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There are very few people on this site that can be compared to a Saint. Good luck to you guys as well. Thanks for the good advice from those that are willing to give it and not just throw words around what has become an e-high school.
I moved here in june & had a job in 10 days. From the ppl I have met I am the exception to the rule though. I have a college degree & am not using it but have a receptionist job that pays my bills & lets me go out & have fun. I'm 22 & a "hot chick" not gona lie, I know that's why I got my job. I work w/ a bunch of guys & they love staring at me & making smartass/sexist comments. I can tolerate it but a lot of ppl would walk out day one. Not exactly how I imagined my life after working my ass off for a 4 year degree but hey, I'm living where I want to & having a blast doing it. You're only young once you know? Anyway, seriously be prepared to be unemployed for a few months, I've met plenty of ppl that have moved out here & can't find a job, ANY job for awhile. If you have enough money to support yourself for a little while you should be ok though. It can be done, ppl do it all the time. Best of luck to you!
dmalofy, I just read this thread and can't believe how you attacked hotzcatz for being "negative". Hotzcatz is one of the best posters on this forum, giving lots of helpful answers to people inquiring about living/vacationing in Hawaii.
As he/she tried to explain in several posts, don't ask a question then get pissed when someone gives you an honest answer. The honest REALITY answer is that the job market does suck big time in Honolulu right now, even more than it sucks big time anywhere in this country. Hawaii gets hit harder because we rely on tourism as our main industry, and if people are out of jobs and barely hanging on, they are not taking vacations to Hawaii. If people don't take vacations to Hawaii, then there are no jobs in the service industry.
People are trying to help you understand what it's like to try to get work in Hawaii. They want you and anyone else reading these responses to come with open eyes about what to expect. They aren't telling you not to come at all. That's up to you to decide after reading everything that people have posted on this forum many, many times in response to the same kinds of question.
Many people from the Mainland still believe the movies depicting Hawaii in the 40's. There is a huge homeless problem. The economy is suffering. Maybe the OP should research local on-line newspapers to find out how the lack of tourism especially affects Waikiki and Oahu, in general. Most tourists would rather have a local bartender who can give suggestions, recommendations, and has real knowledge of the Islands over a bartender who has been around for a month. Why should someone hire the OP instead of service industry worker who just got laid off from a local hotel? The OP doesn't understand the job market on Oahu. BTW, HotzCatz's post was spot on.
Aloha...
If you find a job you want, really want, you can get it. Persistence is all you need and maybe a good reference or two in your back pocket. Sure, there are alot of folks 'waiting to get there jobs back', but the reality side to that comment is simple...employers don't call you, you have to call them and follow-up. They don't wait for old employees to roll in off the beach and decide to call 'cuz they're broke. The dept I just landed a job in has 300 applications on file. I blew in right in front of them probably because I was persistent and emailed and called until I was blue in the face, because I wanted this job. Don't worry 'bout all the negative feedback. There is more than enough of that to go around on this forum. Have a game plan, all the newspapers are online and then there's Craigslist (careful there). Lot's of service jobs open, lots of opportunity, tourism is up a bit. Most folks that lost there jobs found something else. The jobs are posted because the jobs are there.
A hui hou.
Koale
Aloha...
... The dept I just landed a job in has 300 applications on file. I blew in right in front of them probably because I was persistent and emailed and called until I was blue in the face, because I wanted this job.
Koale
I would take this advice with a grain of salt, or two or three. I hired for a position last year. I crossed someone off my shortlist because he called and / or emailed every single day. I don't have the time to deal with being pestered like that, and it left me (as a potential employer) with a very bad impression. I felt like he was someone who would pester me about small details every day and perhaps not be able to work independently or understand clear, simple instructions. If an employer says, "we're in the process of interviewing over the next two weeks, and we'll be in touch with you," then don't call every day during those two weeks. Trust me on this.
Didn't say I pestered them every single day, did I? If I had waited for prospective employers to call me back I'd still be unemployed. Most are inconsiderate and don't call back...or call at all. So, here we have yet another example..or two...or three of the negative responses I was referring to earlier. Sheesh...there's just no rest from it.
Alooohaaaa.
Didn't say I pestered them every single day, did I? If I had waited for prospective employers to call me back I'd still be unemployed. Most are inconsiderate and don't call back...or call at all. So, here we have yet another example..or two...or three of the negative responses I was referring to earlier. Sheesh...there's just no rest from it.
Alooohaaaa.
You said, "I was persistent and emailed and called until I was blue in the face."
That phrase is open to interpretation. My interpretation would be every day or nearly so. And as an employer, I say that there is a world of difference between follow up (thanks for an interview, polite question about hiring timeline, and then another followup if you haven't heard anything in that timeline) and annoying the person with the power to give you a job.
"until I was blue in the face" is not particularly specific, but to me it does connote the over-eagerness that I found undesirable.
I think it's worth having different points of view, so that people know there's not "3 simple rules for finding a job in Hawaii. I'm glad your approach worked for you, but it wouldn't work if someone was applying for a job many other places where they have to weed through lots of applications. (At UH, it is required that we interview every person who meets the minimum qualifications for a job. That takes time. No hiring decision can be made until we do it.)
You said, "I was persistent and emailed and called until I was blue in the face."
That phrase is open to interpretation. My interpretation would be every day or nearly so. And as an employer, I say that there is a world of difference between follow up (thanks for an interview, polite question about hiring timeline, and then another followup if you haven't heard anything in that timeline) and annoying the person with the power to give you a job.
"until I was blue in the face" is not particularly specific, but to me it does connote the over-eagerness that I found undesirable.
I think it's worth having different points of view, so that people know there's not "3 simple rules for finding a job in Hawaii. I'm glad your approach worked for you, but it wouldn't work if someone was applying for a job many other places where they have to weed through lots of applications. (At UH, it is required that we interview every person who meets the minimum qualifications for a job. That takes time. No hiring decision can be made until we do it.)
One, but I've only been here 2 years. Professors get grants, and hire people to work on them. The research is done by the prof and grad students, but lots of times there are other jobs (admin, project management, etc.) that we need to hire for. It's pretty common.
Also, if the state hiring freeze is ever lifted, I or people very much like me will be involved in hiring lots more. We have two administrative positions open in my department, and other departments are in a similar position. The department secretaries, computer techs, etc... they all get hired by the professors because that's who they work for.
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