Trying to find my place in the job market (Spokane: 2009, transfer)

[Spokanejobseeker]

I tailor my resume to jobs, but I don't feel I should dumb it down. I don't think someone should hide their skills, experience, and education. I'm going to keep applying to jobs here and elsewhere in the country. I apply to one government job a week but it does take a quite a bit of time to apply to government jobs and Spokane does have over 55,000 veterans in it. A large number of those are also applying for government jobs. Like many other jobs it's not just tailoring your resume, your experience or education, but who you know. Your resume might make it thru the filter along with thousands of others but if you don't know someone your application might not get pulled. I look at the Hanford site's website weekly trying to see if there is anything down there I would qualify for.

[noah]

We moved out of Spokane in large part due to jobs. There are not a lot of professional type jobs in the area. That said, almost all areas are tough right now due to the economy. Here in Atlanta there is a much bigger, diverse job base but you still get the same vibe from people that there are no jobs right now.

[ArcticPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Spokanejobseeker

I graduated in December of 2005 from Whitworth with a degree in Business Management. It took me four months to find a job that I liked and paid what I felt a new college grad in my field in Spokane should be paid ($35 K - $36K). I was laid off after working at this position for six months and I believe my commitment to the Army Reserves weighed heavily in the company's decision to lay me off. Fortunately I went on active duty as an officer in the Army for six months to complete my Officer Basic Course. I was shocked to see that because of my previous tour as an enlisted Soldier I was paid considerably more than the other officers in my pay grade. I came back to Spokane in June of 2007 and made an attempt at self employment since I was unable to find employment that paid more than $30 K a year. Six months into being self employed I was mobilized with the Army Reserves for six months on a stateside tour. With per diem I made around $7400 per month and was in charge of 300 personnel and a substantial amount of equipment. I returned back to Spokane in November of 2008 without a lot of job prospects in sight. I have been almost unemployed for a year now and my savings are dwindling down. When I first returned to Spokane my salary requirements were around $45 K a year. I have slowly reduced my wage requirements and I am now asking for a mere $32 K a year. It seems the only positions available in Spokane are either low income service oriented jobs or really high income upper level executive jobs. Does anyone know where they have mid-level career positions and anyone that might be interested in hiring someone with my background?

Please no preaching about the cost of living in Spokane. Yes the cost to RENT a home is low but wages are much lower. 48% of Spokane pay more than the recommended 30% of their monthly wages on monthly housing expenses. The average per capita family income is only $44K. So spare me costs of living gripes because I have a whole bag of statistics to fire back with. Only those with something to contribute to my search please respond as I would like to stay in Spokane though I am willing to leave for lucrative offers.

First off, congratulations for graduating from Whitworth! Secondly, how dare you ask for something like 32K/yr? Why you should beg for any scraps of money any employer is willing to throw at you. You should GROVEL at them! Grovel, I say!

Secondly, I have to ask, and I apologize in advance if these things have been asked/said before in this thread as I am far too lazy and illiterate to possibly comprehend the fine words of our fellow posters, but why do you insist on staying in Spokane? You made no mention of having a family here (and by family I mean a wife and/or children.... you know, real roots in an area), so... why not move to where the jobs are? Sure, you probably do have family here (a mom & dad or aunts, friends, etc.) but is there really anything stopping you from leaving the area and looking somewhere that will pay you a wage that is acceptable? Yes, you may have to go somewhere like Oklahoma, Texas, or even Minnesota, and I'm sure you'll regret leaving the Promised Land that is Spokane behind, but you very well may find that you will find prosperity elsewhere. Of course, you may still have a commitment with the military, in which case... you are... stuck...

I have been trapped in Spokane for 5 years... I am leaving next year now that I am eligible to transfer in my current job... Spokane is a beautiful place to live (all joking aside), and it would be great if it weren't for a few things: a sluggish economy, high cost of living (particularly when compared to wages as you said), long rugged winters that can last up to 10 months, and relative isolation from other major metropolitan areas....

My point is that, you probably won't have much luck in the Spokane area... you have been unemployed here for nearly a year and, as you said, your savings are dwindling... If you have no family (I admit that I'm assuming a bit here and assumptions can often be incorrect), why not just pack your car with what you can fit in it, and move to a new area? Again, that is assuming that you have no family and/or are no longer in the military and are free to travel as you wish.

