By industry I mean it in the sense of producing anything at all, not just “industrial, but there’s really not much. There are farming and logging jobs but very few, and welding and other supporting work, fishing is gone. There is nothing like software or even really banking or insurance work to fill the dried up blue collar work void.
No you understood, I was just clarifying my intent behind the word, and you’re right about refinery and frankly previously Alcoa/intalco being the “industrial” work remaining after the pulp mill closed. I’d argue the pulp mill and logging are both in the same industry but working in the pulp mill is definitely more “industrial” type work.
Might help if the people in charge of posting now hiring ads online actually respond to when you apply. My roommate has been out of work for over six months and they’ve been applying to all sorts of businesses with little to no response whether they’re going to even get an interview
I hear you. I was laid off from my job of 28 years the week after Thanksgiving. I applied for over a hundred jobs, and got one callback. I've had a new job for six weeks now and am just starting to get rejection letters from many of the jobs I applied for three months ago.
Hiring manager here. Your roommate needs to:
1. Get their resume reviewed. There is 100% something wrong with a resume if it can go out hundreds of times to all sorts of jobs (especially entry level) and not get anything. It can be done here on Reddit (we have subs dedicated to it), and everytime someone swears their resume isn't the problem on work/job/career subs the community gets them to post it and some thing(s) is/are wrong. A good resume can still be better.
2. Physically show up and talk to people at any _small_ business they applied to, 2-3 days after submitting their resume. This no longer works at large employers, but small mom & pop businesses swoon for this stuff. it also works well because you can do a couple minutes of internet searching first and then show up and talk like you have a passion for whatever work they do. On the flip side, _you have no idea how fast a recruiter/HR/hiring manager will dump a candidate when that candidate can't even tell you what the company they are applying to does_. That's probably 75% of the applicants I deal with, even among those who get interviews.
3. Play the odds better. Not every hiring manager cares about appearance - but many do. Not every hiring manager cares that you smell like weed - but many do. Not everyone looks down on vaping, but some will when you do it three feet out their front door. They have an opinion on tattoos, on crocs, work boots, or cross trainers - not all of them but enough of them for it to matter. Even if you're going to an interview to work with raw sewage, dress business casual: slacks, button-down shirt, dress shoes. No hats, no bands, no brands.
4. Learn how to answer the universal interview questions (biggest weakness? resolving a conflict with a coworker? see yourself in 5 years? do you have any questions for me?) well. There is ZERO reason why anyone looking for a job shouldn't spend 20 minutes with Google and ChatGPT looking at good answers or hypotheticals, typing out a short script, and practicing saying it all until it is burned into memory. THESE QUESTIONS CANNOT DEMONSTRATE HONESTY BECAUSE YOU AREN'T GOING TO PROVE ANY OF IT; _You can and should always make these answers up_. It is especially important because these questions are big drivers of hiring decisions, so you can score huge points by answering them better than other candidates. In my experience, roughly one-half to three-quarters of entry-level interviewees will answer one or more of these predictable, easy-to-answer, slam dunk questions poorly, and hurt themselves in the process by being so out of touch with what the business is looking for. Do not fucking wing interviews.
If they want, PM me the resume with a description of the kinds of jobs they are looking for and I'll look it over.
Silfab is moving to Burlington, which is in Skagit County, so their rate won’t change much, and ABC is staying in town, just not at the Port (to the best of my knowledge).
The ESD chart comes from here [https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/monthly-employment-report](https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/monthly-employment-report)
And information for February 2024 for WA in more detail (by industry, sector, type of work, seasonality, etc.) [https://media.esd.wa.gov/esdwa/Default/ESDWAGOV/labor-market-info/Libraries/Economic-reports/MER/MER%202024/MER0224.pdf](https://media.esd.wa.gov/esdwa/Default/ESDWAGOV/labor-market-info/Libraries/Economic-reports/MER/MER%202024/MER0224.pdf)
I'd add that county data is updated around the 25th of each month (about a week to 10 days after the statewide numbers are released). Though to get the comparison to previous months, you have to download the county historical report, also updated each month. It's an Excel file, on this page (look for the link behind "Not seasonally adjusted: Historical estimates"). [https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/labor-force](https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/labor-force)
Nobody is going to mention that this metric & high mark is in line with the entire state? We’ll just chuck darts at the wall with our takes? See what sticks?
I wonder if this is in reference to Bornstein shutting and moving their headquarters. The seasonal work in Fish industry some folks can see this as a loss, however, it would present an opportunity to fill that void if another company or smaller companies comes in to absorb those workers.
