Question about jobs there in PDX (Portland: roughest, credit rating, how much)

[meltinjohn]

To land a job rather quickly or say quicker in PDX, what type of person do you have to be?
Does being quiet and reserved help out there? It seems many take kindly to the quiet reserved nerdier looking people moreso than it does the conservative kinds who have military haircuts.
Who has the roughest time getting jobs? Does this have to do with character or does everyone since Portlands economy is bad?
I don't think I ever asked this.

[Lilly12103]

It depends entirely on the job. My husband has a military background, totally conservative, and he got a job very quickly- for the federal government, where a military background is highly regarded. I guess if you are covered in tatoos and piercings and show up to an interview at a law firm, you might be turned away, but if you dress in a beige suit when you turn in your application at *insert hippie coffee shop here* they would turn their nose up at you.

Bottom line, dress and act appropriately for the job setting, and don't fake being ANYTHING because you think it would be more highly regarded. I actually got hired to my job (a few years ago, in a different state) partly because I was unlike any of the other team members- I'm bubbly and gregarious in an office full of quiet and reserved analysts.

[takinapeek]

I think Portland is very diverse so it depends on the type of job you are looking for. I find the best way to interview is to listen more than talk. It is amazing how much people will talk and just let you listen. In the end they think you are wonderful and you haven't even said anything. Try it out.

[philwithbeard]

Just moved to Portland myself. This is just my impression so far.....Just an opinion BTW:
If you are a creative type looking for employment to round out out your artistic nature...You are *** out of luck (expletives have been deleted!)

I find the state employment web site, Portland's newspaper, craigslist.com, and jobdango.com all have lots of low paying nursing, health care workers, etc jobs like any other medium sized city. Same with car salesmen, lawyer assistants, paralegals, accounting (A/R, A/P) clerks. Many low paying waiters, busboys, and bartender jobs also. Office / restaurant / retail cleaning jobs seems to be about average employee need.

Zero jobs for advertisement art work, rock bar bands, fashion designers, decorators of any type, or other artistic type jobs. I heard by a rumor that even bookstore clerks and bookstore stock-persons result in many, many job applications per job openings. HR, mental health, holistic healers, yada - yada - yada are having a deep recession in Portland. Experienced Pub-brew-miesters will find employment however.

Auto mechanics, plumber's (with license), household electricians, or any skilled craft that deals with general public homes or cars will find a job. Over the Road tuck drivers will find steady work, but not the best pay. (aside: northern Oregon's roads are narrow, safe truck drivers should be paid more for the extra effort they put into safe driving!)

I think the IT and IS field is full right now. Maybe a few programming jobs here and there...but watch out for the long list of languages needed to qualify for such a job. I have seen a few web page designer jobs, but they seem to be all from the same temp agency.

Forget teaching jobs, pet grooming jobs (unless licensed small animal Vet.), hair-stylist, or such. Warehouse fork lift operators, and heavy lifting workers in warehouses are always in demand.

Hope this helps.

Phil

PS: Street artist are as thick as fleas & ticks on an old hunting dog. This town has a reputation of being 420 friendly, but that (420 stuff) screws up your chances for employment for a long time when you get employment drug tested.

[Minervah]

I wish I knew what the few employers hiring were looking for. Last month I had a great interview. They liked me so well, they had me interview with another department that had not yet advertised their opening on the market.

The HR person told me I had made a great impression on both and I would hear from them. Well here we are almost 6 weeks later and nothing. I suspect maybe they checked my credit rating which would show I filed for bankruptcy in 2004 having been unable to find a new job after being laid off and exhausting my savings supporting myself and paying medical bills. Typical Portand story. It's just a guess but I really can't think of any other reason other than my age.

If being placed out of the running was because of my bankruptcy filing, it is pretty sad since so many people wind up in that boat due to the horrible unemployment situation. I was thinking of writing and asking the HR lady if she could tell me if, after all her praise, why I didn't get either job. But I doubt she would tell me the truth.

So to address the question, I don't feel there is any particular type personality or available jobs that would enable one to be hired. It almost seems to be a whim on the part of the employers. They can have anyone they choose. And how they choose is a mystery to me.

[jasper09]

I still fail to understand how credit ratings have anything to do with someone's ability to perform well in a job.

