Wanting to move to Portland, Oregon

[Minervah]

Here is a suggestion. In my neighborhood which is a very busy one with lots of shops and residences there have been many hair styling shops come and go. The ones that have failed have been the larger ones with many chairs. They have also been ones like the designer types you see in other cities.

Those that are successful are small shops that have been around for decades. I go to one. The woman who cuts my hair has been working at the same shop for over thirty years. The hair dressers rent their chairs from the owner. Often, as the individual hair stylists build up a clientele, they move out and open their own shops. I know of five people who did this. Two succeeded, the other three failed. The idea is to be very, very good so that your clientele will follow you and recommend you to their friends. It can be cutthroat with hairstylists stealing clients from other clients.

It isn't easy for someone starting out today. I think the best places to find work are in the suburbs. That seems to be where the Supercuts and places like that are more successful than in the city.

What I suggest you do would be to contact some of the hairstylists around the city and ask about openings or just the situation in general for new hairdressers. Come for a visit and book some informational interviews. Maybe you could hit Dosha and places like that as well.

I think your field is a very difficult one to break into in Portland for no other reason than I rarely see new shops opening and succeeding but there are other venues like cosmetic sales in department stores and things of that nature. But I really believe you have to come here to see for yourself what's available.

[AshvonB]

Thanks for the advice everyone, im talking it all in

[AshvonB]

taking*

[Steve Pickering]

Of the three or four in the business that I know personally, all were laid off at larger operations or from other jobs, and they opened their own store to get what ever work they could. Some are still in business after several years and eak out a living.

[Ankhharu]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

Have the job first before you move, and have someone spell check your application for syntax, and sentence structure. I don't want to attack you, and I am trying to offer good advice. With lack of punctuation, proper capitalization, and the grammatical errors in your post, your resume would go right to the round file and never be considered.

Unless you have a specific hard to find job skill, getting a job before moving is not an option. Why would a company hire someone from out of state when there are plenty of local candidates to choose from, not to mention they have to worry about the out of stater getting cold feet and never arriving.


OP, save and save. I was going to move to Portland but after a 2 week visit, the lack of jobs scared me off as I only had 3K saved up, so I moved to Salt Lake City instead since there were lots of job postings and I had to get out of Texas. I'm not suggesting you pick another place, i'm just saying, save save save. Portland doesn't have a lot of jobs and getting hired before moving probably isn't going to happen. I've got 8 interstate moves under my belt and never had a job lined up, so don't let that deter you. Just save up

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by Ankhharu

Unless you have a specific hard to find job skill, getting a job before moving is not an option. Why would a company hire someone from out of state when there are plenty of local candidates to choose from, not to mention they have to worry about the out of stater getting cold feet and never arriving.


OP, save and save. I was going to move to Portland but after a 2 week visit, the lack of jobs scared me off as I only had 3K saved up, so I moved to Salt Lake City instead since there were lots of job postings and I had to get out of Texas. I'm not suggesting you pick another place, i'm just saying, save save save. Portland doesn't have a lot of jobs and getting hired before moving probably isn't going to happen. I've got 8 interstate moves under my belt and never had a job lined up, so don't let that deter you. Just save up

Great advice to the OP!

[Minervah]

Transferring, another option, I don't believe has been mentioned yet so I will. If you can get a job where you are already and then have them transfer you here, that's a way to go. I came here many years ago on a job transfer. The only thing to be wary of is if you lose that job, as I did when my company closed its doors, is to be sure you still have enough to live on while hunting for a new one.

At that point, you will be in competition with all the other many job seekers but at will at least have the advantage of having contacts and an in state address which will make it a lot easier for you to find work.