Cook Job Climate? (Portland, Eugene: apartments, renting, job market)

[Cookery]

Hi everyone! Well, the great news is we're moving to the Portland area. The frustrating news is that it's proving really hard to nail down a job from this far away - we're currently in MN.

My husband is a chef with some good credentials and several years of kitchen management experience, but too many of the fish he's seen in the past few years have had to be frozen to make it this far inland, and choice produce is pretty limited as well. He can't wait to get his hands on all the great local ingredients of the Pacific Northwest.

He's been applying and sending resumes out daily for several weeks to restaurants and corporations, but it is HARD to get a response. I'm thinking the MN address might have something to do with it since there certainly doesn't seem to be any shortage of open positions for which he'd be qualified. He did get invited to an open interview time, but it was on less than 12 hours notice and he couldn't swing it.

I'm wondering about the wisdom/value in coming to Portland for say, 3-4 days to 'beat the pavement' basically. Think it would be effective?

If there's anyone here close to the restaurant industry, is it really competitive right now?

Thanks for any help or insight you can offer!

[Metlakatla]

A chef I know had no luck at all finding work in Portland, even though he has good credentials, been in Gourmet magazine, etc. He went to Chicago for a visit over the holidays and got hired by a place called Alinea within a couple of weeks of being there.

Google Alinea. If someone who is skilled enough to get hired there can't find work in Portland...well, that should tell you something.

It is extremely competitive.

But he could perhaps get lucky and be in the right place at the right time, who knows.

The great local ingredients in the PNW are for the most part seasonally specific. Go out for a meal just now and order salmon or halibut--it'll be frozen. But working with the products of flash freezing really isn't much different than working with fresh catch.

If you can swing more than 3-4 days you'll have a better chance.

[Cookery]

Thanks for the reply.

That Alinea looks gorgeous.

The husband has been lucky enough to start dialogue with one chef owner in Portland, and she's said she'd like to help him find a good place. I hope that will make a difference.

Maybe we could do up to a week in Portland. It's the slow (cold) season here. -30 degree windchill today.

It's taking all the self control we've got not to just throw it all off and move without getting the job first... but I know in my head that's not smart. The economy's not what it used to be! It's just that it seems like the establishments are filling the positions pretty quickly, calling interview times for the next day, expecting someone to start by the weekend. Merely being this far away takes him out of the running of so many opportunities.

[aroseinrain]

By my estimation the best way to get any kind of employment around here is to be in the right place at the right time (unless you know someone). I have a feeling it works like this: day after day they get handfuls of resumes and put them in a pile that just grows and grows... eventually someone puts in their 2 weeks notice and they look at the top 5-10 resumes on the pile (which probably came in that day) and call the qualified applicants - which will be maybe 3-4 people - to come in for an interview within the next couple of days. One of them gets hired.

So if your resume just happened to be on the top of the pile when they decided to hire someone then you have a 10% chance of getting the job.

Come for a visit, make 50 copies of your resume and hit the streets. Check back 5 days later and drop off another resume, rinse and repeat. Getting a job here is a full time job.

On rare occasion someone from another state will make a phone call and talk to the right person and actually get the job, but even then it's all in the timing that they just happened to call on that particular day and speak with that particular person. But it does happen.. don't give up hope, but it's not easy.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Cookery

Thanks for the reply.

That Alinea looks gorgeous.

The husband has been lucky enough to start dialogue with one chef owner in Portland, and she's said she'd like to help him find a good place. I hope that will make a difference.

.

That's great. That's the sort of thing it takes to get hired in food in Oregon.

The most opportunities in food these days are in assisted living type of places...probably not the kind of cooking that your husband wants to do, but it could be a start. Also, some grocery stores here employ chefs for their catering services. This one's pretty good:

Market of Choice - Careers with Us - marketofchoice.com

They're mostly in Eugene but I think they opened a store in Portland recently.

