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As many of you know, our family had to leave Pittsburgh (after an all-too-brief sojourn). We headed to Detroit (to mitigate costs and be with my husband's family). So let me ask you this: I am a very qualified woman, with over 20 years of legal/administrative experience (some of which in highly desirable areas - like intellectual property - ), and in seven months I sent out over 300 resumes in Pittsburgh. I got nothing! (So yes, all I really wanted to do was open my own Taco truck, but I was willing to give in to a 100+ per minute typing speed!) Anyway, I go to a city that has the second highest unemployment rate in the land; I send out resumes my first week, and in 10 days I have a job. And not in a stifling office environment, but as a catering facilitator!
I had hoped that we would be here a short while to recoup, and then we would be able to return to our (newly) beloved Pittsburgh. I mean, I have lived everywhere: Southern California, Colorado, New Hampshire, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts (and even the south of England for a while). I don't know why I fell so hard for Pittsburgh . . . (well yes, I could give you a number of reasons, and have in prior postings) . . . but am I going to be stuck in this flat wasteland simply because I could get a job here?
Basically, I guess, I'm just venting. I'm pleased to have a place to go each day (and get paid in the process). But I'm so frustrated that I found a place I loved that didn't love me back.
So . . . For all of you who are fortunate enough to live in (and around) Pittsburgh and be employed, I offer this: Be happy (or even grateful) that you can remain in a city that is diverse; that offers so many amenities; and that may be the perfect city environment in which to raise a child. I may have a job (finally), but I have an 11 year old in which I had to enroll in the Detroit Public School System. After being set for Sterrett Classic Academy for my boy (feeder school for Minadeo), I am totally bummed!
And yes, I guess this is the end of my "I can't sleep at all" rant.
I feel your heartbreak, because I have been there. In 2007, I graduated college (in Michigan, actually) and decided I was ready to leave Michigan and family behind in order to realize my dream of big city life. I chose Pittsburgh because of its affordability, historic character, and reasonable proximity to Michigan. So basically I just went to Pittsburgh with about $1000 and a dream. Needless to say, I fell absolutely in love with the city (in spite of the negativity of Pittsburgh natives). I loved the old buildings, the rivers, the hills with lights and little houses perched on the sides. It definitely wasn't anything like Howell or Lansing, Michigan, where I grew up. There was vibrance, charm, ambience.
But finding my first job in the Social Work field proved to be a headache. After three months of job searching, nothing as much as a retail job materialized. So it was back to Michigan, with my hopes dashed. I felt the way you do now. I ended up getting a job in Lansing, but it was a dead-end job and I wasn't happy. Pittsburgh kept haunting my dreams at night. I decided I had to come back. So I saved up a little more money, and did the exact same thing all over again. This time I got a job at Walmart before I headed down. It paid the bills until I found something in my field, three months later. Flash forward two years and I have a social work job, a decent salary, and own my first house.
You said you were frustrated that you found a place that "did not love me back." I felt exactly the same way when I left Pittsburgh. I felt like the city had no opportunity or love for me! But I'm here to tell you, that if you stay true in your feelings for Pittsburgh, and persistent in your goal to move here, it can happen! Pittsburgh is a tough city, and it's a tough love to win. But you can do it! And most importantly, when you finally make it in Pittsburgh, after having to leave it once, you will never take it for granted or think of moving again.
Incidentally, since you are stuck in Detroit, why not try to find things to love about that city while you are there? Obviously, Detroit has huge problems, but it's a big old city and must have a lot of interesting things to see and explore. Make the most of it.
So what is going on right now is that people have been moving from the places hit hardest by the recession to places not-so-hard hit. That means Pittsburgh has experienced a big increase in jobseekers, whereas Detroit has seen a big decline. Meanwhile, even in a recession, people are constantly being hired for jobs in any major metro, and there is actually a substantial recovery beginning in some harder hit areas (those where the issue was not so much the housing bubble and bust, like Michigan). Given all this, what you just discovered is that if you are a quality candidate (good skills, experience, and so on), a contrarian strategy--moving to where people have been leaving instead of coming--may well be your quickest route to a job.
But if you still want Pittsburgh to be part of your future--and it is a very seductive place, at least for a certain sort of person--I have no doubt you can make that happen. Maybe the timing wasn't right, but these are unusual times right now, and likely conditions will be different in a couple years. And I also think alleghenyangel's story is both inspiring and instructive: persistence in pursuing Pittsburgh will eventually pay off.
Edit: Oh, and who knows--maybe you will fall in love with Detroit too. I grew up in the Detroit area, and couldn't leave soon enough. It is now going through a collapse on a par with the steel bust Pittsburgh went through in the early 80s, and to be realistic, it might take a similar time (25 years or more) for Detroit to recover to the same degree as Pittsburgh has today. But just as with Pittsburgh, I think this is also an opportunity for Detroit to transform itself into something much more interesting, livable, and sustainable than the place I fled. And you could potentially play a significant role in that process, if that is the path you choose.
