How can you realistically line up a job before relocating? (San Diego: headhunter, hotels)

[BRinSM]

my brother with a college degree had to take an internship for $10/hour in order to get work. all the other companies that contacted him were 100% commission jobs and sales are way down across all sectors in CA so he wasn't going to waste his time. if you get into sales, try to get into pharmaceuticals or IT since everything else is really hurting right now, especially anything construction or automobile related.

[lucyluc]

Bartending jobs are scarce!!!Please understand current conditions are VERY different from what they used to be.I talked with someone 3 months ago(before the economy got REALLY bad and she told me she had interviewed for a bartender position and 100 were in line for 1 job.All food server positions are very scarce....this severe change has happened in the last six months and has gotten progressively worse every month.I am in that line of work ;have talked to tons of people in that line of work or looking to get into it and they are very very frustrated because they came to SD expecting to get at least a restaurant job and are completely shocked at how bad the job situation is even in food service!

[lucyluc]

Yes sales are way down, commission only jobs are not the best way to go right now.Most of the sales ads on craigslists are not that great...network marketing..., commission only etc.....

[hanna_house]

Before we moved here 5 months ago, my husband tried to line up a job ahead of time but we got no call backs AT ALL! Once we lined up our apartment and got a cell phone number with a San Diego area code we started getting calls, but this was a week before we were leaving. We saved up as much money as we could, took the belongings we needed most and took a chance. Within one month my husband got a decent job offer at a great company. If the pay had been a bit more it would have been completely ideal. Anyway, sometimes you have to take a chance but when you do you have to understand that it may or may not work out. Just come as prepared as possible and your chances of making it will increase greatly! Best wishes!

[Suzer]

If you've got money saved, an apartment arranged in San Diego, and can brave the risk involved, get a Vonage virtual number with a 619 area code that will forward to your cell. Use your local address and until you get there, have the post office hold mail going to that address.

You will be more attractive to a local employer as it is evident that you have self-funded a move.

I did this when I moved from California to WA, and I landed a position in an area that is reputed to be very provincial in its hiring practices.

[VC mom]

Oh c'mon, people! If you're willing to work to pay the bills, there are jobs out there! It's the "I had a job as an executive VP paying $$$$$$$ with a car" people who won't settle for less that can't find a job. Seriously. Wait tables, bag groceries, peddle sham wow- the Del Mar Fair starts hiring in another couple months for crying out loud. I think anybody who is resourceful enough to pack up and move across the country and has saved up $18,000 to tide them over - is resourceful enough to find a job and talk their way into what they want. It's the American way!

When I was in college I would go to different places and work for a summer - I was a Wrangler in Colorado - a tour guide in Hawaii - worked at a resort in Northern CA wine country, etc. I looked up addresses of resorts and wrote letters or called and in the case of Hawaii - just showed up. Sometimes you meet people who know someone where you're going - it's amazing how helpful people are.

We are a nation of people who explored the wilderness and started a country with less information than this - ideally, we'd all have 6 figure jobs lined up and college paid for - but sometimes you just reach for what you want and forge ahead without the gurarantee of success, but with the sure knowledge that you can create it.

[hanna_house]

Great post! It's all about expectations. You can certainly find work of some kind if you are willing to make just enough to get by for a while. Nothing is set in stone. Just get situated and worry about getting a higher paying job later. That's part of the sacrifice you sometimes have to make when you move to a highly desirable location. If it was easy everyone would do it!

Originally Posted by VC mom

Oh c'mon, people! If you're willing to work to pay the bills, there are jobs out there! It's the "I had a job as an executive VP paying $$$$$$$ with a car" people who won't settle for less that can't find a job. Seriously. Wait tables, bag groceries, peddle sham wow- the Del Mar Fair starts hiring in another couple months for crying out loud. I think anybody who is resourceful enough to pack up and move across the country and has saved up $18,000 to tide them over - is resourceful enough to find a job and talk their way into what they want. It's the American way!

When I was in college I would go to different places and work for a summer - I was a Wrangler in Colorado - a tour guide in Hawaii - worked at a resort in Northern CA wine country, etc. I looked up addresses of resorts and wrote letters or called and in the case of Hawaii - just showed up. Sometimes you meet people who know someone where you're going - it's amazing how helpful people are.

We are a nation of people who explored the wilderness and started a country with less information than this - ideally, we'd all have 6 figure jobs lined up and college paid for - but sometimes you just reach for what you want and forge ahead without the gurarantee of success, but with the sure knowledge that you can create it.

[Donna7]

Originally Posted by VC mom

Oh c'mon, people! If you're willing to work to pay the bills, there are jobs out there! It's the "I had a job as an executive VP paying $$$$$$$ with a car" people who won't settle for less that can't find a job. Seriously. Wait tables, bag groceries, peddle sham wow- the Del Mar Fair starts hiring in another couple months for crying out loud. I think anybody who is resourceful enough to pack up and move across the country and has saved up $18,000 to tide them over - is resourceful enough to find a job and talk their way into what they want. It's the American way!

When I was in college I would go to different places and work for a summer - I was a Wrangler in Colorado - a tour guide in Hawaii - worked at a resort in Northern CA wine country, etc. I looked up addresses of resorts and wrote letters or called and in the case of Hawaii - just showed up. Sometimes you meet people who know someone where you're going - it's amazing how helpful people are.

We are a nation of people who explored the wilderness and started a country with less information than this - ideally, we'd all have 6 figure jobs lined up and college paid for - but sometimes you just reach for what you want and forge ahead without the gurarantee of success, but with the sure knowledge that you can create it.

VC Mom, I'm right there with you! That's my motto as well. All I know is that when you want something, when you TRULY want something and believe in it, things line up for you: the right people, the right circumstances. It's when you're all tied up in what everyone else thinks, when you're neither here nor there, that nothing works out. I believe 100% that we are capable of creating whatever it is that we want. I hope that the one thing my kids remember long after I'm gone is to believe in their dreams and go for it! That IS what this country stands for to me. It is still the land of opportunity and there is opportunity anywhere a person really wants to be.

[dsmboosted]

I really appreciate all of the words of caution as well as the words of encouragement. I do understand the state of the currenty economy, it is dismall-to say the least. However, it is dismal everywhere. I was laid off from my current job about 3 months ago. They called me back 2 weeks after I was laid off and offered me a position with higher pay in a different business unit. My job is only temporary, my term ends in August. I figured, I have always wanted to move to California, I just got back from vacationing in San Diego and found my apartment. So I fully understand the state of the economy, and it is a bit scary. This whole thing is a big leap for me, but I just feel that where there is a will there is a way.

I like the idea of getting a local phone number. I will most certainly look into that. I think what I will do is get the local number, have my calls forwarded and start applying for jobs in May or June for my August move (is that too early?). If I find that I am getting zero calls back, I will put my move off, I guess. The problem with that is, I will be stuck in th esame perdicament here that I would be stuck in San Diego. My job will be up and I will be forced to look for a new job in a MUCH SMALLER JOB MARKET. Yes, I have Milwaukee and Chicago, both about 45-60 minutes away...but....

Have any of you San Diego natives ever lived through a Wisconsin winter? It is absolutely brutal! Why not look for a job in a sunny paradise as opposed to a gloomy ice box? I had to fly out to San Diego in January just get remind myself what the sun looked like.

[NYSD1995]

No one, and I mean no one, is going to pull the trigger on a new hire right now for anything but a mcJob.

Wait 6 months, see how things play out. All the good vibes and handy little slogans are out the window right now.