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I've read several posts about the tough job market and wondered if that's lead to a tendency to hire local. Which, ironically, would encourage one to move to town before scoring a gig.
I'm an overeducated (MFA in Playwriting anyone?), mid-career (arts admin) professional with a few (3-4) months savings and no car (I don't drive) trying to weigh the repeated advice to not move to Asheville without a job against the fact that's likely the only way I'll ever take the plunge.
Try your luck, certainly, but note there are fewer jobs than applicants, so some companies view the task of figuring out how to have an interview not in person with someone as inconvenient and set that applicant's resume aside. It's easier to do with a local address or a succinct, powerful caveat about the sure nature of one's intent to move immediately upon securing employment.
Having hired people before and needed them to start two weeks from the second interview, the act of moving seems dautning to me insofar as I'd probably secure a job after, which is very risky. In my exact situation now, I can't just leave my current job and uproot successfully to report to work in two weeks, but that is an expectation many companies have here. It's a market with a lot of applicants and not a lot of positions, so a company that considers the applicant's needs is a little harder to come by, if that makes sense.
ljber - Thanks for this. Good to know about the two week issue. Hadn't thought of that. Right now leaning toward:
A. Moving in temporarily with my folks in coastal Carolina so at least I'll be in state.
B. Specifying that I'm in the process of moving the area and am available for interviews beginning X day.
C. Lining up a few possible room rentals so I am prepared if something clicks.
But paying a lot of money to fly in for interviews for low paying positions you probably won't get is an expensive hobby. So - tough call.
golden - Correction. I have a license and CAN drive. I just have a phobia and try to avoid it. Will likely bus it or rent a car at the outset. I usually try to live in walking or bus distance of my workplace (the money I save on a car helps). But it occurs to me I may want to have a car in Asheville. Which would be the preferred way to spend my paltry savings.
Wondered how many people DO have success just moving there and landing a position in a few months . . .
A simple sentence in your cover letter about how you're currently wherever in the state you are but will happily relocate should you find employment should take care of everything. All I can say is that you should apply to as much as you can find; the application to interview rate is about 50 to 1. It's not impossible, as long as you can be creative in your search and customize your resume quickly to fit different employers' potential interest based on their stated needs. Best of luck!
This is an excerpt from a post I made in another WNC thread, if it helps:
"Oddly, I got a call for an interview from a company in Asheville, one of the few "legit" jobs I got called back on. Unfortunately, since I don't live there at the moment, I was unable to take advantage of it, but they did want to know, if they hired me, how soon could I move? Had I lived there, I could have interviewed the following day.
I live in Florida at the moment, and I have to say, the response I got from the Asheville company was far more professional than most I've gotten.
As to temp agencies, that advice is excellent. I read a recent review online from a person who had taken a job with an Asheville company through a temp agency and the company ended up offering her full time, and she was delighted at how well they treat her and other employees.
My point is, Asheville isn't the only place with a tough job market right now, far from it. And it also seems to me that there are at least a few enlightened employers in the area.
Again, let me stress that ljber is exactly right about temp agencies."
And further, let me say that ljber has some very good insights, so you might want to read their posts in other threads as well as this one.
Oh, ps, the HR person at the Asheville company I mentioned, invited me to contact her if and when I got to Asheville. Reason being, I happen to have the skills and experience they're looking for to fill a particular position. It's not that there's anything technically complicated about it, but it just happens to be in an area of work where people tend to burn out fast unless they have the personality for it, if they can even do it at all. This is one of the few companies I've ever spoken with that understands this.
Well, since I've gotten a couple of reps for my comments in this thread (thank you, folks!), I thought I'd resurrect it. And here's my advice to anyone who wants to move to WNC/Asheville without a job: visit first. Then, if you like it and it likes you, and you have the patience, fortitude and resources, and the will to make it happen for yourself no matter what, make the move and to heck with all the blah-blah about the economy. Seriously, since I entered the work force in the late 1970s, there's been maybe only a couple of years where I didn't hear people constantly griping about the economy for one reason or another.
As long as you take full responsibility for making the move and don't put the blame on the area and its residents for lack of jobs or whatever, fine.
Yeah, it's bad, no doubt. It's pretty much bad all over, unless you're in Washington or Wall Street or Silly Valley or have tech skills. But if where you are currently is economically depressed but less attractive than WNC, you're ahead of the game. And what's the worst that can happen? Down the road from Asheville/WNC is a more or less thriving area in Greenville, SC. You can always move and you're not so far away that you can't scope out the prospects there. This is what one of the posters on this forum did and although it wasn't her first choice and she's not totally happy, she's making it and working toward making her return and I just admire her so much for her resilience and fortitude and making the best of a tough situation.
Well, since I've gotten a couple of reps for my comments in this thread (thank you, folks!), I thought I'd resurrect it. And here's my advice to anyone who wants to move to WNC/Asheville without a job: visit first. Then, if you like it and it likes you, and you have the patience, fortitude and resources, and the will to make it happen for yourself no matter what, make the move and to heck with all the blah-blah about the economy. Seriously, since I entered the work force in the late 1970s, there's been maybe only a couple of years where I didn't hear people constantly griping about the economy for one reason or another.
As long as you take full responsibility for making the move and don't put the blame on the area and its residents for lack of jobs or whatever, fine.
Yeah, it's bad, no doubt. It's pretty much bad all over, unless you're in Washington or Wall Street or Silly Valley or have tech skills. But if where you are currently is economically depressed but less attractive than WNC, you're ahead of the game. And what's the worst that can happen? Down the road from Asheville/WNC is a more or less thriving area in Greenville, SC. You can always move and you're not so far away that you can't scope out the prospects there. This is what one of the posters on this forum did and although it wasn't her first choice and she's not totally happy, she's making it and working toward making her return and I just admire her so much for her resilience and fortitude and making the best of a tough situation.
Very true .. rep rep. May I add that no matter where folks relocate to, it is proven that the average amount of time to acclimate, adjust, and assimilate will take a minimum of one year or more. Always advisable to have good knowledge of the job market and marketable skills. This is a big retirement area, and retirees (yes, even those who don't need the $$) are hired for part-time jobs and don't need benefits. They just want to keep busy.
Very true .. rep rep. May I add that no matter where folks relocate to, it is proven that the average amount of time to acclimate, adjust, and assimilate will take a minimum of one year or more. Always advisable to have good knowledge of the job market and marketable skills. This is a big retirement area, and retirees (yes, even those who don't need the $$) are hired for part-time jobs and don't need benefits. They just want to keep busy.
You'll find retirees working part time in any retirement area. But don't always be fooled that "they just want to keep busy". Maybe in WNC that's true to some extent, but around here, most of them who are working need those extra $$ desperately, but don't want to admit it, so they SAY they just want to keep busy, but just let them get a short paycheck and you'll hear the hoo-rah. Many saw their pensions decrease or evaporate, some walked away from underwater homes in other parts of the country, etc, Seriously, I've worked with a couple of retirees around here and that was a real eye-opener as to the true state of affairs in the local retirement community.
With that said, some retail employers in this area prefer retirees because of reliability and work ethic. OTOH, in some situations, it doesn't work out because of physical demands or lack of computer skills like MS Office and the eye-hand coordination needed in a fast paced computer oriented environment.
Lol, one retired lady I know was telling me about an acquaintance of hers who was desperate for a job and couldn't find one and finally took a phone sex gig out of desperation. Yes, I laughed, but when you think about it, it's really not funny. Poor woman.
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