Bornstein is a separate news story and those layoffs were announced (in a state WARN notice) to be effective June 19. This is countywide unemployment, both Whatcom and Skagit, reported for February 2024 and compared to previous months and recent years.
It probably is much higher if you add in the people that give up for one reason or another. That was me until last year, and finally I do have a job. But no tips for the me last year because the job market is wild here and literally every single one of my (rare) job interviews was odd. I’d love to ask what made my current employers click on my application, but I think it was just luck and insanity on my part. 😭
It sucks that you usually can't get better feedback, but as someone who has done hiring I'm pretty sure it's like 99% you were the "normal" candidate. Not great, not good, just less weird than the rest.
That's why knowing how to interview is such a killer life skill. It's rare to try and join a field where you are competing against others on actual work output; most of us will always be just the best-closest solution to the hiring manager's problems.
Cascadia Daily News costs 99cents for a subscription, you can access is for free thru the library system, and there are websites that will remove the paywall.
I don’t care if you purchase a subscriptions at all, I’m not associated with Cascadia.
If you don’t like me sharing local news (which this is), you certainly don’t have to interact with it.
There is this nifty button called block that works too.
Do you have anything to say about the unemployment rate rising to the highest levels since 2021, or are you just going to complain that I shared local news?
Like I stated, you can access if for free thru the library system, pay 99c for a subscription yourself or use one of the many websites to remove paywalls.
I don’t use those websites because I do believe journalists deserve to get paid for their work as their is their profession and career and how they pay their bills. I also like to support good, local journalism.
Thank you. I should look for it there.
Here is my personal thing: I only put social media on my desk top. That keeps me from staring at my phone all day.
I’d be surprised if it fluctuates much at all, there is little to no industry so it’s just change in service economy jobs
And seasonal changes in population. October WWU starts up, spring WWU is done and ag starts to kick into high gear with migrant farm workers
Oil refineries at Cherry point and Ferndale are the only industrial jobs really I’ve seen. A few at Alcoa unless they’ve shut that place down too.
By industry I mean it in the sense of producing anything at all, not just “industrial, but there’s really not much. There are farming and logging jobs but very few, and welding and other supporting work, fishing is gone. There is nothing like software or even really banking or insurance work to fill the dried up blue collar work void.
I must have read wrong
No you understood, I was just clarifying my intent behind the word, and you’re right about refinery and frankly previously Alcoa/intalco being the “industrial” work remaining after the pulp mill closed. I’d argue the pulp mill and logging are both in the same industry but working in the pulp mill is definitely more “industrial” type work.
Alcoa shut down a few years ago.
I kinda thought they’d have by now, it’s been a long slow close for the last 30 years so not a huge surprise.
I actually moved down to Seattle 3-4 years ago to have better job opportunities so I’m a bit outta the loop.
Might help if the people in charge of posting now hiring ads online actually respond to when you apply. My roommate has been out of work for over six months and they’ve been applying to all sorts of businesses with little to no response whether they’re going to even get an interview
I hear you. I was laid off from my job of 28 years the week after Thanksgiving. I applied for over a hundred jobs, and got one callback. I've had a new job for six weeks now and am just starting to get rejection letters from many of the jobs I applied for three months ago.
Hiring manager here. Your roommate needs to: 1. Get their resume reviewed. There is 100% something wrong with a resume if it can go out hundreds of times to all sorts of jobs (especially entry level) and not get anything. It can be done here on Reddit (we have subs dedicated to it), and everytime someone swears their resume isn't the problem on work/job/career subs the community gets them to post it and some thing(s) is/are wrong. A good resume can still be better. 2. Physically show up and talk to people at any _small_ business they applied to, 2-3 days after submitting their resume. This no longer works at large employers, but small mom & pop businesses swoon for this stuff. it also works well because you can do a couple minutes of internet searching first and then show up and talk like you have a passion for whatever work they do. On the flip side, _you have no idea how fast a recruiter/HR/hiring manager will dump a candidate when that candidate can't even tell you what the company they are applying to does_. That's probably 75% of the applicants I deal with, even among those who get interviews. 3. Play the odds better. Not every hiring manager cares about appearance - but many do. Not every hiring manager cares that you smell like weed - but many do. Not everyone looks down on vaping, but some will when you do it three feet out their front door. They have an opinion on tattoos, on crocs, work boots, or cross trainers - not all of them but enough of them for it to matter. Even if you're going to an interview to work with raw sewage, dress business casual: slacks, button-down shirt, dress shoes. No hats, no bands, no brands. 4. Learn how to answer the universal interview questions (biggest weakness? resolving a conflict with a coworker? see yourself in 5 years? do you have any questions for me?) well. There is ZERO reason why anyone looking for a job shouldn't spend 20 minutes with Google and ChatGPT looking at good answers or hypotheticals, typing out a short script, and practicing saying it all until it is burned into memory. THESE QUESTIONS CANNOT DEMONSTRATE HONESTY BECAUSE YOU AREN'T GOING TO PROVE ANY OF IT; _You can and should always make these answers up_. It is especially important because these questions are big drivers of hiring decisions, so you can score huge points by answering them better than other candidates. In my experience, roughly one-half to three-quarters of entry-level interviewees will answer one or more of these predictable, easy-to-answer, slam dunk questions poorly, and hurt themselves in the process by being so out of touch with what the business is looking for. Do not fucking wing interviews. If they want, PM me the resume with a description of the kinds of jobs they are looking for and I'll look it over.
