Jobs jobs jobs jobs jobs (Phoenix, Chandler: sales, apartments, rent)

[buckeyenative01]

Originally Posted by canudigit

Do you think that this also applies for out of state nurses, since there seem to be a lot of job openings in the Phoenix area for experienced RNs, which I am? It seems that in a profession where there actually are a lot of openings, they would be happy to get anyone that they can, regardless of where they come from.

I would reckon nurses availability/openings are a different scenario altogether since experienced nurses seem to be in high demand everywhere and healthcare is *almost* recession/depression-proof. I'm looking for clerical/administrative work, and any idiot with a HS diploma can do that.

[winkalit]

If there were jobs here, the recruiters would not discourage you from moving. Getting you a job puts more $ in their pockets. Sooner or later the job and housing markets will stabilize, but you may find yourself living with your mother for 6 months to a year. Do you really want that?

Think before you act.

[caryberry]

I can share some information from my professional recruiting experience in the PHX metro market...

1. Long distance job hunting in this market is primarily a waste of time. Recruiters to want to see you face-to-face before any presentation to a client will happen. There are just too many freaks (i.e. unprofessionally prepared job seekers that look GREAT on paper but not so in person). If a recruiter promises you a job sight unseen...RUN.

2. Jobs posted on the boards (Monster, Jobing.com) are usually posted by admins and rarely updated or deleted when filled. Companies buy subscriptions for a period of time - not by the number of posts, so who cares if the job post is old or filled. Most staffing agencies and recruiters always have "fishing" posts - its how they build their bank of resumes.

3. Because PHX is SO spread out and commuting is such a ***** - your domestic location to a company's location CAN be a huge issue. I can't tell you how many people came to me whining that they wanted to change jobs because of their commute! Like it suddenly changed the day they interviewed! As a recruiter - the candidate's commuting issues were ALWAYS discussed with the client and the job seeker before a placement was made. This level of baby boo-hooing seems to be especially high in Phoenix - never came across it in LA or Houston or Atlanta.

4. The weather - crazy as it may sound - hiring managers are very leery of new comers because if you have not been in Phoenix for a summer or two, you too will be like another person that they hired once in the winter time. The one that was an awesome employee that they hired in January - summer came and they couldn't get packed fast enough to go back north.

5. Phoenix is a crappy job market and was before the economic freefall began. This is just not a big business economy.

If you have your heart set on PHX - get a professional resume written - reference letters...come to town, make appointments with every accounting recruiting firm in town - look for networking opportunities and get ready to hustle your butt off!

Good luck!

[rcarbuilder]

Get your drivers license changed right away before you apply anywhere. Your best bet is if you interview with someone who is from back east, otherwise you`re spinning your wheels. Whatever you do don`t go around telling people where your from and tell them that`s how something is or isn`t done in NJ. If anybody asks tell them you`re from Pittsburgh.

[caryberry]

ROFLMAO...That's right - tell them you're from P-burg and you are NOT a Steelers fan

[awf82]

I recently got a bank job here from 2000 miles away. Its hard Work. indicate in your CL that you'll pay your own travel expenses and are willing to fly in for an interview on short notice. Do not ask for relocation benefits. Use your network & ask everyone you know if they know anyone in the valley and get their contact info. Work them for job leads. If all else fails get a local PO BOX and local disposable cell phone. Use this address and phone # on your resume and application and just don't let the company know you're from out of town.
Keep in mind the job market is VERY competative. Know the company you are applying to and know their culture. Taylor your resume and interview to match their needs exactly. You'll have to do more than read their website. Interview existing employees and if possible try to find out what specifically the hiring manager is looking for. I was up against people with decades more experience and education who were displaced from much more senior level positions but was able to secure the job by meeting the hiring company's needs exactly. If you want help getting a local phone # and address PM me and I'll see what I can do to help. Good Luck!

Also be ready to answer the question "why are you moving to Arizona?" and whatever you do, don't say "because of the weather" or any other trivial reason along those lines.

[IHATENEWJERSEY]

All,

Thank you so much for all the replies and advice. I just listed my house on the market here in NJ, I am hoping it sells fast. I was planning on using my Mom's house # for a phone number and address on my resume once I get out there. Everybody gave me hope that one day I will be living in Arizona, I can't wait I am very excited.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by caryberry

I can share some information from my professional recruiting experience in the PHX metro market...

1. Long distance job hunting in this market is primarily a waste of time. Recruiters to want to see you face-to-face before any presentation to a client will happen. There are just too many freaks (i.e. unprofessionally prepared job seekers that look GREAT on paper but not so in person). If a recruiter promises you a job sight unseen...RUN.

2. Jobs posted on the boards (Monster, Jobing.com) are usually posted by admins and rarely updated or deleted when filled. Companies buy subscriptions for a period of time - not by the number of posts, so who cares if the job post is old or filled. Most staffing agencies and recruiters always have "fishing" posts - its how they build their bank of resumes.

3. Because PHX is SO spread out and commuting is such a ***** - your domestic location to a company's location CAN be a huge issue. I can't tell you how many people came to me whining that they wanted to change jobs because of their commute! Like it suddenly changed the day they interviewed! As a recruiter - the candidate's commuting issues were ALWAYS discussed with the client and the job seeker before a placement was made. This level of baby boo-hooing seems to be especially high in Phoenix - never came across it in LA or Houston or Atlanta.