Brian's point about countering migration patterns is a good one. Also, there's strong evidence that the adage "it's easier to find a job when you already have a job" is true. You might find that Pittsburgh employers are more interested in you now that you are employed (although that might be offset by their preference for local candidates...).
There is some stigma to being unemployed at the time, that is true. Read a story a few weeks ago about that, about how often it is that employers immediately dismiss any candidates who are not currently employed. Various reasons. Which doesn't explain the Detroit part, obviously.
My girlfriend goes through periods of applying for other jobs because she is unhappy in her current one. It's not a lot of applying; she picks out specific ones she's interested in. And well-qualified for. And generally not a peep is heard back (usually not even a "We've picked someone else"). We tend to wonder if this comes back to the "Who you know" factor that is brought up here from time to time. Although that was part of landing her present job (began a little over 3 years ago), in these days of higher unemployment it would not be so surprising to find that to be even more prevalent than usual. (The job search 3 years ago was 6 months long. Part of that might have been the unemployment stigma. It's impossible to measure the length now because it's not a sustained concerted effort, even though it should be. )
I also think sometimes being 20 years qualified could, unfortunately, be a detriment. I think there can be a desire in many cases to hire people who are younger and cheaper, despite being less qualified. And despite desire to take a position, even one that you are overqualified for, a lot of places won't do that for fear you'll jump when the next better position comes along. And if the 300 weren't all open positions, I certainly think these days are not the best for unsolicited resumes.
Most if not all of these are not unique to this area. What Brian said above makes sense to me in addition to the rest of this.
Why did it work out this way? Timing, luck, you happened to talk to the right place at the right time there, and it didn't happen here. This is, ultimately, what it boils down to.
with over 20 years of legal/administrative experience (some of which in highly desirable areas - like intellectual property - ), and in seven months I sent out over 300 resumes in Pittsburgh. I got nothing!
Did you get in contact with any legal recruiters? A lot of Pittsburgh law firms rely on companies like Special Counsel or Hudson when hiring. They will hire the secretary/paralegal/whatever on a contract basis and then if they like them take them on as an employee A resume sent blindly (not sure if the resumes you sent out were in response to an ad or not) generally isn't going to get much of a response.
I'm sorry you couldn't find a job here, but Detroit isn't as bad of a place as people make it out to be. Check out the FABULOUS bakery in Greektown - I forget what it is called.
My heart breaks for you because you so have the desire to live and work here. Meanwhile I've been stuck working with some temps from out of state that complain about Pittsburgh 24/7 and can't wait to leave here.Where's the justice?
If this was 2 years ago I could have gotten you your pick of jobs, but right now it is tight.
Sometimes no matter how hard you try, it is not meant to be, for now. I guess for now and for whatever reason you are meant to be in Detroit. I'm sure when it's supposed to happen, you will have a good position open here in Pittsburgh for you.
In the meantime, stay positive.It's wonderful Detroit has given you a wonderful opportunity right when you needed it. It's a great town with alot of soul. Detroit=Hockeytown U.S.A.!!
Thank you all. I think you're all right. I thought I was too young for age-ism, but I definitely understand about hiring younger and cheaper. Yes, I contacted the agencies -- even though, to be completely honest, a part of me would shrivel up and die if I actually had had to go back into the suits and pantyhose world! :-) The big problem I had on that front is that I had been away from the work for a while (doing things I actually enjoyed), and I guess folks assumed that my brain had drained itself of any useful information. Rubbish! Still, I won't stop until we make it back. (And when our family does roll back into town, I'm making each and every one of you a taco!
Location: Detroit's eastside, downtown Detroit in near future!
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I feel sorry for you but unlike many people (myself included) you have a job! A job in a city I wish I could get one in. I'm starting to feel as maybe for a short time I may have to relocate in order to get a job. Contrary to what the media tells you, all Detroiters aren't looking to run away from the city and never look back. Myself being one of them. I wish I could get a job here at this time. But instead of calling my city a "wasteland" andcomplaining maybe you check out a Detroit site to find out about all things going on here. Maybe you should have did the research on the schools here. All DPS schools/schools in Detroit aren't bad. You just have to know which ones are and which ones aren't. If you're looking for diverse neighborhoods for the time being maybe you should have checked on areas in Southwest Detroit. I don't think you'll be stuck anywhere you don't want to be but you don't have be an *** about it either. Eventually, if you really want it, you will get a job in Pittsburgh and then you can move back.
Thank you, Detroitlove, for giving me a reality check. I should not complain. And I should not call Detroit a "wasteland" just because I don't want to be here! I do SO worry about the schools. I have a very skinny child who (even though he isn't) looks like a puny white boy. My husband and I have tried to find a public school where we don't think he'll be beaten up, and we haven't had a lot of luck. Every single school we've checked out is 99 percent black (and some without the requisite Asian! :-) So I'm concerned. He knows he's African/American, but I'm afraid my blond, green-eyed child is not going to be accepted anywhere he goes.
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