Hmmm... Did I Mess Up? (Detroit: motel, house, job market)

[jessxwrites89]

Originally Posted by 4DM1N

My mom cried like a baby when I drove off into the western sunset at 23. The point, OP, is that you're your own person now. You have the make the decision that's best for you.

When I moved without a job, this is what I did. Before you decide to pack it in and leave town, call local headhunters in the city/metro you're trying to move to. Get an idea what the job market is like. Make these connections now and you'll have some folks to talk to when you get in to town. Send them your resume and set up some interviews if possible. I had minimal experience when I moved away after college and I had temp work set up pretty quickly upon arrival. This is what held me over until I could get a real career-type job, which took me about a month of dedicated searching. The temp work is good in that many of the admin jobs pay fairly well. That may hold you over until you find something else.

I took a credit card with a low credit limit to hold me over as well until I could find a job (keep your costs extremely low until you do find one). Find a cheap motel, like a Motel 6 or something, that you can stay at while in town. If you have someone you can stay with for cheap, that'd be great, too. Check out Couchsurfing. You might be able to find a place you can crash on there for cheap.

Ultimately, once you make the move, you will need to make job hunting your life until you find something decent that will pay the bills. Once you get that established, you can always upgrade later.

Good luck!

I was actually going to move in May... I contacted headhunters and they said, "Once you get here, we'll work with you! Send us your resume" and I did. They said, "Looks great, contact us when you're here!" Mom said, "Well an apartment won't let you work temp." Sadly, I couldn't find an apartment that wouldn't take me without a job. However, I applied for a house through Write A House (writeahouse.org) and I'll hear about that in August (they'll also help you find work). If I don't get it, I'm going to try finding something through an individual renter (that makes my parents really uncomfortable, but starting out, it might be the best if I don't get the house). I'll try Couchsurfing! I'm a member from when I went on a trip to Wisconsin.

I am going to practice for the phone interview next week with the tea place. I'm going to write down things to remember so I'm not on the spot. Fingers crossed for that and for the house! It's good to know I have temp work too; Kelly Temping seems pretty decent.

[jessxwrites89]

(Also, mom;s company bought a company in Wixom that I'm going to try. She refuses to help, so when I move... I can try it. That company you have to apply in person.)

[canudigit]

You have years of library experience and Detroit has a public library system and a whole bunch of suburbs, each of which most likely has its own library system as well. Why not get out a map of the Detroit Metro area, systematically Google the library system for Detroit as well as each suburb, and check their job postings? At least you would be going in with experience in that field, which is something that not a lot of people, generally speaking, have. I found this list of public library systems in Michigan and, while it doesn't give links to all of their websites, at least it is a master list to start Googling from and also includes phone numbers:

http://www.publiclibraries.com/michigan.htm

I would love to get out of nursing (burned out RN of 24 years here) and work for a local library system, but I don't have that kind of experience so they won't consider me. It seems like you could possibly find something library related that would be better and more dependable than working retail.

Good luck!

[jessxwrites89]

Originally Posted by canudigit

You have years of library experience and Detroit has a public library system and a whole bunch of suburbs, each of which most likely has its own library system as well. Why not get out a map of the Detroit Metro area, systematically Google the library system for Detroit as well as each suburb, and check their job postings? At least you would be going in with experience in that field, which is something that not a lot of people, generally speaking, have. I found this list of public library systems in Michigan and, while it doesn't give links to all of their websites, at least it is a master list to start Googling from and also includes phone numbers:

Michigan Public Libraries

I would love to get out of nursing (burned out RN of 24 years here) and work for a local library system, but I don't have that kind of experience so they won't consider me. It seems like you could possibly find something library related that would be better and more dependable than working retail.

Good luck!

Thank you! When I visited in May, I went to the Roseville Public Library and I missed their hiring... but, the circulation clerk said they hire often. I should check the Roseville district site. I'll also check out the link you posted.

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

Re-posting what I wrote in your thread in the Work forum plus some more now that I understand your situation better:

I live in Metro Detroit and work for a large publisher. After 10+ years in the industry I can tell you that writing jobs (with publishers, at least) are few and far between these days. However, the opportunities for freelancers are abundant as publishers outsource the majority of their proofreading and copywriting jobs to freelancers. I would strongly consider taking this route as you will have a tough time trying to get a full time gig as a writer.

Obviously you can do freelancing gigs from home, which would allow you to keep working your current job and save. Once you have some $$ saved up you can start looking at moving with more confidence. Plus you'll have more experience and contacts within the publishing world.

[JDuke]

This library system has 3 libraries, and is asking for another millage in august. It is a nice area 15 miles east of Detroit.

Employment

[jessxwrites89]

Originally Posted by JDuke

This library system has 3 libraries, and is asking for another millage in august. It is a nice area 15 miles east of Detroit.

Employment

Thank you. Hopefully one of these places will be okay with hiring an out of stater that is looking to move!

[4DM1N]

Originally Posted by jessxwrites89

Thank you. Hopefully one of these places will be okay with hiring an out of stater that is looking to move!

Honestly, I think you need to bite the bullet and move there with or without a job lined up. I think it's going to be extremely difficult for you to be an out-of-state candidate for a low-end position at a public library.

I posted my suggestions in an earlier post in this thread. If you want me to elaborate on anything, let me know.

[jessxwrites89]

Originally Posted by 4DM1N

Honestly, I think you need to bite the bullet and move there with or without a job lined up. I think it's going to be extremely difficult for you to be an out-of-state candidate for a low-end position at a public library.

I posted my suggestions in an earlier post in this thread. If you want me to elaborate on anything, let me know.

I know, but I can't find any apartment that will take me without a job lined up. I really hope I do get the house through Write A House, but if I don't... I'm not sure what I'm going to do. If an apartment won't take me without a job... I'm stuck and in a catch-22.

[4DM1N]

Originally Posted by jessxwrites89

I know, but I can't find any apartment that will take me without a job lined up. I really hope I do get the house through Write A House, but if I don't... I'm not sure what I'm going to do. If an apartment won't take me without a job... I'm stuck and in a catch-22.

Do you have any savings you can use?

What about Couchsurfing?

Can you use a low-limit credit card to book a cheap motel while you look for work? I'd assume you will be able to find a temp job and/or part-time job fairly quickly. From what I've been told on this forum, Metro Detroit's economy is booming.