I truly wish you the best of luck. If you insist on staying here, you may want to try with some of the financial institutions such as Bank of America (aka The Real Great Satan), Chase, or Farm Credit as the government has assured that they will stay in business for at least another 6 to 9 months. Or, you could look for a job that is NOT in your field, such as car salesman, machinist, or airport security.... Whatever you pursue, I do wish you the best of luck...

[Spokanejobseeker]

Originally Posted by ArcticPhoenix

First off, congratulations for graduating from Whitworth! Secondly, how dare you ask for something like 32K/yr? Why you should beg for any scraps of money any employer is willing to throw at you. You should GROVEL at them! Grovel, I say!

Secondly, I have to ask, and I apologize in advance if these things have been asked/said before in this thread as I am far too lazy and illiterate to possibly comprehend the fine words of our fellow posters, but why do you insist on staying in Spokane? You made no mention of having a family here (and by family I mean a wife and/or children.... you know, real roots in an area), so... why not move to where the jobs are? Sure, you probably do have family here (a mom & dad or aunts, friends, etc.) but is there really anything stopping you from leaving the area and looking somewhere that will pay you a wage that is acceptable? Yes, you may have to go somewhere like Oklahoma, Texas, or even Minnesota, and I'm sure you'll regret leaving the Promised Land that is Spokane behind, but you very well may find that you will find prosperity elsewhere. Of course, you may still have a commitment with the military, in which case... you are... stuck...

I have been trapped in Spokane for 5 years... I am leaving next year now that I am eligible to transfer in my current job... Spokane is a beautiful place to live (all joking aside), and it would be great if it weren't for a few things: a sluggish economy, high cost of living (particularly when compared to wages as you said), long rugged winters that can last up to 10 months, and relative isolation from other major metropolitan areas....

My point is that, you probably won't have much luck in the Spokane area... you have been unemployed here for nearly a year and, as you said, your savings are dwindling... If you have no family (I admit that I'm assuming a bit here and assumptions can often be incorrect), why not just pack your car with what you can fit in it, and move to a new area? Again, that is assuming that you have no family and/or are no longer in the military and are free to travel as you wish.

I truly wish you the best of luck. If you insist on staying here, you may want to try with some of the financial institutions such as Bank of America (aka The Real Great Satan), Chase, or Farm Credit as the government has assured that they will stay in business for at least another 6 to 9 months. Or, you could look for a job that is NOT in your field, such as car salesman, machinist, or airport security.... Whatever you pursue, I do wish you the best of luck...

Oh no, I married, reproduced, and divorced here. So if I wish to see my son at all I must stay in Spokane or at least in the state.

And I'm still holding strong and refusing to pay for a job (Insurance and Real Estate), being a sleaze (car sales), or selling out my friends (Finance). None of the above are doing that great as you can see the turn around on their jobs in the paper and job boards every day. I almost did car sales but, if I'm going to sit around and stare at my fellow employees for minimum wage I rather do it Monday thru Friday and not Sunday thru Sunday open to close. Car sales wouldn't be that bad if they were actually selling right now but again Sunday thru Sunday does not appeal to me.

I just got shot down again for another piddly $12/hour customer service job. Motivation is back down in the toilet again. I was at least told this time by the employer, who has a retired Air Force E-8 in HR, that I was not hired because I asked for too much money. I asked for $15 because of my degree and background they only wanted to pay $12 and had enough lesser qualified candidates, but good still good enough, that would work for $12. Maybe it's time to become a Spokie, get 20 roommates in a run down house in Hilyard, and work two minimum wage jobs.

[ArcticPhoenix]

Oh no, I married, reproduced, and divorced here. So if I wish to see my son at all I must stay in Spokane or at least in the state.

Ahh, I understand now. You have firm roots and need to stay.

And I'm still holding strong and refusing to pay for a job (Insurance and Real Estate), being a sleaze (car sales), or selling out my friends (Finance). None of the above are doing that great as you can see the turn around on their jobs in the paper and job boards every day. I almost did car sales but, if I'm going to sit around and stare at my fellow employees for minimum wage I rather do it Monday thru Friday and not Sunday thru Sunday open to close. Car sales wouldn't be that bad if they were actually selling right now but again Sunday thru Sunday does not appeal to me.

Good to hear. Keep looking! You will find something eventually. Don't lower your standards. It's because people have lowered their standards over the years that wages have actually DROPPED (compared to wages back in the 50s and 60s, say, adjusted of course for inflation).

