Unemployed and seek moving advice

General General Discussion
1

This is kinda a chicken or the egg type question as which to do first, but some background.

I was laided off on Jan 2, they closed the plant, and I am a printing press operator, and have been in that industry for over 20 years ( with both offset and flexo ), 16 at a newspaper then 5 with the commerical printer I was working at, and dare I say this, I kinda want to contuine with it. I know the industry is getting smaller, but it’s still there, and it is a skilled trade.

Well NE Ohio is pretty much dead, and one way or another I am going to leave, I’ll have to, as when unemployment ( with hopefully a extension or two ) is out, there will be no reason to stay and I’ll have to get out there.

now heres the rub. some of the places I am sending resumes to, that have openings, are a bit away, even within my state, and I feal that may be why I not being contacted. I did have a interview with a local company ( that had nothing to do with my background, they saw my resume on monster, but that went nowhere)

I did ask the HR person doing the interview the question about it, and she said that when looking, they put more effort in local people, well just great:(

so the question is, do I just keep sending resumes out there, and my circle is going to be getting bigger, or do I just move some place ( with low unemployment, be it a city or even a whole other state ) with no game plan, and hope for the best:confused:

The “good news” is that I’m single, no kids, no debt ( car paid off years ago, and live in a Apt ) and an ‘above average’ savings account, and I won’t be doing it till the beginning of next year anyways, I just want to get some info/ideas/advice now. I do have a couple of moving companys comming over to give some estimates on the amount of stuff I have.

My career counseler wants me to take CNC training as it would be free for me being a displaced worker, but all the places hiring in that field all say 3-5 or 10 years of experience needed, and I don’t know how a four month traing program stackes up.

so anyone in the same boat, or already done the same thing, I like to hear from you.:wink:

Thanks Brian

2

Yes I’m in the same boat. I’m also a newspaper pressman and have been laid off for about two weeks now. My advice is find something else to do. If they will give you free training take it. You have nothing to lose and you can still move and take a printing job later. I was thinking of taking CNC also but every one wants a few years experience. I’m thinking of going into computer networking.

The paper industry is sinking fast. Take advantage of whatever training you can get. At the worse you will have to move and find a job someplace else.

3

Pick up the CNC schooling and anything else that could offer you a decent income. No “industry” is ‘safe’ nowadays with the Globalists’ having worked overtime for the last 16 years dismantling it. Another area you may be able to make inroads in is learning Computer Aided Design. There is a demand for it and, yes, they wish for a lot of experience, BUT… you could still obtain work at lesser pay and then move up.

Be AGGRESSIVE.

4

I’ve seen long layoffs, even in the computer industry. Data networking is a good field, but you have to get experience after you pass your ccna, ccnp, ccdp, ccie, etc! The bad part is, I don’t know of anyone hiring starting network techs. Once you do get a gig, figure on low pay working nights in a command center until something better opens up.

Brian,

If you’re not currently living in the state or area of the state where you want to spend a couple of decades in, pick your next spot and move there! I wanted to get to the SE US and had to take a 50% pay cut to get there, but I’m here. Good luck with your choices and congrats on being prepared to weather this storm…

5

If your willing to move South…

http://www.fnmfg.com/

I started 1.5 years ago with zero CNC and now I run a small 5 tool machine on the M240 line.

There are some openings but your resume needs to have some kick to get you noticed. IIRC we were told by HR that they get some 8000+ apps a year.

https://fnmfgllc.fnmfg.com/HR/jobopps.php

Good luck. :slight_smile:

.

6

Denver maybe? I had a friend that sold printing supplies out of Chicago and he would come to Denver quite a bit.

7

Forget your current trade and CNC training. Use the training assistance to get an associates in a medical technology field like radiology tech. There will be jobs and you will be able to find one in lots of places.

Otherwise, are you including cover letters with your resumes stating your willingness and desire to relocate? Due to mortgage and home value issues, many other people can’t relocate easily. Your situation is much more flexible in that regard.

The problem with CNC training or CAD Design is that there are many people in those fields already laid off. I know more than a few I could call today if I needed to hire one. Except I don’t have job either so I’m not hiring anybody!

8

Sorry to hear of your situation. Sadly it sounds like your days printing are over for a while. Still, the feeling that you need to leave the area may be irrational, assuming you are capable of adapting to a new career. I am not saying this is easy, but if you have lived in the same area for so long perhaps you have a personal or business contact that can help you find something feasible with a ladder to climb. Or maybe an offshoot of what you did before.

Plus, you can also start your own business of sorts. After losing a six figure salary in land development, I used my past mortgage and real estate experience to help people in pre-foreclosure. It is not what I was used to, but it sustains us and the income generated has increased each of the past 3 years.

Still, if you are single, and especially without children, then perhaps consider going where you trade still thrives. Mine is dead everywhere, and with this fool as president I see no light at the end of the tunnel. That would not be an option for me even if I did have a son I would never leave behind. I had to adapt out of pure necessity, so maybe you can too.

9

they may be focusing on local folks to avoid paying out moving costs for a new hire.

Not sure how best to go about it, but can you word your online resume to say that moving expenses are negotiable? It may garner a few more phone calls, and if you can negotiate some % reimbursement, it would be better than nothing at all.

