Why is it so hard to find a job?

[jluck]

You know... There was just a interesting thread on here about someone looking to hire and unable to find body's. It was for day labor but claims to be highest payer in area. If I was at a computer I'd find it for you but on mobile device I can barley get a reply typed with the new format.

Good luck.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Perhaps a humble approach go for a
a job you thought beneath you?
Even though I own my own business I work a second job to subsidize my income in the winter months.

Work is out there, but most are aiming too high. Lots of "Leaders" but not enough hard working blue collar workers.

None of that is meant to be a jab at you, its just an honest question & I wish you the best in your hunt for employment.

 

[Irishjester]

czechmate82, I would suggest visiting websites of companies you would like to work for and/or reaching out to those companies to see if they have any open or upcoming positions. I would recommend utility companies, as they always pay well. For example: Portland General Electric has 32 open positions on their website now and Pacific Power has 43 open positions.

Also look for companies that are known to hire veterans:
Cintas has 19 open positions in Oregon.
CACI International has 2 open positions in Oregon.
Waste Management has 12 open positions in Oregon.

Good luck sir!

 

[NoFlinch]

My Dad gave me the best job hunting advice I ever received;
He was VP of a large furniture chain in CA.

"Don't wait for them to get back to you, you call them every week, some sooner. Drive them nuts! Eventually they will hire you".

I ALWAYS got the job I wanted.........ALWAYS!

Join or get invited to Rotary, Toastmasters, Kiwanis, etc..
These organizations are full of Bus. Owners, Managers, Movers, and shakers....and a few Wierdos!!

Show some ENTHUSIASM! ....If you have to, "Fake it until you Make it".

DO NOT WAIT FOR THEM TO RESPOND TO YOU. YOU RESPOND TO THEM DAILY, OR UNTIL THEY TELL YOU TO STOP. IF THEY TELL YOU TO STOP, JUST SLOW DOWN A LITTLE...DON'T STOP!

Pick 6 places you want to work, ZERO IN ON THEM, go to work on your quest, and call me in 2 weeks when you get hired.

 

[PiratePast40]

I was also going to suggest Linkedin. Service related experience doesn't always translate well, although management experience should. I would suspect that moving directly into management will be nearly impossible without extensive civilian experience in the specific industry. You will most likely need to bite the bullet for awhile and prove yourself to an employer at a lesser job. I would think that you should target industries where logistics and planning are key components. The first thing that comes to my mind is the Home Depot warehouse center in Salem. I would also think that major transportation and shipping industries would afford you an opportunity to enter at a position that would allow growth.

As simple as it sounds, an inventory of your strengths is as important for you as it is for the employer. Head hunters can give you a lot of help in organizing your resume, but be careful that you don't get tied into an exclusive contract with them.

Take a look at your marketing strategy, and that is just exactly what it is, you are marketing you. Are you following up with every phone call, application, and resume? Even a refusal deserves a thank you note for them considering you. Actually, getting a no from someone is more helpful than receiving silence.

There are quite a few manufacturing and research jobs in Hillsboro. With Intel expanding, and Epson still going strong, there should be opportunities there.

Keep your head up, keep doing your job, i.e., looking for a job, and good luck.

 

[etrain16]

Fred Meyer and Safeway have decent sized distribution centers in the Portland area. They may be an option too.

 

[Martini_Up]

While I do appreciate your service to our country, I have had very mixed results when hiring ex-mil. officers for management positions. Not always does the military style of management cross to civilian style and sometimes creates real problems. However, a ex-military employee working as a civilian in a non-management position for some time, proving their worth and thus getting promotions are invaluable.

One way you could approach your job search is find one company you are truly interested in. Do a lot of research on the company; it's product/service, it's competition, past growth and potential future growth, margins, who top management and owners are, etc... be persistent in getting an interview. Once you do, you will knock their socks off with your knowledge. Tell them you have chosen them to work for and you're going to continue to apply and as you want to work there and will take any job as your goal is to learn everything about the company and work your way up through the ranks.

