Question about jobs (St. Louis, Creve Coeur, Washington: for sale, apartments, credit)

[ChelsG]

I recently visited a friend who lives in Creve Coeur, and I really liked the area that he showed me and really liked St. Louis! I've been wanting to move out of California (Orange County) for the past 2 years but now I'm thinking more seriously about it because now I've found a roommate!

Anyways, I don't care for the idea of moving to a city without a job lined up or have a good understanding of how fast you can be picked up for work. I'd ideally have a job that pays $13/hr and 30 hours a week, full time preferred for benefits but part time is just fine as long as the hours are around up there. I have office experience with design experience (self taught graphic designer but no BA, just an AA in general studies) but I'm tired of the graphic design world. So I'm looking for office work, specifically an office assistant or adminstrative assistant.

My question is, how easy is it to land or find jobs along these lines? Would applying for a retail job have a better chance of being hired off the bat or what? I've seen jobs listed at Washington University, Danforth campus, which look and sound really good! But, what are the chances of getting hired?

Also, any suggestions on how to go about sending resumes to companies when I'm still living out of state?

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Another Californian.

Kidding, of course.

Have you tried looking at ads in Craigslist or the Post-Dispatch?
craigslist: st louis, MO classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events
St. Louis jobs, career, salary research & classified ads

[ChelsG]

Oh I have and there's a good amount posted in the area I'm looking to work in (Office Assistant/Clerical) but I was just wondering about the job market out there. I know in California its a bit iffy depending on where you're trying to get hired.

Soon I hope I'll be a Missouri local

[joe stixpuck]

The job market out here isn't as good as where I'd been living in CA (SF Bay), but I've seen a fair amount of office-related jobs available in StL. From what I've seen, most of what's available ranges between $10-15 per hour.

Unlike in CA, Craigslist sucks for looking for work...lots of 'spam' job postings. There is decent job site found through the state government home page, but otherwise I'm not sure what other sites are good. Temp agencies are another good option, I'm aware of Adecco and Robert Half being good about placing well and quickly. You can't do them until physically here though.

Finding a job from long distance will be very difficult, even if you use a local MO address, which you should definitely place on your resume and when filling out apps from afar. If you're sure about the move I'd just go ahead and move out here even before securing a job, at least if you have a decent amount of savings and/or access to credit. There are jobs out here, and the market doesn't seem as competitive as CA for office positions.

Good luck and hope you enjoy MO. St. Louis is a great place to live!