P.O. Box/Mailing Address for out of towner... (Portland: insurance, find a job)

[katelain]

Hi There,

Does anyone know of a way to get a Portland P.O. Box or mailing address if you live in another state and cannot come to Portland to present ID? (other than having a local friend do it for you?)

We're looking to relocate and have found that most employers dismiss resumes from out of towners and are trying to make it to the top of the pile (and in this economic climate we can't risk moving there without having a job first)

Thanks for any tips!
Kate

[Lilly12103]

I can't really give you information about how to get a PO box, but I can agree with you that your resume will get tossed without a local address. My husband searched for months from out of state, nothing. We moved to PDX and he had multiple interviews within a few weeks. You do have to consider the fact though that if an employer asks you to come by tomorrow for an interview now you could have to either drop everything and get on an airplane, or risk being caught in a lie on your resume. Good luck though!

[davefr]

Originally Posted by katelain

Hi There,

Does anyone know of a way to get a Portland P.O. Box or mailing address if you live in another state and cannot come to Portland to present ID? (other than having a local friend do it for you?)

We're looking to relocate and have found that most employers dismiss resumes from out of towners and are trying to make it to the top of the pile (and in this economic climate we can't risk moving there without having a job first)

Thanks for any tips!
Kate

Contact a UPS store and sign up for a mail box service. I don't think you have to do it in person.

[katelain]

Originally Posted by Lilly12103

I can't really give you information about how to get a PO box, but I can agree with you that your resume will get tossed without a local address. My husband searched for months from out of state, nothing. We moved to PDX and he had multiple interviews within a few weeks. You do have to consider the fact though that if an employer asks you to come by tomorrow for an interview now you could have to either drop everything and get on an airplane, or risk being caught in a lie on your resume. Good luck though!

Thanks for the helpful story... it's always nice to know you're not alone/crazy.

My husband is the one looking for work first (his field is harder to get into than mine...) and he is presently self employed so we've already committed to that whole drop everything and fly up the next day concept. he can actually pull it off so, we're good there!

Thanks again!

[LeftCoastee]

Try The UPS Store. They have a mailbox service which gives you a local physical address. And since they are national, you may be able to go in to a local office to set it up. Call a Portland UPS Store and ask what it would take to set it up from out of state. They may require notarization on a remote application, but since most UPS Stores have notaries on the premises, it shouldn't be a problem.

EDIT: seems a few of us had the same idea at the same time

[Minervah]

My husband is the one looking for work first (his field is harder to get into than mine...)

I an curious, what is your field? I can't think of any other than maybe medical; MD, nurse, etc that would not be difficult to get into.

[LeftCoastee]

Originally Posted by Minervah

I can't think of any other than maybe medical; MD, nurse, etc that would not be difficult to get into.

Healthcare IT is doing much better than most other sectors and will continue through the end of 2011 (HIPAA mandate). While they may not be hiring many directly, contracts can be had for certain backgrounds paying in the ~$50-60 / hr range. These rates have been reduced from what they were 18 months ago. Again, this is a very specific skillset, but there is work out there.

Expect this sector to get even stronger if the president continues pressing EHR.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by LeftCoastee

Healthcare IT is doing much better than most other sectors and will continue through the end of 2011 (HIPAA mandate). While they may not be hiring many directly, contracts can be had for certain backgrounds paying in the ~$50-60 / hr range. These rates have been reduced from what they were 18 months ago. Again, this is a very specific skillset, but there is work out there.

Expect this sector to get even stronger if the president continues pressing EHR.

Yes I didn't think of them. Also when we get some sort of Universal Health Plan in place, I will go back into the claims paying biz where I can earn a lot bigger bucks than in contract writing as I do now. For that however I will have to leave Portland which is fine with me.

I mentioned this before but I will say it again. The Legacy Health Care System has opened it's doors to any and all PPO's and different types of insurance coverage. They are getting new patients by the carload because of this. So they are hiring all kinds of medical professionals.

OHSU is just the opposite, they are cutting back on their acceptance of various coverages. They are losing patients because of it. They don't seem to care. They appear to be quite the elitist bunch. My doctor of 15 years moved over there and decided to do one of those concierge programs. I quit her immediately. If she only wants to see rich people, that's fine but that ain't me.

[katelain]

Originally Posted by Minervah

I an curious, what is your field? I can't think of any other than maybe medical; MD, nurse, etc that would not be difficult to get into.

I do work in the health services field, specifically mental health (but have worked in many other social service fields and have extensive office/administration experience... so basically, I can and will do a lot of different kinds of work). but the kicker is that my husband works in video editing. so while it still might be difficult for me to find a job, it is nearly impossible for him to find one!

[parawing742]

Earth Class Mail (The Ultimate PO Box, Post Office Box and Mail Forwarding Service | Earth Class Mail) is based in Beaverton, OR and will give you a local address. I've been using them for years.