Moving to Miami!! Helpful hints?

[LaGreenEyes 0]

I've always loved Miami, I've traveled through there for years, visited there umpteen times and for me, I always felt comfortable there. I know the cost of living has gone sky high there but I see the real estate market is now downturning to a buyers/renters market. In my company there are always job openings in Miami that pay decent money, so we aren't really worried about that. Not planning to live right on the beaches anyways in the $$$$$$ area.

My husband has had horrible experiences trying to find a job in Texas. When he was ready, back at the beginning of Feb, we hit the ground running, sending 100's of resumes on Monster, Careerbuilder, Dice, Jobing, etc. He got 2 calls. Started thinking about the temping route. His english isn't good for writing reports, composing letters, etc, so he looked for a hands-on tech job, data entry or customer service type thing in Spanish only. He still doesn't do good with English on the phone, unless the person speaks slowly and clearly.

The temp places weren't good either. One sent him to a pretty decent paying data entry job, only to have sent 25 people for 14 positions, and he was not one of the 14 that got to stay. He never was told what determined who stayed and who didn't but he said it seemed all who didn't get to stay appeared to be more professionally dressed, groomed, and more educated than those who stayed (a girl with grillz on her teeth was one!) Went to some more agencies, and he was given typing tests, etc. Since he doesnt type 60 words a minute or equivalent in KPH, he was told he didn't qualify for most of their positions, He was told this at 4 different agencies. Applied with a well-known celular company for bilingual sales and service, he said the woman who called him about that had such a ghetto southern accent that he could not understand her, and she told him to "call back when you learn english". He was shocked that people are put into hiring positions when they themselves do not speak properly. Went last week to another agency, he took a written typing test, spelling test and did very well, but was told by the hiring person "I can't put you into an office setting because your accent is to heavy and people might not understand you" He said "I can offer you a job at Sara Lee boxing breads for 7.00 an hour". My husband was so offended. It seems like here in Texas (Dallas area) that if a person has a heavy latino accent, it is assumed that they are illegal, uneducated and unemployable other than manual labor or restaurant labor.

This whole ordeal has caused a tremendous strain on our marriage, stress, fighting, etc. He has never worked at manual labor and frankly I would not want him to work in a job that was so far beneath his credentials and qualifications. He wanted to do baggage handling for one of the airlines, because it would be a great new industry to learn, but he couldn't even get hired for that because "You wont pass the FAA background check since you haven't lived here for 5 years". So..after much thought we decide that Miami would be an option. We looked online at jobs, especially in tech and at least half said "MUST BE BILINGUAL" So, last week he posted resumes with a concentration in the south florida area, responded to ads on craigslist and the other job boards and got 6 responses in one week. They may or may not lead to anything but at least they were responses, invitations to call and talk, and one interview. All the people that he spoke with on the phone either ended up speaking to him in Spanish, or if they didn't speak Spanish, they werent bothered by his accent. I applied for 2 jobs there last week, and I have an interview for one of them this coming week. My trip happens to coincide with my husbands interview invitation, so we are going to go and hope for the best, and in the meantime peddle his resume to the tech recruitment and temp agencies there.

It will be strange, I have grown up here and I live within 5 miles of where I grew up, but I think it's time for me to make a sacrifice for the love of my husband and the good of our marriage. I fly free, I would be 2 hours from here where my family is, Panama where his family is and I would NEVER HAVE TO BE COLD AGAIN!!

[Flames9_RN 358]

I haven't yet had to look for a job in the USA 9yes been here for awhile now,lol) but back in Canada my ex wife worked in the unemployment industry. They assisted people that were on welfare to get jobs. One of th einteresting facts that I recall, that the majority of jobs available are not POSTED anywhere (ie newspaper, online) One has to hit the street with their resumes and treat finding a job, like a full time job!! Best of luck

[broma25 2]

Good luck to your husband, I hope he has better luck in Miami.

[Dan J 277]

Job boards/postings are not a good way to find work. They end up with allot of resumes and end up filtering out resumes pretty quickly. You would be lucky to get much response at all.

Most people in the US, actually find their job through networking with friends or colleagues. When you find openings that way, you generally are part of a much smaller applicant pool, and your resume will get more attention. If that doesnt work for you, I would at least suggest giving cold calling a shot. You may find out about positions that are not even listed yet and have the chance to speak to a actual person and you would be able to take a chance and sell yourself.

It would be a very good idea to get connected with any professional groups or mailing lists that fit his skill set. I found my last job through a professional mailing list in the Minneapolis area less than a week after I got laid off. I was working again within a week at a job much better than the one I left. Posting on monster mostly got me calls from recruiters trying to fill positions who didn't really understand my skill set.

[KarenCee 3]

I do know how you both are feeling. My husband had such a hard time getting work up here where we live. His degree is in Network Administration and Computer Technology. Where we live, it's useless. He has a job now that he likes, but it's only 32 hours a week. Every weekend. No benefits and no vacation or sick. If he takes off to go anywhere, it's without pay if it's on a day that he's not off. My job is more flexible in that I can basically work anywhere as long as an opening is there. Assistant teachers don't get hired as much as certified teachers even though I have to go through a licensing process to do my job and have the same requirements to keep said license just as certifieds do. With all that said, I can still work most anywhere. For my husband to find a job that allows him to use the education he worked so hard for he would have to either (1) get a job with the school systems around the area of and when an opening surfaces or (2) move towards Atlanta, which is two hours south of us. Career Builder and Monster haven't proven to be very effective. I can only imagine the amount of resumes the prospective employers receive on any given day. The local paper was the source of Joel's current job. Now that he finally has his green card IN HAND we hope that will open a few more doors for him.

