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+--- Thread: Finding work in Puna (/showthread.php?tid=2369)
Finding work in Puna - Suyana - 07-04-2008
My husband and I are finally ready to make the move back to the Big Island with our one year old son. I haven't been there for ten years (to the date!). I've since gained a lot of knowledge and experience and a pretty good resume. I am a Quality Analyst for a Hospital here in the Bay Area, CA. I know of a few Medical Centers, mainly Hilo Medical Center. But I don't want to limit myself to the Health Industry only. Especially since the job market is completely different on the Island. I've searched some local papers, websites, Craiglist, Monster.com. Does anyone have any suggestions for finding good employment on the Hilo side? Thanks in advance.
Suyana
RE: Finding work in Puna - Suyana - 07-04-2008
Oh I forgot to mention...I'm open to doing some farm work, food service, etc. while I'm looking for an Administrative job. I'm thinking I may not be able to secure a job until we actually get there. If anyone knows of any opportunities coming up a few months from now...thanks.
Suyana
RE: Finding work in Puna - missydog1 - 07-04-2008
Your skills sound great! I assume you have already heard that island employers are reluctant to hire the newly arrived (malihini), and that the new status can extend for years. In part because so many people have left again after being trained.
Of late, I have run into more new to the island people holding jobs. Macy's and Home Depot clearly are open to malihini.
Some other places in Hilo, many others, I may be cynical but you'll get a job only if there's absolutely no nephew cousin auntie or uncle that wants it.
Call it nepotism or call it the community taking care of its own by offering employment to long time residents and family first ...
Honestly, I cannot understand moving here, with a child to support, unless you either have a job lined up, or two, OR you come with two years of living expenses in the bank. Especially now that we're sort of in a depression, an economic downturn for sure.
My sons came over here, in their early 30's, highly qualified in a couple fields. They were not offered jobs by the employers that were hiring. They got pittance jobs. Six years later, one of them has found success, as of this last year only. The other is still doing independent contracting and living at subsistence level, and completely changed vocations.
This is not like moving to an urban area with a lot of opportunity, and newbies are not typically welcomed as additions to the job pool, although so much of the time they bring immense enthusiasm and more drive to the position than the person who typically gets hired.
RE: Finding work in Puna - Hotzcatz - 07-04-2008
The hospitals just took a huge financial hit and had their budget slashed. I don't know if they will be doing much hiring anytime soon. There aren't that many of them, you could email their personnel offices and inquire.
Other than Craiglist and newspapers you could try contacting the medical centers and hospitals directly. There aren't that many listings for them in the phone book so it wouldn't take all that long to call them all.
Can you take a sabbatical from your job so if things don't work out over here you will still be able to have a job to go back to? Will you have at least a year's worth of living expenses and a ticket back? Is there family over here to help out?
There were forty job listings in the Hilo paper last Monday and many of the listings were for the Kona side or were part time listings. I would think it will be difficult to get a job equivalent to the one you now hold. From the looks of the newspaper, it will be difficult to find a job you can afford to live on but I haven't been out looking for jobs so maybe I'm wrong.
RE: Finding work in Puna - Suyana - 07-04-2008
Well I hear what you all have to say. Really. I lived in Puna Kapoho for a year from 97 to 98. I did farm work for the most part. I know it's hard times now. It's like that here too. Kathy, you ask why I'd move here with a little one. Honestly, we are just done with the city life. What brings me back there? I felt such a strong community while I was there. When you know how to live off of the land, the economy doesn't affect you as much. We are very simple people. I just happen to have some good skills to get a job if I wanted to. I know all about being a "newbie". We are very adaptable. All we want is a lil chunk of land to live on with catchment, a propane stove and an outhouse. I don't need to work in Hilo. But I would commute until we figured out how to live and not commute. We'll come with a good chunk of money to live off of to start. I'm open to completely changing my profession to suit our lives. It's hard to explain. It's just our time to move there.
Suyana
RE: Finding work in Puna - Guest - 07-04-2008
Punawebber Aaron wrote a blog today you might be interested in about the Hospitals here on the island, and the impending layoffs.
You will need to click the links within the post to get more information.
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