Originally Posted by Minervah

I wish I knew what the few employers hiring were looking for. Last month I had a great interview. They liked me so well, they had me interview with another department that had not yet advertised their opening on the market.

The HR person told me I had made a great impression on both and I would hear from them. Well here we are almost 6 weeks later and nothing. I suspect maybe they checked my credit rating which would show I filed for bankruptcy in 2004 having been unable to find a new job after being laid off and exhausting my savings supporting myself and paying medical bills. Typical Portand story. It's just a guess but I really can't think of any other reason other than my age.

If being placed out of the running was because of my bankruptcy filing, it is pretty sad since so many people wind up in that boat due to the horrible unemployment situation. I was thinking of writing and asking the HR lady if she could tell me if, after all her praise, why I didn't get either job. But I doubt she would tell me the truth.

So to address the question, I don't feel there is any particular type personality or available jobs that would enable one to be hired. It almost seems to be a whim on the part of the employers. They can have anyone they choose. And how they choose is a mystery to me.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

The tech industry (electronics manufacturing) is pretty dry also.
However, if you are an EE or ME or work in purchasing you might have a decent chance.
Especially if you have a talent for product and assembly cost reduction.
VAVE (Value Added (or Analysis) / Value Engineering) is pretty hot right now.
Line jobs (such as soldering, assembly, etc.) are really tight.

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by jasper09

I still fail to understand how credit ratings have anything to do with someone's ability to perform well in a job.

Wage garnishment from a court order costs the employer money in terms of accounting people's time. Also, when wage garnishment occurs, there is the likelihood the employee will quit.

Others, not me, point out credit rating is a measure of one's honesty, which is really bogus if you think about it. Because someone cannot pay a bill, that really means the employee will (is going to) steal from their employer? REALLY???? I don't think so.

Remember, in many cases, HR people tend to find reasons not to hire someone's resume or job application, so the remaining candidates to choose from is smaller. Credit rating, overweight, pimples (acne), too little (or too much) hair, clothing worn to interview (no sense of appropriate style for company culture??), loud voiced, soft spoken, and the big one--Bad Breath. Your choice, do employer's discriminate in hiring against people with physically unattractive facial features? I cannot prove it, but it may occur.

As you said, what has that got to do with job performance? Not much actually, it comes down to fitting into the company culture, IMHO. These are reasons to not hire someone? I have don't know, I don't work in HR, thank-God for that.

Phil

[crazylegs5150]

Originally Posted by Minervah

I wish I knew what the few employers hiring were looking for. Last month I had a great interview. They liked me so well, they had me interview with another department that had not yet advertised their opening on the market.

The HR person told me I had made a great impression on both and I would hear from them. Well here we are almost 6 weeks later and nothing. I suspect maybe they checked my credit rating which would show I filed for bankruptcy in 2004 having been unable to find a new job after being laid off and exhausting my savings supporting myself and paying medical bills. Typical Portand story. It's just a guess but I really can't think of any other reason other than my age.

If being placed out of the running was because of my bankruptcy filing, it is pretty sad since so many people wind up in that boat due to the horrible unemployment situation. I was thinking of writing and asking the HR lady if she could tell me if, after all her praise, why I didn't get either job. But I doubt she would tell me the truth.

So to address the question, I don't feel there is any particular type personality or available jobs that would enable one to be hired. It almost seems to be a whim on the part of the employers. They can have anyone they choose. And how they choose is a mystery to me.

Minervah- I could be wrong, but if they DID run a credit check, I believe it is your right to know about it and that asking if it was performed is totally legit as well as getting a note saying you had one run. Anyone else know about this?

[MittenDweller82]

Originally Posted by crazylegs5150

Minervah- I could be wrong, but if they DID run a credit check, I believe it is your right to know about it and that asking if it was performed is totally legit as well as getting a note saying you had one run. Anyone else know about this?

When you fill out an application, either electornically or in print you often sign a notice waiving your rights to submit to a "mode of living" or "background" check which includes credit, addresses, work history, criminal...etc. In short employers can find virtually your entire life story, interviews serve primarily as tests of honesty. Although, some states have a law regarding this practice, some allow you a free copy of the report the employer pulled on you, so I would check with the appropriate bureau.


In all agreement though, judging the character of a person on a 3 digit number is proof of how sad our society has become.