4. The weather - crazy as it may sound - hiring managers are very leery of new comers because if you have not been in Phoenix for a summer or two, you too will be like another person that they hired once in the winter time. The one that was an awesome employee that they hired in January - summer came and they couldn't get packed fast enough to go back north.

5. Phoenix is a crappy job market and was before the economic freefall began. This is just not a big business economy.

If you have your heart set on PHX - get a professional resume written - reference letters...come to town, make appointments with every accounting recruiting firm in town - look for networking opportunities and get ready to hustle your butt off!

Good luck!

I had a recruiter that twisted my arm to take a job I said was too far. I turned it down and she badgered me and said she would ask for more money for me and that's what happened. It's hard to find something to match my pay. I hate the drive but love the money.

I don't think Phoenix is or ever was a crappy Job Market for Accounting. Upstate NY, and N and S Carolina really stunk!

I agree make an appointment with ever firm.

[azriverfan.]

I would discourage you from using a recruiter. Recruiters charge companies significant fees such as 15-30% of a candidates first year base salary. You can significantly improve your chances of getting hired by not going through a recruiter. If a company can hire you directly without having to pay a hefty recruiting fee, then they are likely to hire you over some candidates submitted by a recruiter. And let's be honest, in this job market, many candidates have similar skill sets so any advantage you can offer yourself will get you ahead. In addition, recruiters can hurt you because many of them will submit your resume to multiple companies at once, even ones you were not aware you were being submitted to. This is a common recruiting tactic. It's like fishing. They will send out your resume to several companies hoping to catch a bite. A company will then respond to the recruiter. The recruiter then calls you and tells you about the good news. Recruiting agencies have companies sign contingent agreements. It's a type of contract in which a company agrees to pay a recruiting company a fee if they hire a company referred by them. It costs the company nothing to look at resumes and interview candidates. So even if you contact a company yourself and got an interview, if their HR discovers that a recruiting company already submitted your resume to them before you contacted them on your own, the company would be legally obligated to pay the recruiting agency and thus they might revoke their interest knowing they now have to pay a fee to hire you. The other problem with recruiters is you are not the only candidate they are submitting to a company. The recruiter is trying to get his or her commission so he or she doesn't care who the company hires and will submit multiple resumes for a job position in order to make a placement. So it would be like having a sports agent who is representing you and about 9 others to the Yankees and doesn't care which of you 10 gets the job.

Another problem is a company might like you enough to hire you but are not interested in you enough to pay a fee to an agency. If you had applied on your own, they might have hired you but since the recruiting agency submitted your resume, they won't hire you because of the fee involved. Usually a company will only hire a recruiter to fill a tough position or fill a regular position with THE perfect candidate(which is some dream candidate who doesnt exist hence the reason they will pay a recruiter to find this person if they happen to come accross one)

And recruiters don't do anything you can't do on your own such as cold calling and using the internet to find e-mail addresses of people in companies to submit resumes to. Recruiters find out about jobs by doing the same things you do such as going to a company's website and seeing what jobs they are trying to fill or doing a search on the monster. They will also cold call managers pitching their services and asking if there are any jobs they need help filling. So you are probably wondering how they find out who to call in a company. Honestly, a lot of it is just guess work and persistence. They cold call the company and ask around as to who is hiring for that job. My advice: call the companies yourself. Tell them upfront that you are not a recruiter or an agency and are the person who is looking for work.

Be careful when submitting your resume online to sites such as Monsterboard or Dice. Recruiting agencies have very clever names and often sound like companies themselves. You might think you are submitting your resume to a company but in fact you are submitting your resume to a recruiter representing the company. Also, recruiting companies don't like to use the word recruiting or headhunting on their websites. They will use words like "management solutions" or "client solutions" or "consulting" The way you can check to see if it's a recruiting company is by examining the e-mail address. If the e-mail is bobh@hgic.com I just made this up for the purposes of teaching but look up www.hgic.com If the website seems like it's a recruiting agency, then you know it's not a company that is hiring.

A recruiter could get the false impression the job market is bad because when they cold call companies to ask if they are interested in using their services and they are turned down, the recruiter will get the false impression than this market is weak. This is why you can't always trust a recruiter when they say companies are not hiring. No, they are hiring but they are not willing to pay a recruiter to fill the job since they can do it on their own. Companies were used utilizing recruiters 10 years ago even in places like Phoenix because there were more jobs than qualified candidates. Well, it's pretty obvious this market is weak but don't assume there are NO jobs because there could be if you searched on your own.

I understand that I will offend some recruiters and for the sake of peace and professionalism, I will let them respond to my comments and leave it at that. I certainly feel there are exceptions when recruiters are necessary and do really offer a great service both for employers and people seeking work but for most jobs, a person doesn't really need a recruiter. I'm not trying to start an argument. If my post can help someone find a job then this was worth all this typing.

[IHATENEWJERSEY]

I totally agree with you. That is the feeling I am getting espicially in today's economy. I espicially love when recruiters send your resume to a company, and you find out later. I have had that happen in NJ, it really pisses me off. They all tell you that they ask your permission first, that is so wrong, because usually they don't. I agree with you, I think if I get out there, I am going to search on my own. Attend job fairs on my own, and circulate resumes.

Thanks for your help.