I just got shot down again for another piddly $12/hour customer service job. Motivation is back down in the toilet again. I was at least told this time by the employer, who has a retired Air Force E-8 in HR, that I was not hired because I asked for too much money. I asked for $15 because of my degree and background they only wanted to pay $12 and had enough lesser qualified candidates, but good still good enough, that would work for $12. Maybe it's time to become a Spokie, get 20 roommates in a run down house in Hilyard, and work two minimum wage jobs.

Nah, you'll find something eventually. When I first moved here, I was going to work for my father-in-law, who ran his own business. Well, long story short, the guy that he was getting a new contract from pulled his contract and sent his production to China, and my father-in-law ended up losing his job. I didn't know I wouldn't have a job here until I got here, though... It took me about a month of looking before I found something that *barely* paid minimum wage... I came out here for a job that would have paid $25+/hr, and wound up working a job for $7 & change/hr. With the way the job market is pretty much everywhere, work is hard to come by. I think it's going to take a while before jobs become plentiful again... It's going to take upper management of most companies to learn that they don't need to have 100 billion dollar bonuses while paying their workers shiat wages because that leads to poverty and, in a consumerist society, if workers don't have money to spend, nobody buys stuff and the bottom line suffers even more.

Anyway, best of luck... I hope you find something too, but don't give up completely. Maybe you should take a job you hate... that might spur you on to doing something you really love, and pursuing it with such a passion that you can't really be stopped.

[Spokanejobseeker]

It's a bit disheartening when employment agencies look at my resume and tell me that I should consider relocating. I would consider a lesser position with a company if I thought that within 6 to 12 months there would be higher positions opening up with living wages, but everything around here seems to be dead end low income jobs. Then they also have the other end of the spectrum where the middle is clogged up with people with only high school education and no ambition and companies are stuck looking for qualified people to take on executive level positions within their company.

Maybe it is time to consider relocating? Make the move back east or to the other side of the state. Work elsewhere for ten years at positions and wages that are commensurate with my qualifications and then come back to Spokane and take over leadership of a local company. I'm not seeing any willingness of local employers to invest in an employee. They all rather pay peanuts and hire monkeys than invest a little in quality employees that can grow within the company and grow the company in the future.

[ArcticPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Spokanejobseeker

It's a bit disheartening when employment agencies look at my resume and tell me that I should consider relocating. I would consider a lesser position with a company if I thought that within 6 to 12 months there would be higher positions opening up with living wages, but everything around here seems to be dead end low income jobs. Then they also have the other end of the spectrum where the middle is clogged up with people with only high school education and no ambition and companies are stuck looking for qualified people to take on executive level positions within their company.

Maybe it is time to consider relocating? Make the move back east or to the other side of the state. Work elsewhere for ten years at positions and wages that are commensurate with my qualifications and then come back to Spokane and take over leadership of a local company. I'm not seeing any willingness of local employers to invest in an employee. They all rather pay peanuts and hire monkeys than invest a little in quality employees that can grow within the company and grow the company in the future.

Welcome to the USA! We're the greatest nation in the world! USA! USA! USA!

[Spokanejobseeker]

Well another job denial for a low income service sector job with no professional positions in sight. I have an interview today with the Sears Marketing Call center as an $11.50 an hour slave. "You are ok with being flexible on work schedules without requring any time off?" Yeah sure I am. I'm trying to get my god this is an awful job offer, I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why I don't have the job of the guy who is interviewing me look off my face before I go in.

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by Spokanejobseeker

Well another job denial for a low income service sector job with no professional positions in sight. I have an interview today with the Sears Marketing Call center as an $11.50 an hour slave. "You are ok with being flexible on work schedules without requring any time off?" Yeah sure I am. I'm trying to get my god this is an awful job offer, I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why I don't have the job of the guy who is interviewing me look off my face before I go in.

Pizza Hut is hiring. If you hustle you could probably gross more than $11.50/hr -- especially with that $8.55/hr minimum wage.

[Spokanejobseeker]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Pizza Hut is hiring. If you hustle you could probably gross more than $11.50/hr -- especially with that $8.55/hr minimum wage.

Hustle? For what, $12.00 an hour? Will I be managing and leading personnel, analyzing profit loss to see how strategies are fairing, marketing and managing sales......................or will is it just a table waiting job?