Jobs in Washington... I GIVE UP!!!!

TechSmith

/RANT/
I HATE EVERETT WASHINGTON!!!!
I've been unemployed for a month now! I've been contacting every employment agency in the area, emailing my resume to employers posting on craigslist. I've checked out and applied to ads daily and still nothing! Vig put in a good word for me at Atari ( Thanks Vig), but HR there still hasn't contacted me.
Is there something I'm missing? I've put down that I would work temp, temp to hire, contract, contract-w2? I've even lowered my minimum required salary to 20K.
I'm now desperate enough that I'm looking at anything. I'm going down to the grocery store tomorow to see if they need any night help. I'm at the point I don't care what I do. I need some income!
/END RANT/

If any of you in the Seattle area have some inside info on upcoming job openings, then drop me a line. I've got 7 years of tech support experience behind me. Heck before that I was a Baker for 13 years. Like I said I'm open to anything now.

Lee3dee

I know how you feel! I too am waiting. But you have to remeber that its December, Christmas is coming and alot of places are probably holding off until after the new year.

So, just give it some time because all those you applied to will probably be contacting you in early january. Don't give up hope!

Toomas

Become a construction worker
Atleast here it is a sure fire way to get some work with decent pay with no qualification and usually you can start the same day you ask the job (you can just pretty much walk to a construction site and ask if they need any help).

edit: pooky typos, i did make them NOT!!

pogonip

Well one bad thing is that Washington has one of the highest unemployement rates in the US so that's not helping you . My dad was looking for a job recently and he was told by several employers that they literally has 100's of applicants . I don't mean for like an awesome job these were for maintenence jobs paying 12$/hr

Mark Dygert

[ QUOTE ]
Become a construction worker

[/ QUOTE ]
Working construction this time of year in Washington state is like asking someone to rub dry ice all over your body after you get out of a hot tub. It's a really insane thing to do... What doesn't freeze off by lunch time will more than likely thaw slightly, then drown in an afternoon rain, then freeze again when the sun sets at 4pm. Oh but wait your not off the clock till 6-7 sometimes 9pm. What a joy it is to work outside in the freezing weather, in the dark...

As for the Atari HR, freakin numb-nuts. I have personally talked to the guy who calls and he answers with "on I tried it was off the hook" or "oh I'll be sure to try today". We still have a spot open that NEEDS to be filled and the window for training someone is almost closed. We need someone on the phones before christmas so they know what they are dealing with. I do have to cut him some slack he is the guy handling about 10 new hires and he has to train them all. Not to mention his bosses boss recently left so he has to deal with a ton of stuff he isn't used to. But even with all that going on, he should still do what he tells me he is going to do, which is call Dave.

I'll talk to them ONE more time when I get in on Tuesday. I'll ask him if its ok that you call him directly. I know we need one more person and that spot is still open. Who knows maybe I'll strangle him and there will be two new openings =P

Mark Dygert

- Tech boom, everyone moves to Wash to get a job at MS or other techie places.
- Tech bubble bursts everyone still lives in Wash, and claws tooth and nail for a tech job. The tech bubble still hasn't regrown.
- Mean while coleges churn out people looking for tech jobs. The tech bubble still hasn't regrown.
- Trade schools churn out people who have retrained for tech jobs. The tech bubble still hasn't regrown.
- Boeing finally stopped laying people off and stablized. When it does lay people off they go threw extensive "career development" which means retraining for tech jobs. The tech bubble still hasn't regrown.
- Due to economics of running a bussiness in wash, the higher cost of living and tech jobs going over seas, the tech bubble still hasn't regrown.

System

I've been unemployed for 5 months, and i too have been applying everywhere i can. Not just graphic design companies, but i've applied to wash dishes, do tele-helpdesk, and so on...
Most of these companies don't want your portfolio, they want you to have three years of experience MINIMUM (hard to aquire when you're not having any luck finding a job)
They wont talk to you personally either, they'll only let you email them, so it's easier to just ignore me.
I know how you feel, and it's not a good feeling. Add to my situation that i live near our 'language-border', and companies often request that i be able to speak both dutch and french fluidly. Nevermind english, which i speak well enough to use in a business, no, they want french.
I've never had a good education in french, and i've never had to speak it, so that's a bit of a problem...
[/rant]

TechSmith

[ QUOTE ]
Who knows maybe I'll strangle him and there will be two new openings =P

[/ QUOTE ]

ROFLMAO
No need to go that far, but you did make me laugh for the first time in days

Ryno

Tech, get on with Volt and S&T Onsite for tech staffing. They will help do the legwork for you, put you up for contract positions, and try to keep you working. Once you get signed up with them, get friendly with some of the people there, and call them once a week. Don't be too pesky or sound too desperate, but keep them thinking about you.

Sometimes these temporary contract positions lead into full time jobs.

