Jobs jobs jobs jobs jobs (Phoenix, Casa Grande: 2014, headhunters, mobile home)

[Galounger]

Originally Posted by caryberry

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



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.




Good luck!

I find it hard to believe you didn't get as much if not more complaining from folks in Atlanta. Most people there are unshakingly convinced that traffic can't get any worse than what they experience.

[TransporterG]

What I am seeing out here is that to nail jobs is not just sending a CV over email and hoping to be called back. Get out here and walk into offices, meet people. That's the key to everything in this job market.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by TransporterG

What I am seeing out here is that to nail jobs is not just sending a CV over email and hoping to be called back. Get out here and walk into offices, meet people. That's the key to everything in this job market.

Honestly, that's the key to acquiring a job whether the economy is weak or strong. People can't judge your personality based on a resume. Meeting people in person not only displays your personality but it shows them you took the extra initiative to meet them in person. When someone can attach a face with a name, it helps you in every regard. Great post!

[shadow91]

hell, there aren't even jobs for registered nurses.

[caryberry]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Honestly, that's the key to acquiring a job whether the economy is weak or strong. People can't judge your personality based on a resume. Meeting people in person not only displays your personality but it shows them you took the extra initiative to meet them in person. When someone can attach a face with a name, it helps you in every regard. Great post!

Very good point. Most job hunters have a false sense of value when it comes to resumes. A resume will NEVER get you a job. NEVER NEVER NEVER. That is not the purpose of a resume. A resume is a TOOL (one of many at the job hunters disposal) to be used to get you a call back and hopefully an interview. A resume is like a business card - used to create interest.

Once my admin estimated that I probably read over 100,000 resumes in my recruiting career...99% of them were terrible. The average HR person looks at a resume for less than 10 SECONDS - yes 10 SECONDS - before putting the resume in the "hell no - you have got to be kidding" or "will come back to this later" pile. With resume scanning software being used by 40% of HR departments and the high rate of applicants to open positions - a targeted resume that is PERFECT without errors and properly formatted has never been more important.

I am so glad that the husband convinced me to retire before the job market took a nose dive this time...25+ years was enough. Can you pass the sun tan lotion?

[Anamoly]

I found a good job when I moved here in 2010- got pushed out when ownership changed. Two years later still looking. Oy.

I have found a few things, but mostly 50 miles on the other side of the valley- that's an issue here. If you live in Surprise, you may end up working in Chandler 50 miles away.

If you come, live centrally.

[daveyjones978]

Not sure how this thread got reserrected after 5+ years, but I'll just add from a recent attempt at job searching in the PHX area:

Have a local address. I thought this was only in places like Las Vegas, due to transient nature of people, but have found it in the PHX metro as well. I haven't even been able to get a phone interview, pretty much because I'm using an out of state address. We've finally decided to bite the bullet and just sell our stuff and come. Terrifying leap of faith if you ask me.

Get a PO Box/UPS Store address: If you know you're going to do it, then call ahead. We were able to rent a UPS store box/address over the phone. It is going to be needed once we hit the pavement job searching once we're there.

Do a sight-seeing/planning trip. We came out for a long weekend and basically drove EVEYWHERE. Turns out, where we thought we would want to live is completely different than where we think we want to now. Go get lost in a neighborhood, explore, check out apartments. Sales reps are more than happy to show you around.

Talk to locals. Go to local bars, meet people. You never know where your next job interview will come from.

I'm still crossing my fingers that we land on our feet.

[Potential_Landlord]

I think the job picture is much better now in Phoenix than it was in 2009. In my IT area there are quite a few local openings and more than the average of the last few years.

[stizz44]

I was able to land a few telephone interviews in PHX from the Boston area. They were for positions in the 40k-45k range.

1 job offered me the position with a 6 month grace period. But 4 months into that grace period, I called ready to move and the hiring manger I was working with was fired.

2 jobs I didnt get the offer

1 job responded for an interview within 2 hrs of applying and wanted me to come in the next day. I wasnt ready for such a rapid response! Usually, places take 2-3 months to get back to you.

This was over a 15 month period. As an out-of-state applicant, I learned to be ready to move before you apply or it can damage your repuation.

[ladycascadia]

Originally Posted by canudigit

"A lot of company won't even offer an interview if they know you are an out-of-towner."

Isn't that illegal? It sounds like discrimination to me. Isn't it about who is the best qualified for the job? If the local is better qualified, then hire away. If not, that is discrimination, plain and simple.

I had heard that as well. That's part of the reason why I took the risk to "wing it" and move down to AZ without a job. If I didn't have family already living in the area, I might have hesitated...but I figure it was worth the risk as there is the 'soft' landing as it were. Plus my job back where I used to live was going away, so I didn't feel I had a lot of choice in the matter. One thing I did decide that if I'm going to be starting over, I'll do a complete re-invention and shoot for the higher level jobs I'd always felt intimidated out of when I was still back in the PNW...and because I was so busy trying to "survive" my last job there was no time to put energy into a multi-state search. Now that I'm here in AZ, each day, I work on my job search like it's a full time job in itself. I put in at least 3 applications a day, using various job boards, plus the AZ DES jobs page. I also attend the various job fairs I see listed online, and as I'm constantly on the lookout for work in my field, I tell everyone I've met so far that I'm looking for work, and I've actually gotten a few leads that way, too. I've had three interviews so far. Mind, some hiring managers around here seem to be somewhat judgemental initially because I'm currently 'unemployed' but once I tell them I moved here just over 3 weeks ago, that I was on my last job for 14 years, and during the last 5 years I actually worked TWO jobs, then they seem to be more open to listening lol! I've not gotten a permanent job yet but I figure it's only been a month since coming here. I have every reason to believe I will have a real, permanent job by at least September. Just gotta keep a positive mental attitude and plug away.