If your personality isn't a bust and you seem easy to get along with, you'll succeed I believe.

Good luck and again, thank you for your service.

 

[czechmate82]

I do have a LinkedIn account, which I now have pretty much populated. I've been looking through there for possibilities and have reconnected with some people from my past.

The exercise and physical activity part is the tougher one...hard to motivate myself to get back outside/in the gym with family responsibilities and lack of income (for the gym). I'll come up with a plan for that.

Another big problem for me is that I'm the sole breadwinner in my household. My wife is stay-at-home with my two kids. One is in school, the other is too young. She'll work once the youngest is in school, but until then she's with him all day. I can't just take any job...the pay/salary has to be able to support us all (household of 4) and that makes it difficult.

As for the networking, my local family (in-laws) aren't the professional type, and it makes it hard to make professional-level contacts (plus it puts the in-laws in the position of explaining all of this to their people). Networking is probably the biggest hurdle I'm fighting, but I'll get there.

Aslo, I've checked jobs with UPS both in Oregon and Washington, and I applied for one position in Eugene (UPS Freight logistics). Haven't heard anything back yet, so I'm hopeful for that still.

 

[czechmate82]

The pay level of non-management or supervisor jobs is at issue. I have no issues working at a job "beneath me", especially starting out again in a new area. However, I have a family and cannot afford to make less than I did at my last job, maybe within a small range below, but not much. I look for pay/salary as much as type of job.

Perhaps a humble approach go for a
a job you thought beneath you?
Even though I own my own business I work a second job to subsidize my income in the winter months.

Work is out there, but most are aiming too high. Lots of "Leaders" but not enough hard working blue collar workers.

None of that is meant to be a jab at you, its just an honest question & I wish you the best in your hunt for employment.

 

[czechmate82]

I would agree with all you say below, except I can't find phone numbers for half of the HR departments for the jobs I apply for. When I do, I have to leave voicemails typically (goes straight to voicemail usually) and they never call back. I even thought of driving down to some, only to find out their HR/hiring departments aren't located at the locations I went to. And when I asked people inside, they told me to wait...that's the process...so...

My Dad gave me the best job hunting advice I ever received;
He was VP of a large furniture chain in CA.

"Don't wait for them to get back to you, you call them every week, some sooner. Drive them nuts! Eventually they will hire you".

I ALWAYS got the job I wanted.........ALWAYS!

Join or get invited to Rotary, Toastmasters, Kiwanis, etc..
These organizations are full of Bus. Owners, Managers, Movers, and shakers....and a few Wierdos!!

Show some ENTHUSIASM! ....If you have to, "Fake it until you Make it".

DO NOT WAIT FOR THEM TO RESPOND TO YOU. YOU RESPOND TO THEM DAILY, OR UNTIL THEY TELL YOU TO STOP. IF THEY TELL YOU TO STOP, JUST SLOW DOWN A LITTLE...DON'T STOP!

Pick 6 places you want to work, ZERO IN ON THEM, go to work on your quest, and call me in 2 weeks when you get hired.

 

[U201492]

Nobody is better at getting a job- and losing a job- than I am. I've either walked off or been fired from over 40 jobs due to emotional problems that finally got treated medically thanks to the VA.

#1) Get this book: http://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Yo...&keywords=what+is+the+color+of+your+parachute and look under "shortcuts- survival jobs". If you've been out of work this long it's really hard to get back into the "swing of things".

#2) The second mistake- please forgive my phrasing- is Oregon has been in a depression/recession now for the past 20 years. Getting a job is easy- finding a career is not, especially there.

The North Dakota suggestion is valid- go to an Oregon trade school, figure out what they need in ND, go to school for it- even truck drivers can make good money in ND.

Good Luck

 

[czechmate82]

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Go where the jobs are. I hear they are paying good money at the Bakken and North Dakota etc. if you can breathe.

 

[czechmate82]

I can't go where the jobs are...the location (Oregon/Washington) is my wife's...non-negotiable.

