employment (rental car, rental, hotel)

[thatsong64]

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone here for giving me such great info. I've read and learned so much here just by lurking the past few weeks. Yes I even learned from and apreciated the "negative" posts stating all the reasons "you'll never make it" or why Hawaii isn't that great. However, we are commited to making the move from Illinois. It is a huge risk of course and we are trying to be as smart as possible about it, but not willing to save and wait for 10 years.

As for the actual point of my post:
Me and my husband are hard workers and are looking for work in Hawaii (BI or Maui-Maui preffered). I currently work at Toys R Us. I've been there a little over 3 years. My husband has been working as a parts planner for John Deere for about 3 years and will be laid off in about 4 months. He also has a lot of restaurant experience and a passion for cooking. I realize retail and restaurant jobs are not the most skilled or in demand, but my question:

Is there a way to convince employers that we are:
1. truly hard workers-not potheads or slackers?
2. seriously looking for jobs and won't (don't wish to and cannot) run back to mommy and daddy when we get low on money in 6 months?

We don't smoke, drink, or do drugs at all and we are definetly the type of people who will look out at the ocean on a warm night and think all the work and sacrifice is worth it.

He has a resume on monster and I'm working on mine. I've also been looking a lot on craigslist. Any tips about employment are appreciated!

[mdand3boys]

This post is basically a repeat of what I have posted before.

To get a job, any job, in Hawaii:

You MUST make yourself appear to be a resident, in every aspect.

Top three, in order.

Get a local phone number - a throw-away cell phone is good enough.
Get a local address - no hotel or hostel addresses.
Get a local driver's license - You will be asked for driver's license.

Get a local car, NO RENTAL CAR - It can be your mainland car, but don't show up with your old, mainland license plates! Get the vehicle registered with Hawaii tags ASAP. Showing up in your mainland car with out of state license plates screams "new transplant".

Volunteer anywhere to make local contacts.

Make immediate friends, even down to getting some local references that you can list on job apps. No employers here wants to make phone calls of over seven digits long! It is a local thing. They just won't do it. My impeccable mainland references have received ZERO calls) My ONE local reference has received several calls and the local reference was listed FOURTH on my list of seven!)

Dress mainland professional casual, even if you know that you are overdressed for the actual position. You will see other applicants showing up wearing shorts, tight jeans, T-shirts... You can wear "dress Aloha" shirts, if they are in good taste - subdued colors and prints. Tommy Bahama $70 shirts are good. Again, no tourist looking shirts!

I was repeatedly ignored, even when highly qualified, except for the few times I got a chance to speak to the hiring manager and was able to tell them that my wife was already employed here, she was able to transfer, named where she was employed, etc. It gave me some "street cred". I was repeatedly asked WHY I MOVED HERE. I received ZERO callbacks for interviews where I was only able to turn in in person, fax, email or mail an app in, of which I think numbered around 60 and all were with tailored resume and letter, specific to that job.

Ensure that in any interview, you are able to talk intelligently about local type places, stores, issues, news events, etc. and make darn sure that you have the pronunciation correct! Small talk will nail the job. Locals "talk story" and being able to speak with intelligence on local issues will absolutely help. Know the lay of the land/streets! Do not ask for directions on how to get to the company or how to get home! You are no longer a tourist. Ensure that you do not come across as one! I went a day early to each interview to ensure that I knew exactly where to go and I scouted out the area around the business so that I could ask/answer questions better.

Make NO ATTEMPT to speak pidgin even if the interviewer does in the interview. You will not be able to pull it off and will not get the job. Instead, be absolutely professional - many local applicants are not. You need to stand out from the crowd.

I did all of the above. You can get a job. It will be tough and it won't be quick. Follow my instructions closely. I worked at this 5-8 hours per day.

[hotzcatz]

Yeah, that's pretty much it. And be prepared to not be employed for months.

I doubt an online resume will mean much to most Hawaii employers. We spend a lot more of our time outdoors so we have less indoor (computer) time.

[KoaKine]

Aloha,
Hey MD! Can you re post that great post up in the sticky so we don't loose it and you don't have to type it once a week? I know you have said this a few times and your right on with this

[thatsong64]

Thanks so much. That was very detailed and informative. As I said, I've been looking here a while and the only things I read in this thread that I've read before were: dress up for the interview and you must already be living there in order to have a chance at employment. Other than that it was all new to me!

But obviously, I would NEVER try to speak a language or even slang that I didn't understand. That's the fastest way to look like a fool! Stickying this is a great idea. All the employment info in one place instead of bits here and there in the midst of 100 different questions. Too bad online resumes pretty much don't matter. But of course, anyone could be anything online. *shrug*

I've been watching "learn hawaiian" on youtube just for the purpose of being able to decifer street and city names. I definetly can't count on my gps, judging by how it pronounces something as simple as "Fort Armstrong Avenue" as all one word and is missing the "r" in "strong". haha

[eksotia]

good tips mdand3boys, very thorough.