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I love how someone's one bitter little experience seems to lead to a declaration that there's not a job to be had in the city.
My experience is no less valid. But I am not declaring that it applies to everyone in the entire city. It doesn't. Nor do I disdain anyone who doesn't take what I say as gospel. It isn't, it's only my experience. As I've said before, several family members have recently been in the job market, and they all have found satisfactory employment. The situation is not hopeless. It certainly wasn't for them.
I don't believe I stated that there isn't a job to be had in the city. I'm just resenting the implication that some have made that those who can't find work are "slackers".
I do understand that, that's why I posted to say I don't believe it's completely true. Did you read my post? I have talked with quite a few others in Portland with roommates and friends, many of them have been able to find jobs within a few weeks of quitting or being laid off higher paying jobs. (we're talking things like yoga instructors or brewery workers).
Again I will say that it's more unmotivated slacker supply than demand. So you will have a leg up if you are a good employee, and not looking for the Portlandia experience.
All the people who have searched vainly for work that I know of are great employees; there simply are just not enough jobs for everyone at any given time in Portland. So many of my friends have left town because they could not find jobs here after looking for a long period of time. None of them were slackers by any means and certainly not in the "Portlandia Experience " category.
I was in this boat. After being laid off, it took nearly two years for me to find a good full time job in which I could support myself. And I am an experienced, hard worker.
Actually I did get a couple of full time jobs during that time only to be laid off because the companies that hired me decided to cut back within a few months. Last hired first fired. Only in this case, whole departments were let go. It's pretty common here so even if one does get a job, there is always the possibility they will not be able to keep it.
Saying that people who cannot find jobs are "slackers" is inaccurate and shows a lack of understanding of the situation
It's pretty common here so even if one does get a job, there is always the possibility they will not be able to keep it.
I get when you speak of your own experience, but how can you possibly claim what is "pretty common" amongst all the employed people of Portland? Do you have statistical figures an independent agency gathered that states that?
Personally, I can only speak to the situation of people I'm acquainted with. And in proportion to the city as a whole, it's a teeny tiny percentage.
Sorry to offend, but for the type of jobs I'm talking about ($10/hr types), I think there are a lot of folks in this town who could drop the 'tude and work a little harder. How many times have you had bad food service in Portland, how many times have you not been helped in a retail environment? (I know this from the interviews my wife had, where they would ask here pretty common sense questions about customer service and reliability, because apparently they have had lots of trouble from previous employees)
I completely agree that it would be tough to find a job here in a specific field (which is what I"m guessing most of you that have lost your job are talking about). For sure the food industry is very saturated. I'm not talking about that kind of work, and neither are many of the people who post on this site for the first time asking about the job situation in Portland.
I'm saying if you'll take anything to get by and are a decent worker, you can probably find something within a month or two in this city.
I was simply trying to balance out the vast majority of high-level posters on this site who always jump on anyone's dream of coming here. There are people that come here and things work out, and it happens all the time, they deserve to hear that opinion too!
Taking a risk is what life is all about, and if it doesn't work out for them so be it.
Sorry to offend, but for the type of jobs I'm talking about ($10/hr types), I think there are a lot of folks in this town who could drop the 'tude and work a little harder. How many times have you had bad food service in Portland, how many times have you not been helped in a retail environment? (I know this from the interviews my wife had, where they would ask here pretty common sense questions about customer service and reliability, because apparently they have had lots of trouble from previous employees)
I think that the types of questions that your wife was asked are fairly standard in the customer service industry.
Personally I've experienced very little bad customer service when visiting Portland but then I tend to frequent upscale places when in town.
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I completely agree that it would be tough to find a job here in a specific field (which is what I"m guessing most of you that have lost your job are talking about). For sure the food industry is very saturated. I'm not talking about that kind of work, and neither are many of the people who post on this site for the first time asking about the job situation in Portland.
Well, that's just it. The posts asking about specific fields, such as health care, teaching, IT...are answered by people who have actual work experience in those fields. But the ones asking about food service, retail, or other types of survival jobs are often answered by those who don't work in those fields but rather who know someone who knows someone who did at one time, and a lot of them tend to have the attitude that these jobs aren't necessarily very hard to get.
But the people who actually work in those fields rather than know someone who's cousin did once have a different story to tell.
For every success story though there are many more that had quite the opposite experience. I'm sorry but it's simply not right to encourage anyone to move to Oregon without either a job lined up already or substantial money to get them by until something comes along.
I haven't lost a job in Oregon; I work in Alaska, by the way. And we get more applications there in uor business than we can reasonably process.
Last edited by Metlakatla; 01-28-2011 at 08:44 PM..
Here's the way I look at it: How many times can you tell someone to not move to PDX because of the scarcity of jobs? That's what I mean by 'fall on your face' - if you someone doesn't want to listen, then go ahead and move to Portland. Some people insist on learning the hard way.
If people are so stubborn that they won't take advice, there's no sense in beating yourself up over it - especially since we are all strangers to each other. People will accept advice of the experienced, or they will not. Being repetitious has nothing to do with being responsible. Give people your best advice; that's about all you can do.