Portland is big on NW regional cuisine...Greg Atkinson exemplifies this better than I can explain it:

West Coast Cooking by Greg Atkinson

The owner of this restaurant told me that he is always looking for talent, but that was a few years ago before the crash. Could be worth looking into though.


Clyde Common / Domestic & Foreign Cooking in Portland, Oregon

Portland...all of Oregon, really...does tend to have a local hiring bias...but in the food industry, that's going to be more at play in mom and pop diners and pizza places than in the more high end establishments. But there is also competitiion from recent graduates of the Northwest Culinary School.

On the other hand, a lot of good chefs have moved on from Portland due to the job market, so there could be openings for newcomers.

[davefr]

Originally Posted by aroseinrain

By my estimation the best way to get any kind of employment around here is to be in the right place at the right time (unless you know someone). I have a feeling it works like this: day after day they get handfuls of resumes and put them in a pile that just grows and grows... eventually someone puts in their 2 weeks notice and they look at the top 5-10 resumes on the pile (which probably came in that day) and call the qualified applicants - which will be maybe 3-4 people - to come in for an interview within the next couple of days. One of them gets hired.

I would agree with you except for one thing. When it comes time to hire they won't even look at the pile of resumes.

They will call someone they have first hand knowledge with. It's all about who you know and the only way to break in is with constant FTF networking. It might take months, quarters or even years.

Maybe the husband should enroll in the Culinary Institute for the simple purpose of building a network.

[Cookery]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

That's great. That's the sort of thing it takes to get hired in food in Oregon.

The most opportunities in food these days are in assisted living type of places...probably not the kind of cooking that your husband wants to do, but it could be a start. Also, some grocery stores here employ chefs for their catering services. This one's pretty good:

Market of Choice - Careers with Us - marketofchoice.com

They're mostly in Eugene but I think they opened a store in Portland recently.

Portland is big on NW regional cuisine...Greg Atkinson exemplifies this better than I can explain it:

West Coast Cooking by Greg Atkinson

The owner of this restaurant told me that he is always looking for talent, but that was a few years ago before the crash. Could be worth looking into though.


Clyde Common / Domestic & Foreign Cooking in Portland, Oregon

Portland...all of Oregon, really...does tend to have a local hiring bias...but in the food industry, that's going to be more at play in mom and pop diners and pizza places than in the more high end establishments. But there is also competitiion from recent graduates of the Northwest Culinary School.

On the other hand, a lot of good chefs have moved on from Portland due to the job market, so there could be openings for newcomers.

Thanks so much for the links. We'll definitely be looking into those.

I've noticed a lot of openings for assisted living cooks. No, it's not exactly what he wants to be doing long term, but as time goes by he's getting less and less picky about what he's willing to do just to get his foot into the city. He's applied for Sodexo/corporate cafeteria jobs, too. At least they are solid companies.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by davefr

Maybe the husband should enroll in the Culinary Institute for the simple purpose of building a network.

I don't think that'd be necessary. It's a huge expense.

Do you know this website? It's a friendly group of foodies/food industry professionals. There's an employment section there. It might be a good inroad.

[Cookery]

Originally Posted by davefr

I would agree with you except for one thing. When it comes time to hire they won't even look at the pile of resumes.

They will call someone they have first hand knowledge with. It's all about who you know and the only way to break in is with constant FTF networking. It might take months, quarters or even years.

Maybe the husband should enroll in the Culinary Institute for the simple purpose of building a network.

That is really not a bad idea at all! I know he would be up for it if we can afford it. He graduated the CIA in Hyde Park in '04, but he's always interested in taking more classes. Especially Baking and Pastry as he hasn't really gotten to concentrate in that area much since school.

Suppose we'd still need a job for him to move to attend the Institute, though. I hear apartments aren't too keen on renting to the unemployed...

[Cookery]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

I don't think that'd be necessary. It's a huge expense.

Do you know this website? It's a friendly group of foodies/food industry professionals. There's an employment section there. It might be a good inroad.

Yes, thanks! I believe that's where he's been posting and made contact with the chef he's talking with now.