tentative move to Phx within two weeks - no job (Phoenix: home, find a job) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

tpen · 08-30-2011, 02:31 PM

Hesitant to ask, but figured I better after meeting a couple from Phoenix moving away because of lack of jobs. I WANT to move there and just loved the weather and people the last 3x I visited during April and twice in July.

My dilemma is finding a job......my sector is GIS, or computer mapping with gvt or private engineering firms. I have a financial savings and I don't need a job in the sector immediately, but my question is this - can I expect to find a job (any job) to get me by in the Scottsdale area for 2-6 months???

This board has helped tons with confirmation of what I have experienced and this question may be difficult, but I have tried Indeed and minimal searches on craigslist.

MotleyCrew · 08-30-2011, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpen

Hesitant to ask, but figured I better after meeting a couple from Phoenix moving away because of lack of jobs. I WANT to move there and just loved the weather and people the last 3x I visited during April and twice in July.

My dilemma is finding a job......my sector is GIS, or computer mapping with gvt or private engineering firms. I have a financial savings and I don't need a job in the sector immediately, but my question is this - can I expect to find a job (any job) to get me by in the Scottsdale area for 2-6 months???

This board has helped tons with confirmation of what I have experienced and this question may be difficult, but I have tried Indeed and minimal searches on craigslist.

Our daughter has been job hunting for over a year now with only scams and low paying jobs available. She has a BS and working on her MBA right now. I really would not make a move like you are talking about without at least a years living wage saved up. Best of luck to you.

azdr0710 · 08-30-2011, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpen

but my question is this - can I expect to find a job (any job) to get me by in the Scottsdale area for 2-6 months???

why does it have to be a job only in the Scottsdale area??....

Scottsdale has about 300,000+ people and the entire Phx metro area has about 4M+ people.....

yes, you can find "any job" within 2-6 months.....but it may take longer to find exactly what you want....do you have any networking contacts within your field?....know any locals?....have you done all the internet job search stuff?....

are you working now in your field still?....

mistygrl092 · 08-30-2011, 06:41 PM

I'd be careful to say you can find "any" job within 2 to 6 months. Our UE rate is now at 9.4 rate (going up) and today's job fair at Talking Stick was attended by 2000 people waiting in line for hours for 100 jobs. One person had been out of work for a long time and was willing to scrub toilets or floors. She'd sent out 50 resumes in the past three weeks and heard nothing back. Anyway, maybe I'm confusing people (the ones at the fair), but things are not looking good here.

I'd google on Talking Stick job fair at AZ Central and read the article.

pandaundercover · 08-30-2011, 06:55 PM

Well I'm seeing plenty of "hourly" jobs available. Starbucks, pizza hut, dunkin donuts, target, macys, Michaels, Kohls, etc. Managing to score one full time is probably a huge dilemma. And if your overall plan is to make more than enough for a decent life, of course this isn't enough money at all. As for regular jobs in your field, I really don't know. Look on Monster.com and see what you see. I'm about to finish with my BS in health education and am already convinced I certainly won't be finding a job in that field (or even in internship) for a few years. And since I haven't had a job in 5 years, I've been denied for basic hourly jobs that I"m more than capable of. And I'm only 26; so it's not like I'm an old lady that can't do anything.

mistygrl092 · 08-30-2011, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pandaundercover

Well I'm seeing plenty of "hourly" jobs available. Starbucks, pizza hut, dunkin donuts, target, macys, Michaels, Kohls, etc. Managing to score one full time is probably a huge dilemma. And if your overall plan is to make more than enough for a decent life, of course this isn't enough money at all. As for regular jobs in your field, I really don't know. Look on Monster.com and see what you see. I'm about to finish with my BS in health education and am already convinced I certainly won't be finding a job in that field (or even in internship) for a few years. And since I haven't had a job in 5 years, I've been denied for basic hourly jobs that I"m more than capable of. And I'm only 26; so it's not like I'm an old lady that can't do anything.

Well, thanks for pointing out that age discrimination is alive and well, first of all. Considering it's a lot of younger people that do the hiring, good to know that attitudes like yours are out there.

Fortunately, not everyone thinks as you do.

Southwest Job Network may be a good resource to consider once the OP gets here. It meets twice monthly and has some good speakers and the OP can network with others, maybe even get lucky and come across someone in his field. They say the best way to get a job is through someone you know so a networking event might be worth looking into.

Rick Lee · 08-30-2011, 11:46 PM

My wife left a very good job in DC in mid-2008 to move here with me and had a much better job here within three weeks. I'm with the same company that sent me here in 2008. But I keep an ear to the ground and have had several phone interviews and a few in person ones. They don't really go anywhere because none sounded better than the gig I have and so I don't get excited about them. Whenever they ask why I'm looking, I tell them because I don't have to look. And that's the best time to be looking. Jobs are out there if you're good at what you do, have a good network and have a good resume. I blast out resumes on Indeed.com once in a while and expect to hear nothing back. But when I find something that looks good, I write a serious cover letter and tailor my resume for that job description.

Java Jolt · 08-31-2011, 09:32 AM

I'm afraid to say this but it might be best to stay where you are and keep looking for something in your field.

Making a move to a new city right now is not a wise choice with the shaky economy and fears of another recession.

Unemployment is not only a problem here, it's all over the country.

The only place I know of is maybe San Jose-Silicon Valley area in California, that might be a better location for your engineering experience and chances of landing a good job in your field.

Rick Lee · 08-31-2011, 11:50 AM

If you really want to end up here, then you might as well make the move. It's a lot easier to network and hear about jobs when you're where you want to work than to do it from afar. I was prepared to flip burgers here while looking for a job, had my current employer not sent me here. My wife's employer in DC let her work from home here until she found another job locally.

Jkgourmet · 08-31-2011, 01:58 PM

Definitely prepare for a long haul employment search, and be prepared to take something less than what you want. But if it's what you want to do, and you have adequate savings and no family issues to be concerned with, I'd say the worst that can happen is you use up all your savings and head back, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Get seriously involved with LinkedIn including putting up a photo. Post those resumes to every online site you can - but be VERY aware that 99% of what you will hear is crap or scams. Hook up with people in your industry, either on FB or LinkedIn or some other industry group.

Only place that I can think of that may be close to your specialty is this one: GPS Tracking | GPS Fleet Tracking | GPS Vehicle Tracking | GPS Insight.com I don't know if they are hiring, but they are very entrepreneurial oriented, so might be more open minded about somebody who is taking a risk to move here.

good luck.