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How difficult is it to get a job in the service industry, Ideally as a server or Bartender, in Waikiki? I'll be moving there the beginning of October and looking for a job mid-to-late October....any ideas?
Well, how far down is tourism in Waikiki these days? How many local service folks with experience are waiting to get their jobs back? I'd say it would be a good idea to get a round trip ticket and not base all your plans on the hope of getting an immediate job.
Wow! How many people want to *arrive* in Waikiki at any given date, then [conveniently] find a job there a couple of weeks later? We have plenty of friends who work/live/hire there, too. No better than the rest of the state statistically.
Hotzcatz you've been nothing but negative, and I cannot tell enough that I am not in DESPERATE need of a job IMMEDIATELY. It was a simple question that did not call for your "kind of response". Thank you.
Okay, I'll totally lie like a big dog and be totally positive. Fly into Waikiki and there will be loads of places just waiting to hire you! You'll make a huge salary and scads of tips and find a lovely beachfront cottage for a mere pittance. Lovely half clad hula girls are waiting with tall glasses of daquiris for you! With little paper umbrellas in them. (That is the one of the Hawaii Tourist Bureau's iconic images. They've spent millions - of our tax dollars no less - getting that image ingrained in folks' heads.)
The only hope of finding a bartending job in Waikiki would be because of the huge turnover in that area but there are also a lot of folks looking for work, too. If you can manage to not need to find work for six months, then it will probably be fine. If you can manage to live on a part time job for the first six months, then it will probably be fine. You could completely luck out and walk into a waiting job. But planning on it is a really scary thing, IMO. Maybe it will be better for you, I hope so, but I don't expect it.
The original post mentioned arriving on the first of October and looking for a job two weeks or three weeks later. That's less than a month and finding a job in Waikiki which would make enough to live on in less than a month IS considered "immediately". Things don't generally happen quickly in Hawaii. You may not find work for several months - maybe even up to six months or more, but, that's being "negative" again, isn't it?
What is the difference between negative and reality when they are the same? How can someone warn someone else of possible difficulties ahead without being negative? Should one be silent since one can't be positive and let someone run headfirst into a wall they don't want to know about? If you go hiking in Alaska folks will tell you about bears, is that negative or just trying to not have to go looking for lost hikers? There is a huge percentage of folks who move to Hawaii just to leave again within a year. There is a reason for that, but to tell you would be negative again. So, hopefully, you will beat the odds. Is that positive now?
Okay, I'll totally lie like a big dog and be totally positive. Fly into Waikiki and there will be loads of places just waiting to hire you! You'll make a huge salary and scads of tips and find a lovely beachfront cottage for a mere pittance. Lovely half clad hula girls are waiting with tall glasses of daquiris for you! With little paper umbrellas in them. (That is the one of the Hawaii Tourist Bureau's iconic images. They've spent millions - of our tax dollars no less - getting that image ingrained in folks' heads.)
The only hope of finding a bartending job in Waikiki would be because of the huge turnover in that area but there are also a lot of folks looking for work, too. If you can manage to not need to find work for six months, then it will probably be fine. If you can manage to live on a part time job for the first six months, then it will probably be fine. You could completely luck out and walk into a waiting job. But planning on it is a really scary thing, IMO. Maybe it will be better for you, I hope so, but I don't expect it.
The original post mentioned arriving on the first of October and looking for a job two weeks or three weeks later. That's less than a month and finding a job in Waikiki which would make enough to live on in less than a month IS considered "immediately". Things don't generally happen quickly in Hawaii. You may not find work for several months - maybe even up to six months or more, but, that's being "negative" again, isn't it?
What is the difference between negative and reality when they are the same? How can someone warn someone else of possible difficulties ahead without being negative? Should one be silent since one can't be positive and let someone run headfirst into a wall they don't want to know about? If you go hiking in Alaska folks will tell you about bears, is that negative or just trying to not have to go looking for lost hikers? There is a huge percentage of folks who move to Hawaii just to leave again within a year. There is a reason for that, but to tell you would be negative again. So, hopefully, you will beat the odds. Is that positive now?
I've been hearing the same "reality" from you for almost six months now. I'm asking for advice not a reason to not move. I appreciated your opinion the first few times I've heard it, and frankly I've had enough. This move is stressful, as it is for anyone moving to Hawaii. I know the risks, I've been well aware of it for a very long time. If we fall flat on our faces you'll be the first one I tell, and you can say I told you so.
Nah, I'll never tell you "I told you so" it's much more fun letting folks keep waiting to hear it so they listen better.
Perhaps the original question, then, instead of "how difficult is it to get a service job in Waikiki" should be "what's the best way to get a service job in Waikiki". Then we can find much more positive answers. Looking for the best way is generally more positive than determining the probable level of difficulty. Especially when it is not likely to be an easy task.
The best way to find a bar tending job in Waikiki is to go to the bars during a slow time and talk to the bartenders. If they don't know about any openings in their own bars, they might know of some in other bars. Folks get hired in Hawaii by who they know much more often than by what's written on their resume. If you go to a bar and chat with the manager, they are much much more likely to hire you than the person who sent in a resume from the mainland. If you make friends with the folks who work there, if a job opening shows up, they will let you know and they would be the ones to find out about possible job openings earlier than anyone outside of the establishment. If you get to know them well enough, ask if you can use them as a reference. Local references are usually much better than mainland ones.
Find a bar you like and tell the bartender that you really love the place and want to work there. "What's the best way to get a job working here?" One of my friend's got a job on Oahu because he knew how to repair the owner's antique car. Other folks had more experience at the job my friend was hired for, but he got the job because of some unrelated skills. You may be able to find something along that line, too. But you have to go chat with the folks there and see what you can do for them. What YOU can do for THEM is usually what they are most interested in. They generally hardly care what they can do for you.
I am a little concerned about the tone of these emails. Not only are they extremely negative, they really serve no purpose except to discourage people wanting to relocate. What is the worst that can happen? They go back to the Mainland. We should be more welcoming...and adopt the Aloha spirit..
I am a little concerned about the tone of these emails. Not only are they extremely negative, they really serve no purpose except to discourage people wanting to relocate. What is the worst that can happen? They go back to the Mainland. We should be more welcoming...and adopt the Aloha spirit..
No. The worst is the person runs out of money and becomes homeless and unable to get back to the mainland. New arrivals are not welcomed by employers. It is that simple.
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