Mark Dygert

Yes they do, if Atari falls thru volt would be a good one to go with. I have a friend who worked with volt for 3 years and it lead to a FT position.

TechSmith

Just signed up at Volt last night. Also Appleone,Apex, RHI. Exell,Human Resources inc,Kelly Services, and a slew of others in the last month.
Apex called this morning to tell me that they have sent my info to HP. It's only 10-12 an hour, but that's better than 0. That is, if it comes through

Kind of frustrating that my 3d skills aren't up to par for content creation. I've seen some nice 3d artist positions out here. I need more practice. I'm too damn slow, and can't texture for anything.

Thank ryno. I forgot about S&T, Just uploaded a resume to them.

Dravalen

Did you send a resume to Amaze Entertainment? I know they have some positions open, I'm not sure if there are any art ones though. I got a job there a couple months back, fun place to work and would probably have stayed if I didn't have to go back to school.

TechSmith

No, nothing to Amaze, I checked out thier open positions, and nothing for an artisticly inclined techy. As mentioned before, when it comes to content creation I'm not quite there yet.

Downsizer

Meh, thats why I chose Information Technology as my job path. It's always hiring, even entry level is around 15 an hour here. Try working helpdesk for a bit if you need the work, it's fairly easy, and i'm sure being a pc artist has taught you enough of what you need to do basic stuff.

Then again, i'm miserable every day of my life because I did'nt persue game development. So feel free to not listen to me.

TechSmith

Must be a misunderstanding there. I am an IT worker that likes to do 3d art. Not the other way around. There seems to be fierce competition for even helpdesk/phone support jobs around here.

pogonip

It's not his career path it's Washington. Washington is a horrible place for finding a job ..in fact it sucks for everything but vacationing . You know if you wanted to move you would do a lot better . You could even apply to work at Blizzard as an IT guy there even looking . Maybe expand your horizons outside of Washington ?

Slayerjerman

I'd hire you if I had the extra funds...right now we are still trying to get our first project out the door and generate some profit/income.

That and everywhere in the tech biz Nov~Jan is ALWAYS the slow part of the year here in WA...Its VERY hard to find a tech job until usually march.

Also problem being that you are in Everrett...most jobs are in Seattle-proper and Redmond/Bellevue areas.

I hope you find some work soon man, sorry to hear your having a hard time ;(

oXYnary

Maybe look at part time jobs also right now on craigs at least to get started?

skrubbles

TechSmith - its pretty tough breakin in here in WA... I've been actively looking for over 6 months and I just landed a job.

I'd suggest signing up at http://www.filtertalent.com ... they'll find jobs for you and set up interviews. I was told they were great, but I haven't had the chance to use them yet.

Keep huntin... you'll find work, especially if you've only been looking for a month. Oh, and I suggest applying at Amaze as well because they're always hiring!

TechSmith

WOOT, got a call from Volt this morning! There's a position at Bungie that I might be able to get, and a game testing position at MS. I won't know till the beginning of January.
Wish me luck!!

D'oh!! Just a few minutes after the conversation with Volt, I get a call from APex. Thgey are the one with the HP job supporting the microsoft.com site. It's a much more boring job but I think thier interviews will happen earlier that the Bungie one OH what to do!!!

Ryno

Stall.

TechSmith

I'm not sure that's an option. I just checked my bank account and I'm over 100 bucks overdrawn. How bad would it be to leave a job like this a few weeks after starting it, to work at a dream job?
Why can't things be simple(SIGH)?

skrubbles

techsmith the same thing has happened to me... nothing coming in at all, then literally getting offers and interviews all within a few days of each other. Just setup and go to all your interviews. Go with the best job thats right for you. I actually went with a job that didn't pay as much and didn't have any benefits (because its contract work), over a higher paying job that's permenant and with benefits and actually is closer to me because I knew I'd be much happier with the the I'd be doing with the contract job... and I'd be better off getting more jobs after the contract. Just weigh your options and go with what better for you... money, experience, fun, etc.

notman

It's worth at least grabbing the new job for now... Then interview for the bungie position. Just take a day off, they don't need to know why. Never refuse a job though. The Bungie thing could fall completely through.

On another note, I work for Volt currently Not that it's anything to be proud of... in fact I'm not at all impressed by them, but it's a job

oXYnary

If your working for Volt though, your not really working for Bungie AFAIK.. Your a contract position that when the time is up. Your outa there.

notman

It depends. Sometimes the contract house is just the connection to get you the job. They may hire him directly, but use the contract house only for the interviewing process.
Most likely though, they are employing him long term through the contract house. I've been with my current contract house (Volt) for 2 years. My last job was 3 years long (through Aerotek).
Problem is, if times get rough, then you are first on the list to go before any direct hired employees.

TechSmith

It actually all depends on the client company. I've seen these jobs as temp, contract, or contract to hire. I quess I'll find out. I'll be talking to the people at Volt after the christamas vacation is over.