10

My mother just started with this company Intra-Op Monitoring Services. Here is a tid bit about Intraoperative Monitoring…“Intra-Op Monitoring Services (IOM) is a team of health care professionals promoting awareness and utilization of neurophysiological monitoring. Using advanced monitoring technology, we assess the functional integrity of the peripheral and central nervous system in the operating room, intensive care unit and other acute care settings.”

This company is on the fast track and more people are requesting it during surgeries. The technicians are trained by the company and then become certified to hook the leads up to the patients to allow for the monitoring. You wouldnt have to monitor, a doctor takes care of that. I think they have around 60 techs and they are located across the U.S. You might not even have to move if the service is requested at a hospital near you. If you became a tech, the company would call you and say hey we need you at such and such hospital in NE Ohio. You would then perfom your duty at the hospital and go home. FYI, my mother is not a tech. She makes sure that all of the Techs have the proper credentialing for whichever hospitals they work at.

Since you were a little concerned about your resume, my mother told me that one of their techs actually owned a WOW wingery. Thats a chicken wing restaurant if you didn’t know so I wouldn’t be worried if you did apply. I think its is 55-60 grand for techs IIRC.

Its an option.

Here is a link to the company website…http://www.iomservices.com/index.html

11

There is your interim answer & you don’t have to sell any gear!

12

I would be willing to move to S.C. for a good job at FN. The weapons tester job looks interesting. Are they still hiring people for CNC with no CNC experience?

I think I will upload my resume and see what happens.

13

They always say do something you love and the money will follow. Getting paid to shoot guns doesn’t sound like a bad job!

There are different levels of CNC operators. Some facilities - usually higher production with dedicated equipment - want people to set up and run the machines, do routine maintenance, monitor quality and all that. But they aren’t doing CNC programming except for offsets and other moves to adjust quality.

Other facilities want guys who can look at a drawing and program the machine to make the part - job shops with lots of variation and low production levels need guys like this.

With your background you should have no problem with the first kind of job, the second would require a lot more training.

Good luck!

14

Just applied for the weapons tester and CNC job. I guess we’ll see what happens.

15

A little extra advice:

Do everything you can to find someone that works there that can get your resume pulled out of the pile and put in front of the right person. Might be an HR person, or a manager of that area, or another employee who can talk to that manager.

16

First, thanks to all that posted:cool:

I’ll answer some questions and give a update of sorts.

Left sig: I’m pretty sure that the training assistance does not cover a two year degree, I’ll double check to be sure, and I really was not that interested in any thing med related, although I know it’s a growing field. I’ll ask about the radiology tech thing though. was’nt david banner a radiology tech:D

yes in my cover letter I do state that I’m willing to relocate, and honestly was not that worried about them paying for it, I’ll foot my own bill, just hire me.

ammotech: not really interested in the south, I kinda want to go west, or south west, your story does give me hope, and maybe for shit and giggles I’ll apply for the weapons tester also, but that can’nt count for the resumes I send out cause they have to be related in the field I was in for unemployment, although there were several guys I worked with that I wanted to shoot, but thats a whole other thread:p

safetyhit: sadly no real personal or business contacts ( they are out of work them selfs ) I don’t want to move for the sake of moving, I just don’t, as of right now, see how I can stay ( after the money runs out )
Still, if you are single, and especially without children, then perhaps consider going where you trade still thrives that is really what I want to do, and hoping more people are like 5pins, in that they are going a whole other direction, leaving the field short of skilled experienced pressman. I am a bit fortunate in that I could afford to sit and wait and hope for something to open up, but don’t want to drain my life savings sitting here waiting when that money could be used to relocate, which leads to…

czydj:I wanted to get to the SE US and had to take a 50% pay cut to get there, but I’m here so how did you do it, can you give me the short story ?

pick your next spot and move there! I would love to go to Montana or Wyoming-which has the countrys lowest unemployment-I would be happy being a ranch hand, but I dont know how I would get hired in a field thats ‘out of my element’. hell I used to joke at work that if I ever lost my job that I would move to Montana and become a coal miner, I still would if anyone knows how to go about that.

I have a appointment with the CNC training center on the 7th for a tour and ask questions, so I’ll see what they offer then. They do offer job placements with companys they have contacts with that hire entry level positions, so thats something. It won’t hurt to check them out.

17

I don’t know anyone who works there but maybe I will drop AMMOTECH a PM and see if he has any advice. I have experience in small arms maintenance, it’s what I did in the Army. So it’s not like I’m relying on my pressman experience for consideration.

I would like to find a job in the small arms or ammunition field and have and have been applying for those types of jobs. So far the only one that I’m being considered for is a job at FT. Stewart Georgia.

18

I sent out about 250 resumes over 4 months and then finally got a phone interview. I was the only one who answered their toughest networking question correctly. YMMV, but if I had the opportunity, I would put relocation on the the top of my “to do’s”. After all, isn’t the first rule of real estate “location, location, location”? :smiley:

19

Check your PM. :wink:

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20

this is the kind of info I was looking for. mind if I ask a couple more ?

did they then have you fly out to meat with a face to face interview?
how much time did they give you to reloacate?
how far did you move and what was the ‘ballpark’ cost?

thanks!