Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I can tell you, having just moved to a small town in SC from TX and my fiance having similar issues here... It really is all in who you know.
The suggestion to get out in the community is a great idea. My fiance had a heck of a time even being called back for easy 11$ call center work. I was able to get her resume to someone I work with and he was able to help her find something.
TheQuestioner: There is some definite truth in what you say about the perceived prejudice in the area. To make matters worse, I am also bi-racial (black/hispanic) and it is still heavily segregated here. If you don't work in retail/fast food or government, companies tend to be all white or all black. I don't think I've seen anything that was mixed. Everyone hires their own. It took me a while to figure out that when my husband and in laws were saying it, they weren't just giving me their opinion of what it was from actually living here, it was EXACTLY HOW IT WAS. There are few minority owned law firms in the area (which is my specialty) and I've been called to all kinds of other firms, I've had extensive telephone interviews with people only to be called into a firm and when I sit face to face be met with disinterest all of a sudden, or politeness and no response one way or another.
I volunteer at church, tutor children twice a week, I have one advantage over a lot of people in the area in that I'm bilingual. That, along with those pretty things on the wall they call degrees should stand for something here. LOL Not really, but that's a different discussion all together. There's no way to hide my work history, 10 years of my life were dedicated to the Superior Court of California.
Is there any kind of temp service or headhunter in your area that could help place you in a temp-to-perm position? When I moved from NYC to Charlotte, NC (which is not small, but is definitely smaller than NYC), I met with two headhunters within a couple days of our arrival in order to get placed in a temp position as soon as possible.
I can tell you, having just moved to a small town in SC from TX and my fiance having similar issues here... It really is all in who you know.
The suggestion to get out in the community is a great idea. My fiance had a heck of a time even being called back for easy 11$ call center work. I was able to get her resume to someone I work with and he was able to help her find something.
I think that can definitely be true. People in a small area tend to hire people they know. You've been there for a relatively short amount of time, so it may take longer to get hired.
Can you network with the people who you volunteer with? Consider a part-time position - you could even frame it as something to help get you out of the house and earn a little extra money. You may get a simple job with only a few hours to start, but once you're there for awhile, you could work your way up, or at least make it a little easier for you to find another job, once you're already locally employed.
The racial bias may be a pretty hard one to get past, though. Without being there and knowing all the people who are interviewing you, it's impossible to tell whether or not it's racial bias, or just local bias, that's keeping you from being employed, or a mixture of both.
Is there any chance of your family ever moving to a larger city?
Is there any chance of your family ever moving to a larger city?
The short answer is no. Unless the DoD requires us to transfer elsewhere, the options as far as I'm concerned are here or back to L.A. until his parents pass away. His parents were the biggest reason why I decided to move here as opposed to him moving there. He is unbelievably close to his parents (his dad particularly) and his dad has been happier than a pig in **** since he moved back here. When we told him he was moving to CA his spirit was just broken. He said he was OK with it, but he wasn't. You could see it. He's their only son and his dad finally got his buddy back.
That and we just bought this house 6 months ago and I hate moving. The only way for me to agree to move is if the DoD sends movers over and they do it for us.
I moved from Los Angeles to basically the country of GA when I got married last year. I've been out of work since them. Not that I haven't had many interviews, I look great on paper, come with stellar references, I've gotten lots of feedback regarding how I interview well, the one sticking point I've gotten either directly from hiring managers or headhunters/staffing agencies is my salary history.
It costs a lot to live in CA as I'm sure most of you know, therefore salaries are much higher there than here (approximately 110 miles south of Atlanta). The equivalent for what I earned about 60k/yr for in CA would start me at about 25k/yr here and for a while, it was a very hard pill to swallow for me, but now that I have swallowed it, it's IMPOSSIBLE for me to get employers to see that I don't mind the income disparity. I've attempted to explain it in many different ways including:
I don't have the expenses I did in CA (I was a single parent there, I am not now).
I realize the cost of living is significantly lower here and don't require as much money
We live fine on one income here, therefore I don't have the need to make as much money as possible.
I don't require medical benefits as the family is covered under my husband's policies.
Granted, with my experience and education, I believe I'm worth SOMETHING, so I'm not at all expecting to work for minimum wage, but I'm OK with making in the high 20s and up for an administrative position (legal secretary, paralegal, etc.) accounting for the fact that there will be a huge learning curve as I get acclimated to GA law, which is worlds different than CA law.
I've had employers tell me that they just don't believe that I would be happy working for such little money. I'm obviously missing something and I can't avoid the salary history discussion forever because even if I omit it from resumes and applications, it is bound to come up in a face to face interview.
Any ideas?
110 miles south of Atlanta. That's the problem. The salaries will be higher in Atlanta. I am confused about your experience though. Is it as a legal secretary or accounting? Does your experience warrant a higher level position?
110 miles south of Atlanta. That's the problem. The salaries will be higher in Atlanta. I am confused about your experience though. Is it as a legal secretary or accounting? Does your experience warrant a higher level position?
I spent 10 years in family law as a child support officer, custody evaluator and judicial assistant. Before that, I worked in accounting
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