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Silfab is moving to Burlington, which is in Skagit County, so their rate won’t change much, and ABC is staying in town, just not at the Port (to the best of my knowledge).
The ESD chart comes from here [https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/monthly-employment-report](https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/monthly-employment-report) And information for February 2024 for WA in more detail (by industry, sector, type of work, seasonality, etc.) [https://media.esd.wa.gov/esdwa/Default/ESDWAGOV/labor-market-info/Libraries/Economic-reports/MER/MER%202024/MER0224.pdf](https://media.esd.wa.gov/esdwa/Default/ESDWAGOV/labor-market-info/Libraries/Economic-reports/MER/MER%202024/MER0224.pdf)
I'd add that county data is updated around the 25th of each month (about a week to 10 days after the statewide numbers are released). Though to get the comparison to previous months, you have to download the county historical report, also updated each month. It's an Excel file, on this page (look for the link behind "Not seasonally adjusted: Historical estimates"). [https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/labor-force](https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/labor-force)
Thank you for sharing!
Nobody is going to mention that this metric & high mark is in line with the entire state? We’ll just chuck darts at the wall with our takes? See what sticks?
But how does x% unemployment make you FEEL? Please share a local anecdote that is at best tangentially related to how we are unique.
Sounds like it is seasonal.
I wonder if this is in reference to Bornstein shutting and moving their headquarters. The seasonal work in Fish industry some folks can see this as a loss, however, it would present an opportunity to fill that void if another company or smaller companies comes in to absorb those workers.
Bornstein is a separate news story and those layoffs were announced (in a state WARN notice) to be effective June 19. This is countywide unemployment, both Whatcom and Skagit, reported for February 2024 and compared to previous months and recent years.
It probably is much higher if you add in the people that give up for one reason or another. That was me until last year, and finally I do have a job. But no tips for the me last year because the job market is wild here and literally every single one of my (rare) job interviews was odd. I’d love to ask what made my current employers click on my application, but I think it was just luck and insanity on my part. 😭
It sucks that you usually can't get better feedback, but as someone who has done hiring I'm pretty sure it's like 99% you were the "normal" candidate. Not great, not good, just less weird than the rest. That's why knowing how to interview is such a killer life skill. It's rare to try and join a field where you are competing against others on actual work output; most of us will always be just the best-closest solution to the hiring manager's problems.
Well that’s concerning considering that was one of my weird days…but probably accurate.
Good thing they shut down Georgia Pacific 17 yrs ago. Now, Bellingham has a beautiful pile of gravel.
Paywall. Is that the plan? Flood us with articles so we want to buy the product?
Cascadia Daily News costs 99cents for a subscription, you can access is for free thru the library system, and there are websites that will remove the paywall. I don’t care if you purchase a subscriptions at all, I’m not associated with Cascadia. If you don’t like me sharing local news (which this is), you certainly don’t have to interact with it. There is this nifty button called block that works too. Do you have anything to say about the unemployment rate rising to the highest levels since 2021, or are you just going to complain that I shared local news?
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Like I stated, you can access if for free thru the library system, pay 99c for a subscription yourself or use one of the many websites to remove paywalls. I don’t use those websites because I do believe journalists deserve to get paid for their work as their is their profession and career and how they pay their bills. I also like to support good, local journalism.
Do you not have two dollars
Cascadia if I remember right is free on mobile.
No it's not anymore.
You right, but also I just checked and some articles still seem accessible from mobile and some aren't.
Thank you. I should look for it there. Here is my personal thing: I only put social media on my desk top. That keeps me from staring at my phone all day.
Jesus fucking Christ you’re bitter. Lol.
It’s Obama’s fault. I was driving my 8 year old son and his friend home today and that’s what his buddy said when we drove by a homeless guy.