We've talked about moving. We love it here in the mountains of Northeast Georgia. We also realise that we may have to give this up. I would hate to move...but I'm willing...if it helps him get a job in his field. His happiness...his fulfillment...that's what matters to me. I've learned how to be adaptable.

Edited May 20, 2007 by KarenCee

[Nancy2015 2]

It's impossible to get a customer service job if you can't speak very clearly and if you don't understand a person on the phone. I don't think employers treat you husband that way because he is latino - his English might be the real problem here. Heavy accent IS a big issue, and it is legal for an employer to refuse hiring a person who is difficult to understand.

I hope he has better luck in Miami - it must be one heck of a place to live

[iamjasonbunch 0]

If your husband does not speak English... Miami is the right place to be unfortunately for that reason. You can be fresh from any spanish speaking country and not know a word of English and live here in Miami your entire life. Even finding a county job is easy not knowing English. Expect spanish to be a pre-req when you decide to live here. About the work issue... its pretty easy to find work if he wants to work. Knowing Spanish puts you at the front of the line and way ahead any anglo English speaking white person. I'm half hispanic and good thing my parents taught me Spanish as a baby... but I hate walking into places and people automatically speaking Spanish as if thats the only language spoken in this town.

Edited May 22, 2007 by iamjasonbunch

[Jackie&Yosdani 0]

If your husband does not speak English... Miami is the right place to be unfortunately for that reason. You can be fresh from any spanish speaking country and not know a word of English and live here in Miami your entire life. Even finding a county job is easy not knowing English. Expect spanish to be a pre-req when you decide to live here. About the work issue... its pretty easy to find work if he wants to work. Knowing Spanish puts you at the front of the line and way ahead any anglo English speaking white person. I'm half hispanic and good thing my parents taught me Spanish as a baby... but I hate walking into places and people automatically speaking Spanish as if thats the only language spoken in this town.

I have to agree with Jewel..

The real reason might be his problem comunicating..

I live in Miami and the truth is, that he has a good chance of finding a spanish speeking job here.. but I'm not sure of what kind of job he can find.. if he has problems communicating...

My husband is an electrician and he is working as a delivery man.. You have to take what they throw at you sometimes and cant be picky..

Then you can try to work your way up..

[*JG* 2]

Andre, too, had problems finding work in his field, of which he has extensive experience. The job he took was the first one he was offered after what seems like 100's of resumes and interviews. He likes it enough and $$$ coming in is $$$, not matter what. I told him he only had to work it for one year and then he could look again.

I take a little offense to the "taking a job beneath him" comment. Who are we to say any job is beneath anyone? I certainly don't look down on anyone who works hard for their $$$$, no matter what they do. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to survive.

[Anna C. 4]

Miami might be a good shot for Spanish speaking needs I think!

@KarenCee: IT people are the only group in high demand in the Charlotte area, maybe you can look a little online.

We are moving too. I can't wait. I had a job in NYC, in Charlotte all I can do is working in the mall, my field is just not really here. In San Francisco things will be looking up, finally! I already was so desperate that I decided to get another MA, this time in chemistry, since it seems to be in need (since I'm prepped now, I will do that when we have kids, since my field is a 60 hour per week minimum deal). Sometimes you really have to move to find a job in your career path!!!

[Deb_Res 0]

Good luck to you both in Miami. I'm sure things will work out.

[LaGreenEyes 0]

Well thanks for many words of support and.........etc....

We went to Miami last week for some job interviews, it was quite a whirlwind! We've been at the hunt now starting our 3rd week, I had one interview down there last week for a promotion, but in Miami in my company, and my husband had one in person interview and one phone one that came up at the last minute. He's got another phone interview with another company tomorrow, and we both have interviews again on Thursday so are flying back down.

Just to clarify some things...when I said a job beneath my husband, I was not knocking a person making an honest living, but the way he's been treated here in Texas has been questionable. 7.00 an hour won't pay for the car, insurance and gas he would need to get to that job he was offered. My husband was not looking for a job in customer service for the reason of his accent. He only wanted computer fix, data entry, baggage handling, machinery running, something like that. It seems the machinery jobs thought him overqualified, and the office job agency told him that his accent was to heavy to work with English speaking co-workers for data entry. Never mind the many English speaking folks he speaks to here and there and everywhere that can't believe he's only really been speaking English for a little over a year.. He's had so much interest in him as far as at least people calling and responding, or emailing and responding to his applications and resumes. Thats many many more than he got applying here in Texas. He's even been getting calls from employers that saw his resume and want to talk to him, for jobs that he didn't even apply for or know they existed.

I've come to the conclusion that there must be a lack of legal bilingual English/Spanish professionals in the Miami area for the amount of jobs that are available. Many people his age may be degreed professionals, but a lot of them either don't speak English yet or stayed illegaly on tourist visas. The ones who are bilingual, the grand percentage do not have the same skills and education that he has, and if they do, they are the small business owners, or the hiring managers that are looking for people like him to hire. The ones that now have the education, do not yet have the job experience that he has. It seems he's in a good place professionaly for this search in Miami. Hopefully all will continue to go well and we'll be down there in time for the first Hurricane. (not that' I;m looking forward to that, but I AM building my hurricane kit here in Texas to have ready)