Perhaps she did listen. She heard you, and decided to take the risk anyway.
Some people take chances in life. Others don't, and their soul suffers. My grandfather came to this country as a much-hated minority and zero English language skills. He survived. I think reasonably intelligent, hard-working people can find a way to scratch by in a major US city in 2011 almost every time. It's a bad economy, yes, but it's Portland, USA. Not Kenya.
I found this thread honest and helpful. It's tough to get a job in Portland, to say the least, compounded by a higher-than-average cost of living. I completely embrace this.
And yet I'm seriously considering moving to Portland without a job anyway, because I think I'm an exceptional worker, and I do not settle in life.
Maybe I'll "learn the hard way," and crawl back to mommy and daddy in six months, whilst you snarl "I told you so." Or maybe I'll take advantage of the oft-lackadaisical, limp-wristed, whiny attitude that Portland Youth are famous for, and take this city by storm with blistering work ethic.
You can carefully calculate your way to comfortable mediocrity and die there if you choose. Alas, life is one big gamble for everyone, and for some, moving to Portland is a gamble worth taking.
Perhaps she did listen. She heard you, and decided to take the risk anyway.
Some people take chances in life. Others don't, and their soul suffers. My grandfather came to this country as a much-hated minority and zero English language skills. He survived. I think reasonably intelligent, hard-working people can find a way to scratch by in a major US city in 2011 almost every time. It's a bad economy, yes, but it's Portland, USA. Not Kenya.
I found this thread honest and helpful. It's tough to get a job in Portland, to say the least, compounded by a higher-than-average cost of living. I completely embrace this.
And yet I'm seriously considering moving to Portland without a job anyway, because I think I'm an exceptional worker, and I do not settle in life.
Maybe I'll "learn the hard way," and crawl back to mommy and daddy in six months, whilst you snarl "I told you so." Or maybe I'll take advantage of the oft-lackadaisical, limp-wristed, whiny attitude that Portland Youth are famous for, and take this city by storm with blistering work ethic.
You can carefully calculate your way to comfortable mediocrity and die there if you choose. Alas, life is one big gamble for everyone, and for some, moving to Portland is a gamble worth taking.
Why can't you embrace this?
I know this wasn't directed at me but...
Not everyone who doesn't move to Portland is going to suffer deep within their souls and not every place that isn't Portland is a comfortable mediocrity.
This main focus of this forum seems to be relocation. Not everyone who posts here with questions are one of those who just has to live in Portland or life isn't worth living, and they have a right to hear everyone's subjective truths about the job market. And the ones who come hear asking if the weather is really as bad as they've heard deserve the truth about that too.
Some people may only have a limited amount of money in which to re-locate for whatever reasons, and Portland's bad job market or cloudy weather may be reason enough for them to decide to move elsewhere, and they won't consider that decision to be somehow wrecking their lives or "playing it safe".
If someone feels that their happiness in life depends on being in Portland then by all means they should move there (though I'm not convinced that happiness is all that location specific). But if they're just wanting a change and asking questions about the area...I don't see the big deal about telling them the truth about the job situation...particularly when they ask specifically about it.
I get when you speak of your own experience, but how can you possibly claim what is "pretty common" amongst all the employed people of Portland? Do you have statistical figures an independent agency gathered that states that?
Personally, I can only speak to the situation of people I'm acquainted with. And in proportion to the city as a whole, it's a teeny tiny percentage.
Okay, I quoted myself so you can reread it.
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Last hired first fired. Only in this case, whole departments were let go. It's pretty common here so even if one does get a job, there is always the possibility they will not be able to keep it.
I did not say "all" the employed people of Portland. And I stated there was always a possibility one can lose a job in this manner. It has happened to me and my friends. That's my experience. Just like you have yours with the situation regarding people you are acquainted with.
I do not have statisical figures from an independent agency regarding the number of my friends this has happened to. Do you have the stats from an independent agceny for the teeny tiny amount of people you know who have experienced this?
Hi there! So I am getting ready to move to Portland next month and am starting to get really nervous because I can't find a job to save my life. I find tons of job listings but I can't get a callback and it's really starting to stress me out. I think most of it has to do with the fact that I have an out-of-state address and the companies are afraid that I'm going to ask for a relocation fee or something which I don't need but I can't even get to the point of telling them that.
I guess the reason why I'm writing is because I'm reaching out for anyone that can give some well-wanted advice and tips on how to find a job or at least get a callback. Any help would be amazing! Thanks!
When my husband was looking for work in Phoenix while we were still in NorCal he did not get any callbacks (in spite of being more than qualified for the positions he was applying to) until he got a cheap-o cell phone with a local Phoenix number (yes, you can get an 'out-of-state' phone number) and started using my parent's Phoenix address. Wham! I am not kidding when I say that the calls began that very day that he updated his CV with local info. Did he get a job right away? No. It still took 4 months, and this was way before the current economic/job situation.
That is my practical advice.
Now, as far as taking the plunge and moving anyhow...I say go for it! As long as you do it with your eyes open and with an open heart and a spirit of adventure. Who knows what may happen?! Just take some sensible measures and have a back-up plan.
Bonne chance!
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