 

[PiratePast40]

I can certainly understand the reluctance to take "anything", especially if you're drawing unemployment. Digging ditches at 10 dollars an hour and losing, your unemployment benefits, and your opportunity to still be unfettered in your job search, is a losing proposition. Even more so if you're degreed. And the part time jobs that pay under the table are far and few between as well.

Salem is the state capitol so there are government job listing in quite a few disciplines. Don't know if you've checked those out but you at least have a hiring advantage as a veteran. Again, working outside your field isn't a pleasant proposition, but you sound as though you're willing to work, as long as it still feeds the family.

 

[czechmate82]

I checked City of Salem and City of Portland for jobs...nothing I qualify for unfortunately. I'll take a look at City of Seattle and a few others in WA today also.

I can certainly understand the reluctance to take "anything", especially if you're drawing unemployment. Digging ditches at 10 dollars an hour and losing, your unemployment benefits, and your opportunity to still be unfettered in your job search, is a losing proposition. Even more so if you're degreed. And the part time jobs that pay under the table are far and few between as well.

Salem is the state capitol so there are government job listing in quite a few disciplines. Don't know if you've checked those out but you at least have a hiring advantage as a veteran. Again, working outside your field isn't a pleasant proposition, but you sound as though you're willing to work, as long as it still feeds the family.

 

[40calruler]

It may sound like I'm complaining (maybe I am) but finding a job when you have over a decade of military officer experience and a year of civilian plant manager experience shouldn't take this long.

I officially left my last job (personal reasons) in January. I relocated with my family to the PacNorWest in early February (currently in Oregon) to be closer to friends and family (wife's requirement).

I've put out God-knows how many applications (I do know I did 14 in one day once) to work in either Oregon or Washington, but get little response. I've been to several hiring conferences (including one for vets) with nothing coming out of them. I've had a grand total of three interviews, one of which I was way overqualified for (they admitted as much and to their credit forwarded my info up for a higher position). I even have a hiring firm helping out, but they landed me one interview on short notice while I was sick; needless to say I didn't get that job.

I never know the timelines for the HRs, so I don't know how long to wait for responses...or if my applications are even reviewed. Something is wrong in the hiring process when there's no standards of expectations for timelines for review and response from companies...government is willing to regulate everything else...why not the hiring process (some useful regulation...horrors!)?

Thanks for letting me vent...I'm so frustrated...I'm tired of sitting around all the time and not working and staying with family...I still have no idea of where to set down roots...and I'm still sick...and it's my birthday today...Happy Birthday to me.

I am on leave for injury but I am in charge of multiple high rise structures in downtown Portland for the city. I get 50 applicants a day and many are way overqualified to do building maintenance/janitorial or even shift leader positions as they are 24 hour structures.
It is hard to find a guy like yourself when you need an employee and you have 500 apps on your desk that all are qualified people. I think all folks in my position are dealing with that same issue. Best thing you can do is bug the hell out of a guy like me. Call twice a week and show up once. Then when I am looking at my apps and see yours I have a face to go with it.
Those are the people I hire.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I can't go where the jobs are...the location (Oregon/Washington) is my wife's...non-negotiable.

Wife's what?
Sometimes to get ahead, sacrifices must be made.
Most of the guys over there doing that type of work don't bring their families.. they make money for their families.

 

[czechmate82]

Sorry I meant to say that my current search area is dictated by my wife's requirement that we live in either Oregon or Washington. After following me around in the Navy for over a decade, she's earned that. She doesn't want me to travel much if at all for work, since I was gone so much in the Navy.

Wife's what?
Sometimes to get ahead, sacrifices must be made.
Most of the guys over there doing that type of work don't bring their families.. they make money for their families.

 

[RVTECH]

Since it is your wife's requirements to be closer to friends and family and limited to WA & OR how about you suggest she go back to work and you be the stay at home dad? My wife and I did this from about age one with our daughter - and I ran a business out of my home shop at the time.