Job Hunting Tips Needed (Santa Monica: sales, job market, school)

[CaliforniaDreamin']

Hi everyone, I posted this in a different topic but thought I'd open a new thread as some may not have seen it. I'm in need of some advice from the locals and those that have relocated .....

I'm planning on moving to LA next year and wanted to know know how to best go about finding a job in LA. I know finding one while living out of town is practically impossible but are there some tips in landing one before the move ? When abouts should I start looking if I plan on moving June or July ?

Also, once in LA, what is the best plan of attack of finding a job fairly quickly ?? I have over 5 years Sales/Admin Assistant experience. Would that be somewhat easy to find and what type of salary could I expect to make ? I live in NYC and make $31,000 as a sales assistant in a publishing company at present. From all the salary research I've done on similar positions, I've found out that I'm grossly underpaid. Would I be making more in LA ?

In terms of finding a job, would agencies be a better option to go with ? although I normally don't like agencies and don't think they offer any good assistance, I'd be willing to try them. Would temping be a better option just to have some money coming in while I look for permanent and a way to get the foot in the door ? Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

[MagicTouch]

Well for me when I was looking for a job outside of the state it took me a little about 4 weeks before I started getting calls, about another 4 weeks of phone interviews. Then I had to fly out and do a personal interview. So by the time I received a job offer it was almost 4 months. If you haven't already moved you will need to factor that in prior to giving them a start date. LA doesn't always make more, but the cost of living is definitely higher. I'm not familiar with your field of work, but for me moving out of California, I will make a lot more and the cost of living will be slightly less.

I would start looking at least 6 mos out. Why do you have to wait to that particular time frame ?? School??

Best Wishes on your job search and move !!

[CaliforniaDreamin']

Originally Posted by MagicTouch

Well for me when I was looking for a job outside of the state it took me a little about 4 weeks before I started getting calls, about another 4 weeks of phone interviews. Then I had to fly out and do a personal interview. So by the time I received a job offer it was almost 4 months. If you haven't already moved you will need to factor that in prior to giving them a start date. LA doesn't always make more, but the cost of living is definitely higher. I'm not familiar with your field of work, but for me moving out of California, I will make a lot more and the cost of living will be slightly less.

I would start looking at least 6 mos out. Why do you have to wait to that particular time frame ?? School??

Best Wishes on your job search and move !!

Thanks for your reply MagicTouch. Wow 6 months in advance. That's a lot longer than I thought but I suppose it does make sense with sending out resumes, getting an actual call back, phone interviews etc etc, it does take a lot of time.

Regarding the time frame - I will be moving with a friend and that time period works out best for both our schedules and also gives us more time to save as much as we can prior to moving out ... So we don't end up homeless in Santa Monica LOL

I was looking at cost of living calculators online and it did mention that while the salaries are slightly higher in NY compared to LA, the cost of living is lower in LA but after reading this forum and just doing basic research it doesn't seem to be the case. If I'd have to wager a guess I'd say NY and LA are probably about equal on the cost of living. NY is sky high but you wouldn't know it from the salaries

Anyways, thanks again for the info I'll need to start working on my resume asap then ........

[LASam]

When I made the move to LA from Ohio, I contacted about 4 or 5 different recruiters one month before leaving and set up appointments to meet with them my first week in LA. Then we set up interviews and I had landed a job within that first month. Recruiters are a great way to get into a job market, and if things are slow you can work temp-to-hire. I would have to imagine you will make more here than $31K... the recruiters can help you come up with a good ballpark figure. Just be ready to hit the ground running when you get out here and you should be fine

[Rats]

the cost of living in LA isn't higher than NYC. however, a full-time admin assistant with 5 years experience pulls at least 3k/month here, even at medium-sized businesses. the company I work for, Edison International, always has admin assistant positions open. if you want to check them out then go to Edison International: Careers, click Search for Jobs and then Southern California Edison.

[CaliforniaDreamin']

Thanks everyone for your advice and thanks Rats for that link, I'll definitely check it out.

I planned on contacting the recruiters first and also any direct ads I can find and start from there. Hopefully I'll have better luck with recruiters in LA than I have in NY. I am prepared to do just about any job to start with. Great to hear that salaries are higher than what I've encountered here ... 3K/month would be great.

Thanks again everyone, I'm feeling a bit less stressed now