Are jobs really that hard to find on Hawai'i Island? (Keaau: transplants, renting)

[pjay808]

Hello Everyone,

Long time lurker of the forums here but have recently decided to join. I have moved from Texas and lived here in Kea'au since May of last year. I am a medical assistant and have been working as one back in the states. I applied for jobs in the medical field but was only interviewed twice but did not get the job. I also applied to other jobs that I had no interest in but no job interviews. Nothing. I also noticed that some of the recent jobs I applied to have been reposted. I have heard that employers cater to locals and they aren't really hiring mainland transplants? Is this true?

I'm starting to lose hope and my savings are taking a hit every month as I am renting a room from my landlord with no job. I can continue to look for a job and can stick around for another 4 months or sell what I have here and book a return flight and move back in with my parents? This is really stressful as I do not want to do that. I have saved up for many years before making this move. Any advice?

[Jane M]

Are jobs hard to find? No, not really. But it depends on what you mean by "job." If you mean "I came here without a job offer and I am looking for a specific career-type job (such as doctor, lawyer, teacher, data analyst, etc...), those jobs can be difficult to find.

But if by "job" you mean barista, food server, maid, cashier or fruit picker, then you can easily find those jobs.

As far as locals getting jobs first, I've heard that happens, but frankly, I never experienced it. I'm white, non-local and have the additional handicap of being over 40, but I never had a problem obtaining a job I wanted unless that job wasn't available on the Island.

If you are a medical assistant, you can try offering home health care to families in accordance with your profession's ethical and legal guidelines.

You are going to have to be much more flexible with what you are willing to do if you want to stay in Hawaii. You may want to think of some other skill sets you possess and put them to use.

[Nyfinestbxtf]

Originally Posted by Jane M

Are jobs hard to find? No, not really. But it depends on what you mean by "job." If you mean "I came here without a job offer and I am looking for a specific career-type job (such as doctor, lawyer, teacher, data analyst, etc...), those jobs can be difficult to find.

But if by "job" you mean barista, food server, maid, cashier or fruit picker, then you can easily find those jobs.

As far as locals getting jobs first, I've heard that happens, but frankly, I never experienced it. I'm white, non-local and have the additional handicap of being over 40, but I never had a problem obtaining a job I wanted unless that job wasn't available on the Island.

If you are a medical assistant, you can try offering home health care to families in accordance with your profession's ethical and legal guidelines.

You are going to have to be much more flexible with what you are willing to do if you want to stay in Hawaii. You may want to think of some other skill sets you possess and put them to use.

I have heard Hawaii is in desperate need of teachers and the teachers they hire don’t stick around long. Many of the teachers that are employed aren’t even qualified. They come to the mainland all the time recruiting for qualified teachers. The teachers Hawaii is most desperately in need of are core subject teachers; math, English, and science. As of last year there is a teacher shortage of 1,600. That means there are 1,600 vacancies they were not able to fill. Schools in areas like Pahoe, Keaau, and Kau are the hardest hit with teacher shortage. It’s right on the HDOE website.


Hawaii DOE | Applying: Teachers

Hawaii is scrambling to fill teacher vacancies. This analysis on salaries won't help

[hotzcatz]

Change your cell phone number so it shows as a local number. Have local folks as your references for character if not employment. When asked if you plan to stay in the islands, tell your employer you want to live here forever. If you have any relatives here, mention them in your job interview. Come up with some reasons so the job interviewer can think you will stay in the islands. See if any local folks can recommend you for the job to the person hiring. A lot of employment is given to folks who are known either by the person hiring or known by someone they know.

There is a huge bias towards hiring a non-local (i.e. in this case that translates as "someone new to the islands") or someone who doesn't have compelling reasons to stay in the islands for any job other than a job that could be filled by the next transient looking for employment.

It's not what you know, it's who you know and who knows you.

[JoDan]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Change your cell phone number so it shows as a local number. Have local folks as your references for character if not employment. When asked if you plan to stay in the islands, tell your employer you want to live here forever. If you have any relatives here, mention them in your job interview. Come up with some reasons so the job interviewer can think you will stay in the islands. See if any local folks can recommend you for the job to the person hiring. A lot of employment is given to folks who are known either by the person hiring or known by someone they know.

There is a huge bias towards hiring a non-local (i.e. in this case that translates as "someone new to the islands") or someone who doesn't have compelling reasons to stay in the islands for any job other than a job that could be filled by the next transient looking for employment.

It's not what you know, it's who you know and who knows you.

pjay808...hotzcatz always has sound advice. Pay attention.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

When asked if you plan to stay in the islands, tell your employer you want to live here forever.

That may work on the BI, but as someone who has hired dozens of people on Oahu, if a prospect who newly moved to Oahu told me "they plan on living here forever" would be a massive strike against them they may not recover from. At that point I consider them a dreamer and not realistic - I'd rather a thoughtful answer like, this was a big move, and I invested a lot of time and effort into it, I did a lot of research, and I have a minimum of a 2 year plan and hopefully longer.

[hotzcatz]

Well, true, I didn't mean to use those exact words, but give that meaning anyway. Frequently when talking with folks who have just moved over, they mention they're only going to be here for a year or two and then I don't want to really bother investing much time in them.

So hey, Viper, are there any key things employers look for when hiring someone fresh from the mainland? All the folks I know who are hiring for places are pretty concerned about how well the new hire will integrate into the team already there. Although most of those are not places that require employees with much training or degrees so it may be different.

[hotzcatz]

Originally Posted by JoDan

pjay808...hotzcatz always has sound advice. Pay attention.

{blush} Thanks, JoDan! I'm just trying to be helpful, nothing special.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

So hey, Viper, are there any key things employers look for when hiring someone fresh from the mainland? All the folks I know who are hiring for places are pretty concerned about how well the new hire will integrate into the team already there.

Qualifications. Quite frankly, especially in IT, the islands lack skills in this area. Integration into the team is less of a concern, as most of the Executive team is from the mainland anyway.

[hotzcatz]

Well, for IT nobody really expects them to be all much of a people person, kinda like engineers, so integrating into a team isn't expected to the same level as other types of employment. (At least, that's what I'd expect.) However, the OP said he his experience was as a "medical assistant back in the states" Hmm, maybe that back in the states could be a bit of the problem right there.

Perhaps the answer could be to find a housing situation in exchange for some care taking or assisting someone in their living situation? Usually housing is the biggest expense, if that were covered, then a part time job could possibly fill in the rest. Although medical assisting may be a long way from home care.