Want to relocate to Seattle

I am currently residing in Fresno with my wife and three children.i moved to USA in July,previously i resided in London for two years.Now i want to move to Seattle and i joined this forum to find out about the jobs and life in Seattle.I have diffrent kind of professional experience.I worked as a sales associates for Kodak,as a floor amanager for Mcdonalds,London and a photojournalist for EPA in Pakistan for two years.I wanted to Know if any body can give advice to start my career in Seattle.
Responces will be highly appreciated
Thanks

Shahid,

Are you still looking to move up to Seattle? Your post is about 3 months old. I moved up here from Irvine California myself. There are great positions here in Seattle, lots of opportunities. What kind of positions are you targeting? Have you thought of doing anything in the area of technology. You can beginner technology positions in the pay range of 16 - 20/hr and with some experience start making 30 - 40/hr. Then you can move into Project Management or general management and start making more.

Let me know if you're still looking to come up here. I can guide you in the right direction.

Paul Anderson (Performance Coach)
www.addcore.com

You will want to be careful where you settle, and that may
depend on where you get hired. Traffic can be a real tragedy here, with only two ways across Lake Washington the east-west commute can be over 200 minutes for 12 miles (I have done it).

Also, there are better school districts i.e. Shoreline north and Lake Washington eastside. If you are planning on being downtown, living downtown is best, but with children in the center of a metro-urban environment, Idunno.

Thanks alot

I realy appreciate that u responded to my post ,i posted that question almost 2 or 3 months before. By the blessings of God i got a very good job and i wanan stay with this organization for a long time.But definately in the future i will relocate.
Any ways thanks and regards

Paul Anderson in Kirkland, Washington said: Shahid,

Are you still looking to move up to Seattle? Your post is about 3 months old. I moved up here from Irvine California myself. There are great positions here in Seattle, lots of opportunities. What kind of positions are you targeting? Have you thought of doing anything in the area of technology. You can beginner technology positions in the pay range of 16 - 20/hr and with some experience start making 30 - 40/hr. Then you can move into Project Management or general management and start making more.

Let me know if you're still looking to come up here. I can guide you in the right direction.

Paul Anderson (Performance Coach)
www.addcore.com

Paul,
How did you do it? Did you have a job set up, or a place set up? What were your first steps? I want to relocate to Seattle, and hopefully with some friends, get there within the next six months. Teresa

Teresa,

Thank you for your question. I happen to get lucky when I moved up to Seattle because when I had searched the market, it appeared as if there were no positions here. My first step was to post my resume online and I got contacted right away (however that's not the typical experience here), I'll add some resources for you here.

I've learned quite a bit from the market since I've been up here. I've realized that most all positions here in Seattle are recruited by firms here. Also make sure you negotiate the right salary. They tend to know who the newcomers are and pay them 5-20$/hr below market. Ping me if you have any questions in detail. What is your background?

Here are the major vendors:

Volt
Kelly Services
Excell
Ciber
Siemens
Apex Systems
Aditi
Accenture

Here are a couple of Boutique vendors:

Xtreme Consulting
Blackmoon
Mantis Technology Group

Here are some job sites:

Indeed
Career Builder
HotJobs
Dice
Monster
Craigslist

Start with these and let me know if you need any particular recruiting contacts.

My family is looking to relocate to the Seattle area. I am a Nurse with both business and clinical experience, and a Masters in Nursing Eduction. I have posted for a copule of Case Managment positions in various hospitals in the area. Not sure exactly what type of postion will fit me, but do have a teenager who will need to finish her last 2 years of high school Have lived in Seattle, Mercer Island area quite a long time ago, and just visited a couple of months ago. Ny assistance on how to get back would be helpful. Have applied for a WA license already.

Paul Anderson in Kirkland, Washington said: Shahid,

Are you still looking to move up to Seattle? Your post is about 3 months old. I moved up here from Irvine California myself. There are great positions here in Seattle, lots of opportunities. What kind of positions are you targeting? Have you thought of doing anything in the area of technology. You can beginner technology positions in the pay range of 16 - 20/hr and with some experience start making 30 - 40/hr. Then you can move into Project Management or general management and start making more.

Let me know if you're still looking to come up here. I can guide you in the right direction.

