Job Opportunties - Where Are They?

[Jasir]

Reading a thread about someone's financial plight due to unemployment (and my own woes) has got me thinking: for some of us part of the rebuilding phase is obtaining work or higher income work. Some even have little or no constraints about where we live to work & can move if a job is available. There seems a wealth of information on these boards and so I want to ask people to post here if they know of job opportunities (type of job) and where (for example, in the other thread more than one poster highlighted North Dakota as a good market for jobs even for people without degrees. I would hop on that if I wasn't already attempting to finish school here). Thanks!

[mmoon24]

I'm not sure where it is you are finishing up school at. If it is a college, they should have some sort of career fair and job boards. Definitely take advantage of them. Whether it's the corporate world, or something like dentistry, it really is all about getting your face out there. Get that LinkedIn going as well.

I personally got a job from my college job board. I'm not going to say colleges have "exclusive" agreements with companies, but I think they do pay a bit more attention then say...a CareerBuilder application. Lord knows how many of those I went through. Furthermore, College Boards usually have the recruiter's name, making your cover letter and follow ups that much more personal.

Finally, make sure you tailor your resume/cover letter to each application. If a Job description highlights certain keywords, put them in your cover letter. If it has bullet points of "daily tasks" or something along those lines, find the keywords in there and incorporate them into your resume. Generally, a lot of these resumes go through a filter, and those that do not have certain phrases get thrown out before getting read.

Of course, if you don't have a college job board...then nevermind lol.

[Jasir]

All good advice, all of which I already apply . The thread wasn't meant for me specifically; just the forum in general. I'm looking or work but carefully as it will be extremely difficult (perhaps even detrimental) for me to juggle full-time school and any work while homeless. My personal focus at the moment is acing this sesmesterr of school and see what doors or windows are cracked open for further advancement.

[thom02099]

If you're inquiring about general areas of the country where job opportunities are bright, you may want to consider the Rocky Mountain West area. 

In Colorado, the job market is robust in the Denver Metro area, in northern Colorado area (Fort Collins/Loveland/Greeley/Windsor) as well as the Colorado Springs area and Grand Junction on the west side. 

Salt Lake City area also reportedly booming with a robust economy.  In Wyoming, the Casper area has been holding it's own, mainly because of oil and coal production in central/eastern Wyoming. 

North Dakota, from what I've read, is growing faster than ever in it's history, due in no small part because of the petroleum industry.  Jobs in that industry are wide open from what I've read, as well as supporting jobs.  The biggest problem up there is housing.  Areas around Minot and Williston, according to reports, can't keep up with the housing demands, and rents (when something is available) have become outrageous for their standards (obviously not close to rents in NYC, but you get the drift!).  Another "problem" in ND is the brutal winters; if that's not something that bothers you, it could be a boon.  Not everyone is cut out for extended cold and snow! 

[Jasir]

Yep, that's the kind of info I hoped would be shared. Thanks!

[SCF]

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@thom02099 wrote:

North Dakota, from what I've read, is growing faster than ever in it's history, due in no small part because of the petroleum industry.  Jobs in that industry are wide open from what I've read, as well as supporting jobs.  The biggest problem up there is housing.  Areas around Minot and Williston, according to reports, can't keep up with the housing demands, and rents (when something is available) have become outrageous for their standards (obviously not close to rents in NYC, but you get the drift!).  Another "problem" in ND is the brutal winters; if that's not something that bothers you, it could be a boon.  Not everyone is cut out for extended cold and snow! 

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As someone who is very nearby at the moment, you've got a handle on the big issues, but I still feel like I need to make the public service announcement.

There is nowhere to live out here that you are going to be able to afford and/or want to live in if you don't plan ahead.

NYC being an outlier, I have friends in other large cities on both coasts (Seattle, LA, Philly) who pay less in rent for far more in square footage and side benefits (like a nice neighborhood, or park, or consistently functional sewer connection).  That's not to say it's impossible to make it here, but even though you can make $20+/hr stocking shelves at Wal-Mart (no really, you can), it can still be hard to make ends meet in a rural area with a high cost of living and a gnarly housing shortage.

If you don't have work, I'm sure the notion of an endless sea of job offers on the northern prarie has a certain siren call, and I'll say that I admire the courage of people who move here from very far away (both miles and culture) to try to better themselves and their families, but its also very painful to watch some of them just dig themselves into a deeper hole in the process.  Just getting a job out here is easy, success still takes a lot of work.

[thom02099]

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@SCF wrote:

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@thom02099 wrote:

North Dakota, from what I've read, is growing faster than ever in it's history, due in no small part because of the petroleum industry.  Jobs in that industry are wide open from what I've read, as well as supporting jobs.  The biggest problem up there is housing.  Areas around Minot and Williston, according to reports, can't keep up with the housing demands, and rents (when something is available) have become outrageous for their standards (obviously not close to rents in NYC, but you get the drift!).  Another "problem" in ND is the brutal winters; if that's not something that bothers you, it could be a boon.  Not everyone is cut out for extended cold and snow! 

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As someone who is very nearby at the moment, you've got a handle on the big issues, but I still feel like I need to make the public service announcement.

There is nowhere to live out here that you are going to be able to afford and/or want to live in if you don't plan ahead.

NYC being an outlier, I have friends in other large cities on both coasts (Seattle, LA, Philly) who pay less in rent for far more in square footage and side benefits (like a nice neighborhood, or park, or consistently functional sewer connection).  That's not to say it's impossible to make it here, but even though you can make $20+/hr stocking shelves at Wal-Mart (no really, you can), it can still be hard to make ends meet in a rural area with a high cost of living and a gnarly housing shortage.

If you don't have work, I'm sure the notion of an endless sea of job offers on the northern prarie has a certain siren call, and I'll say that I admire the courage of people who move here from very far away (both miles and culture) to try to better themselves and their families, but its also very painful to watch some of them just dig themselves into a deeper hole in the process.  Just getting a job out here is easy, success still takes a lot of work.

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+1 - Spot On ! ! !

Same holds true here in northern Colorado.  The jobs are out there, one still has to work hard to be a success.  Thanks for pointing that out !

[Jasir]

Absolutelty!

[Mike_C]

Whenever I have tried to find work, I generally do some research on 3-4 cities I would want to live in - most recently this was Denver, Portland and Atlanta; prior to that it was Tampa, Austin, and Chicago. Then I went onto Craigslist, searched for jobs based on a specific skill. You do have to ignore a lot of telemarketing or other scam jobs, but try to send out 3-4 resumes a week.

Also, I highly recommend making sure you have Skype or Google Hangouts if applying for jobs outside your home city. These programs will allow you to video conference with potential employees, saving you money and time traveling.