep in mind that, due to age/experience and other factors, it can take some people six months to a year to find equivalent full-time work even during normal circumstances, and right now we're looking at a much more serious downturn than we've had in the past few decades.

As a middle-aged airline employee who lost my job after 9/11, for example, it took me roughly 32 months to find equivalent permanent (i.e., non-contract) programming work, and I know a few other folks from NWA who took several months longer than I did, mainly folks who were older than I was. Even when I was laid off in the mid-90's, it took me eight months to find another permanent job.

Two months is not that long, unfortunately. It seems like it when you're looking for work, but it really isn't. That's one reason why extensions to the standard 26-week unemployment benefit are so important to so many people these days...

[uptown_urbanist]

I agree with rcsteiner; two months is a drop in the bucket, unfortunately. I've been unemployed before (and so has my husband), and it can sometimes take a long, long time, even in good times. I have multiple friends in similar circumstances around the country - people with solid resumes, good references, useful skills, and lots of contacts. As far as teens and college students, they're up against people with more experience than them who are willing to work for the same pay. It's a terrible situation for everyone, and I wish your daughter the best of luck. I think the best advice is to just keep looking and sending in resumes and cover letters. Both should be tailored to the specific job and company - right now every job opening seems to be flooded with applicants, many of them not at all suitable or meeting the basic requirements. While there will still probably be large pool of qualified applicants, sometimes the first hurdle is making it through that initial sort. Work the contacts, too; while I haven't been able to find any of my unemployed friends jobs yet, I have been able to at least connect friends with other friends who may possibly have upcoming job openings. Check the websites of specific companies for jobs, too; I know of at least a couple of places that don't bother advertising openings elsewhere if they get a sufficient pool of qualified applicants through their own networks and the company website.

[cdubs3201]

It's bad everywhere. Tell her to try a larger market (LA, Chicago, NY) as there a lot of newer or startup companies that are relying on hiring young people who can handle the lifestyle of living there.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

The problem is that when people leave companies they are reluctant to fill the vacant position and instead are finding ways to have other employees cover the responsibilities. I would still pull up a list of the 100 largest companies in Minnesota and go to each one of the corporate websites to see what's available and submit a resume whenever possible. It helps alot to have connections too.

Local companies that are doing fairly well right now are Best Buy (ever since Circuit City liquidated) and General Mills.

[Ottie28]

I use the website Job Search | one search. all jobs. Indeed it's really great for job searching because it searches all the big sites like Monster, Hot Jobs etc and pulls them into one location. So she won't have to go to each job site to search. It's saved me alot of time.

[tindo80]

I dont want to bring up the big Immigration issue, but in the twin cities to my experience, there are a LARGE number of undocumented workers taking up several jobs in the food service and cleaning industries. Ive heard stories about people recently getting laid off getting jobs at McDonalds or Wendys, then having their Social Security stolen by other employees so they can collect their checks. (I dont know how true that is, to be fair).

Not to hijack the thread, but a lot of people complained not too long ago that undocumented workers only took jobs americans did not want (I was one of them). Now that the layoffs are happening and peoples kids are graduating with no jobs available, its kind of come back to kick everyone in the backside. There are practically no jobs available anywhere.

[minot]

I agree. There are plenty of Americans who would work lower skilled jobs. Our government continues to ignore our pleas to limit immigration and to clamp down on businesses that hire illegals. It's hard not to resent illegals & even new immigrants when our own children cannot pay for their tuition at the very same university (U of M) that provides extra free services for new immigrants. (Had to vent). We have too many people right here in the US competing for work to continue to bring in new immigrants. It's become dog eat dog and corporations could not care less.