Has anyone in 2011 been about to find a job in FL before moving to FL? (Tampa: low income, real estate)

[NikPik]

Hi Everyone,

I am moving to FL in February. I know the economy is terrible, I know its hard to find a job. I am just wondering if anyone has been able to line up a job ahead of time before they actually made the move. Odviously that would be ideal but I wont count on it. I will make sure we have plenty of money saved so that if it takes several months to find a job we will be fine. I am currently working in NJ as a Case Manager. I have BA in Psychology and have been in the field for 4 years now with children and adults with mental illnesses. I have looked on indeed.com and I did find about a dozen job listing in the Ft lauderdale area that I meet the requirements for. I just dont know if they would interview someone from out of state and how many people I will be competing against. Any thought?? Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[Jen78fl]

Id say check out craigslist. I get a lot of interviews from applying on there but no jobs.. the job market here is horrible!! You should have a little more luck though since you have a degree.... Good luck to you. I know it sucks!

[NikPik]

I really want to make the move this February but I am so scared about the job market down there. A friend of mine moved to Plantation a month ago and found a job within 30 days of being there. I really hope I am find a job.

[Nolefan34]

It is very difficult for someone who does not live here to get a job here. Employers usually throw out resumes from other states. They don't want to waste their time on someone who does not live here and may not be available immediately for hire. You may have better luck after you move down here and change your address on your resume.

Another trick I learned is that you could rent a P.O. Box down here in Fort Lauderdale and use that address on your resume. Employers may be more likely to contact you since it appears you live here.

Take full advantage of the internet. Most jobs are advertised online only. The days of job postings in the newspaper are all but over. Visit sites like Careerbuilder, Monster, Indeed, and Craigslist daily. You may even go so far as to set up online profiles. The only downside of that is you get all of these scam artists trying to get you involved in pyramid schemes and MLM crap.

[Jen78fl]

Btw Ihiresecretarial is another good place to look. I just do the 7 day free trial and cancel before it charges me bc it's too expensive. Cl is the one ive had the most luck with. I don't think I've ever gotten interviews from any other sites ive used

[Nolefan34]

Also it is better to go to the specific company's website to apply rather than applying through a 3rd party website.

[JSnFla]

i would not recommend quitting a job in NJ to move to broward county with NO job. One could easily go well over a yr and not find work in south florida. The job market is never good in south florida

[Nolefan34]

JSnFla-

I agree with you and I would expand your theory to apply to the entire state of FL. The job market has never been great in this state but was a lot better back in the 90's. Since 2000, the job market here has declined every year. My guess is due to outsourcing of jobs and a horrible rear estate market that has not recovered yet. People simply do not have the same money to spend on goods and services that they once had. FL has always been a low income state. Things have not changed much in that regard.

[JSnFla]

SeminoleFan, I agree that the whole state has a terrible job market. The job market in SoFla got somewhat decent in the late 90s with the internet boom and some local startups, etc. That all crashed several yrs later. Then the job market again became artificially decent with the construction, real estate mortgage boom in the mid 2000s. Every shady scam artist in broward started a mortgage company and made decent money for a few years. All these bubbles have burst and soFla is left with what it always had, a tourist/service/retiree oriented community with a very transient sketchy workforce and a handful of major companies based in the area. Its always been rough unless u were very, very good at something or could somehow blaze your own trail

[Nolefan34]

JSnFla-

Ok. But I think the same can be said for the rest of the state. Are you telling me Orlando's economy is not tourist/retiree oriented? What about Fort Myers, Sarasota, and Tampa?