Paul Anderson (Performance Coach)
www.addcore.com

Hello I am looking to move to seattle asap can someone please help mt to find a job i have 7 years of customer serice manager experience

I am a single man looking for a job and looking for a place that I can call home in Seattle Wa.
I still live West Jordan Utah and I want to start fresh new live again and be who I am

Is there anyone in Seattle that can help me to get started

Hello,

Been reading the posts and I'd love to put in my 2 cents.

1.
So the number one thing about job relocation is location. This is one of the top issues why individuals don't land the interview. So how do you get around that??? Use a different address. When you apply to a job outside of you state/driving range use either a friend/relatives address or use a hotel address. The only problem is when you land that interview, be prepared to drive up for that interview.

The previous tip is directed mainly to entry/mid level jobs, if you have a very, VERY specific job skill you don't necessarily need to do the address trick.

2.
MARKET: Think about the market, what exists here? If you want to get into the film industry, your in the wrong market. Primarily speaking we have:
-Tech industries (IT, Web design/development, tech engineers)
-Medical (Dr's, nurses, pharm techs, and even entry level billing encoder, med assistants)
-Aerospace (Everyone knows Boeing, but there are a lot of other companies that play to Boeing)

Don't forget to also google the top 100 companies in the NW, or crossreference Fortune 500 companies with WA

3.
Time and postings. So in a digital world you can easily post a job online and people could respond within seconds after the post (totally different from job hunting 20 years ago). So that means DURATION IS KEY. How long is a posting good for? Well, 20 years ago you were looking at a 3-4 week time duration for most jobs. Prior to this economy slump it was more like 2 weeks max. Now, its more like 2-3 days (what, is that real?). Reason being is because of the economy bubble, now the market here is full of qualified individuals who just got laid off or will be in the near future (e.g. WAMU, Starbucks, Boeing, Microsoft, Russel Investments, Real Networks, Seattle, PI. These are just to name a few).

Hope this will help, I wish everyone the best of luck.

Hi there, I would like to relocate to Seattle and join my boyfriend who lives there. I am in education and can teach in secondary schools. I am European and would like to know what are my chances in terms of getting a job and work VISA. Thank you for replying.

Im Filipino and i just got here in seattle to live with my husband. Im graduate of BS environmental Science and have some experience. I wanted to looking for a job and i dont know where to start. Any advice.

For flower in Nassau:

wow, this is a hard one. I'm not a pro at VISA's and the frequency of visa work but I do know a little bit (family is filipino, and I've done staffing). As far as getting petitioned, that is tough. However the education market is getting tough as well, several public schools in the Seattle school district are closing down.

The easiest, and I mean EASIEST way getting a job is getting a Permanent resident card (i.e. greencard) or citizenship, which means....Marriage. If you have a Perm. res. card then you can get jobs pretty much in any industry (that you qualify for of course).

Rough times, I know.

Marge-FE

Environmental Science. I actually have alot of friends who got jobs with this degree. A friend of mine used to work for Boeing and then got a job at Chevron, doesn't help that I don't know the names of the position. I've also seen postings on REI and the town of Redmond (Environmental scientist needed for some green projects around the city). You could also find some jobs with the state and I think Warehauser also hires alot of E.S. grads for their logging forest in the north cascades. Hope this helps, I'm a journalist major.

pjvaldez

i have permit to work in the US but i find it hard to look for a job. Your advice of course helped me a lot. i was thinking to start from the sales clerk or something that indoor job. coz im still not use to the weather. but if there are opportunity to work inline with my education i will accept it.

anyway, thanks again. oh! are you still doing staffing job?

hi everyone.. I am curious is there anyone who knows of a job that would be able to pay and fine me a place for relocation and offer me a job? i am a us citizen and have excellent customer serivice skills i have lived in many different states i currently reside in springfield mo and there are not really any places hiring due to "crisis" if anyone can help me out i would appreciate it.
Thank yoy

Sarahjuncan,

Hey, how's it going. Tough times but hang in there, things will get better. As for your question, it really depends on your skills. Alot of the top 100 companies here in Seattle will pay for relocation for Mid-to-upper management positions. This is less likely in the entry level field unless your in a specific niche. So first stop and ask yourself if you have the talents and skills needed to fill mid to upper management positions. If not and you doing retail to customer service, your best bet is packing up and taking matters into your own hands.

