How hard is it to find a job in Vegas? (Las Vegas: felony, home)

coolblue · 05-20-2007, 10:19 PM

My son and I were discussing moving to Vegas. I'm 37 years old and am looking for a change and I thought Vegas was a wonderful idea.
I have experience in office administration, clerical, and have worked as a secretary, mostly for Non-Profits. He rebuilds computers and still attends High School.
I was laid off at the beginning of the year, and I have decided that I have never liked my home state of Texas and wish to move.

My question is, "how's the job market?"

itscindergirl · 07-03-2007, 12:12 AM

well i have been here two months from texas and put in alot of apps but all they say is if they want you we will call in two weeks if not so sorry where in texas

Buzz123 · 07-03-2007, 01:14 AM

You should have no trouble finding a job. Your skills are needed. It's just that most people don't allow for the amount of time it will take to get a job. It is always a matter of being in the right place at the right time. You have to move quickly and cover a lot of ground to find the job you want and be there ready to go to work when they need you. People who walk right in and get hired the day they get to town are few and far between, but it has been known to happen. However, realistically, the time that someone is between jobs (as seen by how long they collect unemployment) usually averages about six to eight weeks. I have seen many people (including myself one time) go over a year. The logistics of job hunting take a lot more time than people realize. And the higher you are up the ladder of success the longer it can take as those jobs are few and usually taken.

I've seen people on here say that you won't get a job until you come here. That is not necessarily true and I usually advise people to line up a job before they come here. That way you won't be desparate to find one, which makes it even more difficult. It's always easier to find a job when you already have one than to be frantically trying to find one when you are unemployed. From the skills you have I'd say you should have a good chance of finding a job before you ever leave home. Unless of course you are currently out of work. But if you are, at least you wouldn't have the additional burden of moving expenses with no income.

That said, I and many others I know moved here without a job. And, yes it did help to have "juice". From my experience, a month at minimum is how long to expect it to take. When I was hiring at the TV station I nearly always had to recruit from out of town. So most of the people I hired came here AFTER lining up the job. Working at JobConnect I saw that all the time. The fact is employers in Las Vegas are usually begging for good employees and there is a shortage of workers to choose from here. Usually the good workers have good jobs and ones who are unemployed for very long are the hard core unemployed who are difficult to place because of many personal problems. So if you have personal problems that will get in the way of your work you will find it hard to get a job; get those problems handled first and don't mention them or make them a problem for the employer.

PinkString · 07-03-2007, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itscindergirl

well i have been here two months from texas and put in alot of apps but all they say is if they want you we will call in two weeks if not so sorry where in texas

I'm guessing that if you check that little box on the application where it asks if you've ever been convicted of a felony, that will turn off alot of employers.

beach08 · 07-03-2007, 08:59 AM

Buzz123, Question regarding finding a job before coming there, how? My personal experience is either your resume is ignored totally (out of state address- Unless-nurse,etc) or if you get a call they want you there tommorrow for an interview, even though you resume cleary indicates out-of area candidate. I have sent out numerous resumes in the month of June and have received 3 calls , 2 asking if I could be there tommorrow for an interview and one phone interview ( which I knew by the conversation they were looking to interview and hire within a week). ??? My hubby and I really want to relocate to LV , but I am getting a little concerned over the lack of interest from employers. I have extensive experience in Business OPS and benefit adminstration, with billing and claims and with over 40 resumes being sent out only 3 calls? My hubby has been in the Road construction field for
20+ and has worked for the same employer for all 20+ years and has been a foreman for over 10 yrs with the same co. His resume cleary should indicated knowledge and dedication, yet he's only had 1 call, again they wanted him there the next day for interview? All of the resumes that we have sent out are jobs we are cleary qualified for, but still no calls????? I know finding a job is hard work, but in 5 weeks mininum interest from employers...if you quit a job to come to LV, you cannot qualify for unemployment, so how long can one survive? maybe this is the reason LV is known as transeint state (employment is not what it is advertised as)
Everyone seems to say Las Vegas needs skillful employees and LV is the 2nd hottest job market....but for who and where?

ejl127 · 07-03-2007, 09:43 AM

I agree it will be difficult to get action from out of town. Not impossible to lay some groundwork but you get much more action with a local address. I tried to get some activity going from out of state and it was near impossible. Luckily I did not have a problem once here as i'm in a special niche where I knew there were positions available. Try the Healthcare segment as well. Booming industry here and I assume they would have a need for clerical/admin. Lot's of Hospitals etc. opening up.

olecapt · 07-03-2007, 09:44 AM

I disagree Buzz. I have no doubt this town has the worst bias against out of towners I have ever seen. I have helped well over a dozen people work through it over the years. It is simply there.

I will agree that jobs that require specialty skills or extensive education are filled just like everywhere else. Fly them in, interview and then make offers.

Nurses, teachers, accountants, engineers etc all should have a job committment before they come here. But Secretaries? Office clericals/managers? Waitresses/Bartenders? I am afraid it will be a cold day in hell before that happens. My standard advice is get a local cell phone and address...then you got a shot.

vegasjoe · 07-03-2007, 09:53 AM

I lived in Vegas for 13 years. Only reason I left was for the cost of living going throuugh the roof. Oh yea there's nothing for kids to do. Schools are deplorable and so are the people who live there.
As far as finding a job, you need to know someone. It has gotten very coporate in that city. The ol' school is still in session. I have gotten friends of mine jobs @ major resorts ( Bellagio, MGM, Mandalay) because of who I know. If you are still serious on the move drop me a line and I can help guide you were to go apply.

beach08 · 07-03-2007, 11:37 AM

Local address and cell would help, except the fact if your really not located in LV, when the call comes in, it wiil serve no purpose, as the employers will want to schedule the interview quickly and being out-of state will take around a week to organize the trip.

surfdude · 07-03-2007, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itscindergirl

well i have been here two months from texas and put in alot of apps but all they say is if they want you we will call in two weeks if not so sorry where in texas

First of all, when you respond to someones post you need to be honest and tell all the facts. Your job search with a felony record will be quite different than someone else's who has no criminal record.

I would imagine that it has nothing to do with Las Vegas, it is more likely what Pink String said, the check in the little box.