Job Advice for a Recent Transplant (Portland, Biddeford: rental car, rental, job market)

[Carbon Tiger]

Greetings all. I have a bit of a story to tell here. I'm a recent transplant to the northeast and am currently crashing with some friends of mine in Nashua NH. I drove up to Biddeford ME for a job interview last week. Sadly I didn't land the job but I love the look of the state and overall 'feel' of Maine. I think it may relate to being from the small town south originally. Researching the state I found Portland looks like a great area to live in and considering I'm only about an hour and forty five minutes away moving wouldn't be a big deal. Now the problem is finding a job, it's nerve wrecking. I have two college degrees (a BA in History and a Marketing BS) and I have 4 years work as a student worker (minimum wage flunky) and a year experience as a government worker in Louisiana. Monster has been all but worthless meaning Maine either has no jobs (unlikely) or their not going up on Monster.com So Mainers I come to you with a question, whose hiring and where are these jobs posted. Basically who can I pester into giving me a decent entry level business job so I can get on my feet. I hope you guys can help and I'd be thankful if you would. I'd like to join you guys.

[dmyankee]

Your first hunch might just be the right one.

[DavidWM]

Try jobsinme.com.

[juststoppinby]

Check out southernmainehelpwanted.com
Welcome to the forum

[Carbon Tiger]

Thanks everyone for the advice and thank you for the welcome sdstlouis

[elston]

Tiger......good luck to you! Maine is really wonderful but from what I hear employment is tough....I was retired when I moved here...so I have no good advice. When my sons moved here one worked as a waiter/bar tender for a couple of years until he landed a job in his field....the other found entry level position in his field......I believe it is really tough job market. Good Luck. Your impressions are right.....this is a fantastic area in which to live.

[K-Luv]

Working here is kind of odd. Some people do have good full time jobs, but a good number of people also work seasonal jobs and then collect unemployment for the rest of the year while others are patchers; i.e., they patch together enough part time and odd jobs to equal full time employment.

I wouldn't bother with Monster, there is a free paper that is found all over town, Jobs in Maine or something like that. They have a lot of listings, but do not look at their website as it just takes you to Monster and for some reason has a slimmer selection. There is, of course, the Press Herald. Sundays section is usually choke full of jobs and is probably the best listings around.

Most people tend to gain employment through people that they know. Not just here, but everywhere it seems.

FedEx and Enterprise Rent a Car are both always hiring at their Portland Jetport locations.

[pinolichef]

Hello ,
i was looking to see what is the feeling of town i am about to open a new restaurant italian chef , so will relocate .
My opinion is that brunswick is not shut down in the winter also like the idea of been the only one in town actually autenthic.
Any feed back is well appreciated thanks

[Nancy-NJ-NY-ME?]

Originally Posted by DavidWM

Try jobsinme.com.

Thanks for posting this site. Though this recently awakened thread is nearly four years old, seems there's always something to learn from each other.

[NonSineDeo]

Look into managing a rental car location. They'll take just about anyone. I ran a location in 2010, got paid $31,500, which was pretty low even for Maine, but my boss was about 5-7 years ahead of me career-wise and making $75k+. It can be physical work and you'll break a sweat at times, but you'll be responsible for millions in assets, which if nothing else, looks good on a resume.