Another thing you can try is placement agencies. This is tough but a way to get your foot in the door. So there are several types of agencies out there, staffing, temp and placement. Temp deals only with temp staffing, no chance of getting hired on. Staffing deals with pretty much anything, temp, temp to hire or direct hire, but in reality temp is the most likely jobs that they have. Placement agencies find you jobs, but what distinguishes them is the fact that job seekers usually have to pay to get in. Also, you have to be an extremely qualified candidate, if your not worth their time, individuals won't even give you the time of day. Not a great place for entry level applicants to apply.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

Dear Margie Fe,

good to hear about everything and its good to know my advice is helping. In these times we all need to help each other and not trying to get religious but I strongly believe that these are the basic principles that God gave us in order to live by. As I said before, permit to work is easy and non-biased amongst employers. They would hire individuals as long as your skills apply to the job. As I'm thinking of jobs that might help you out, all I can suggest is the staffing agencies that I listed in another thread. It sounds like your open to anything as well, I mean, your not looking for jobs that are degree specific. Thats good, this economy sucks and the only thing I can suggest is being open minded, don't think that your going to be stuck in a dead end job, just tell your self that its for the time being.

Also, keep an eye out with USAJobs.gov, great site for environmental studies grads. Not sure about Perm res applicants though.

Hope this helps.

p.s. currently not working in staffing, I don't like the environment and the pressure. I did love helping others find jobs though, hence why I write in these forums.

I've always wanted to live in the NW, but unsure how to relocate. In my younger days I would just pack up and move, and figure it out when I got there. Now, a little older and a little wiser, I need to plan a bit, before I jump. I really want to start my own company up there to build custom furniture, sculpture and decorative iron works. That part will I know will take some time to establish. What I need is a job to pay the bills until I can get something off the ground. I have a degree in fine art but know that this doesn't really apply to anything specific. Excellent problem solving skills (except this one), no formal computer training but I learn pretty quickly... Any suggestions?

Hi guys. I'm an engineer in automotive industry. Are there a lot of positions out there for sales engineering in Seattle? Are there anyone that moved from engineering to sales engineering in Seattle? Looking desperately to move to Seattle... still don't know how yet.

Hey all -

I am planning on moving to Seattle by the end of the year, depending on if I can find a job in the area. I have a college degree in Visual Communication and a strong background in Retail Management, but I can't seem to even get a word back from the many applications and resumes I've put in on too many websites. Is there any other way of making contacts in the area other than just moving and riding it out?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Unless you have a lot saved up, I wouldn't just move out there without a job in this economy. Seattle unemployment is climbing as we speak. My friend is in telecommunication retail living in MI, and he is having no luck in Seattle either. He hasn't made the move yet, and is proving to be a smart move because he still has a job.

Hi,

I'm a freelance graphic designer looking to relocate to Seattle, WA within the next year or so. I've been searching for virtual or remote jobs that I can work from home. Can you direct me to the best companies and job places that would have those types of jobs available. I've been looking on Craigslist, through temp agency's like creative circle, 24 seven Talent and such. I'm willing to go the extra mile in even taking plane trips to interview for those type of jobs before I get out there to get something set up. I've been to Seattle before and going again this fall to scope things out job wise. Can you give me any other advice? I know I need to have money saved before hand. Thanks!

-Binky Winks-

hi
im a lvn *lpn* student and am about to graduate. i would like to move up the seattle area. im just like the sick of LA guy and i also want to make the move i do want to move out there with in a year but how would i do it to find a job ? help

I am an African American citizen who was born, raised, and resides in Greenville, South Carolina. I currently have two Associate Degrees, but I can't find any work here for my degree of study. The main reason is that the jobs here demand for someone with 3 to 20 years of experience along with a Bachelors or Masters degree. My Associate degrees are in Graphic Design/Fine Arts and Computer Electronic Engineering Technology. I need to move out of this "recession state", but I have no money to move. What should I do? I mean living here with an education is a joke when there is no one to give you a fair chance.

Hi Paul,

I recently received my master's degree in Project Management (my undergraduate is a BS in Economics)... I am in my forties, and would love to live and work in Seattle... I understand that there are alot of opportunities. I want to delve right into project management, but my background is varied, with alot of Executive Assistant experience (working for VP's CEO's, etc.). Is there any site you could direct me to so that I may pursue this?

Thanks for your help!

Very best,

Linda Goscila

Can someone pay for me to relocate to Seattle Washington?

Look South Carolina has always been a recession state and I would like to move from here just so I can pursue my degree in Computer Electronics Engineering Technology at an entry-level.