Seeking technology recruiting firms
Mamas, it seems that we've recently heard from several families considering relocations - both to and from Portland. An SF-but-soon-to-be-PDX urbanMama emailed, seeking any tips you might have for her husband to pursue a job search here in Portland:
I have been reading urbanMamas for years now from the Bay Area. (uM note: YAY!) My husband and I are finally ready to take the plunge and begin a job
search for him in Portland in hopes of moving this summer after our son
finishes kindergarten here. He has a good network here in Silicon
Valley and some recruiters he likes working with here, but they don't
have offices in Portland. We don't know anyone else up there (yet!) who
is in his industry: web development. He is an engineering manager at
his current company but also searches under senior software engineer or
senior web developer. We know this is one of the worst times to be looking for work at all,
much less high-tech jobs in his industry outside of the Valley. But try
we must as we are in love with Portland. Does anyone know of any
technology recruiting firms in Portland that we can contact?
Hello there - hate to sound like "debbie downer" but our job market in portlandia does not compare whatsoever to san fran, seattle or any other major city. intel, hp, tektronix, have all been having steady layoffs & hiring freezes even prior to the recent US meltdown.
Coming from the East Coast 11 years ago I was shocked at how small our job market is / was even back then.
In Portland a job in Starbucks (retail) is considered a "good job" which is shocking considerng in most cities it's a "food service" profession, but here most Starbuck employees have Bachelor degrees.
I would have your husband call HR departments of companies that he is interested in directly and get the straight scoop.
I wish you well and good luck with whatever the future brings!
Posted by: liz | April 01, 2009 at 08:51 PM
Sorry what I meant to add was the part about the recruiters. The reason your local san fran recruiters don't have offices in Porland is because the market is not there.
That is why I suggest you cal the companies directly. I work for a global corporation based here in pdx and we have a hiring freeze and we try not to avoid using recruiters because of their fees and that their is a plethora of talent here in pdx. most of are open positions (when we didn't have a hiring freeze) had hundreds of well qualified local applicants.
Not to say it is all doom & gloom here in portland - but we had friends move here from seattle 1 1/2 years ago and are moving back since they could not find work in their fields - engineering & teaching.
take care.
Posted by: liz | April 01, 2009 at 09:04 PM
Have you looked into full-time telecommuting? I don't know anything about your husband's field, but it could be a way to have a job and live where you like.
Posted by: suz | April 01, 2009 at 10:45 PM
While the job market might not be wonderful here right now - I have to disagree with @liz.
My hubby is a tech recruiter working here in Portland for a bay area based company. And they are placing people in tech jobs in Portland - so not everything is doom and gloom.
Feel free to contact him directly:
Jeff Weintraub
jeffw@mainzbradygroup.com
503-222-3400
Posted by: Scotti | April 02, 2009 at 08:36 AM
I, too, disagree with Liz. I've been out of high tech for awhile but have friends still consulting and contracting. ProDx is a company a friend of mine has worked with for quite some time. She's found temp contracts and perm jobs through them over the years.
I moved up here 13 years ago and landed a great job in high tech with no trouble at all. (Of course, the market isn't nearly as good as it was then but there are still jobs). Are there still Westech job fairs? That might be something to look into - find out when the tech job fairs are up here and fly up for a weekend to attend. That's how I got my first job up here.
There's a company up here I recently heard about that is growing by leaps and bounds despite the economy. I'll find out more and post later.
Good luck - if he is patient and takes his time, he'll find something. But, if layoffs continue sometimes the first hired are the first to be let go. But if you are able to work as well at least your odds increase that one of you will have a job.
Posted by: Barbara | April 02, 2009 at 09:56 AM
Try Edgelink. I used to work as a Tech Recruiter with the firm before my kids were born. They're great folks who know the industry well and have excellent connections. Down to earth and easy to work with. They deal in both contract and permanent placement. www.edgelink.com Best wishes!
Posted by: sg | April 02, 2009 at 03:46 PM
I have been recruiting for 12 years, just moved to Portland from San Francisco last year. I hooked up with a Seattle based company and worked remotely. So Telecommuting is a nice option. I was laid off unfortunately, but I then rebounded have been working for another firm here in Portland. Things again are picking up somewhat, but it is still slow. Portland is definitely a smaller market, but there are jobs to be had.
Posted by: Tim | April 02, 2009 at 05:52 PM
Thank you uM for posting my email and thank you all so much for the specific feedback! My husband and I really appreciate it.
Jessica
Posted by: Jessica | April 03, 2009 at 04:55 PM
Actually, my hubby is a programmmer and he says the job outlook here in Portland is still pretty warm. Not red hot like a couple of years ago but all his recently laid off friends have found jobs again here in the Pdx area without moving away.The techie jobs here are split between downtown and Beaverton/Hillsdale.
Posted by: philomom | April 03, 2009 at 07:35 PM
My wife sent me this thread since I work in a tech job (Software Engineer). My wife and I moved to Portland from San Francisco 4.5 years ago and I found one of the best ways to land a job here is to start out contracting. Most contracting companies here in Portland have contract-to-hire positions, which are usually 3-6 month contracts that usually become full-time positions. Here are the URL's for 3 contracting companies that my company (a large insurance company which I contracted for 6 months and then turned full-time) have had contracts with in the past.
http://www.atsigroup.com/
http://www.vanderhouwen.com/
http://www.teksystems.com/
They handle everything from programming, QA, analysis, etc... I worked for TekSystems and found them to be a very good company. Lousy benefits, as with most contracting companies but the hourly rate was very good.
Hope this helps.
Posted by: Tom Quaile | April 06, 2009 at 09:10 AM
Thank you Tom, contracting is actually how we got ourselves to the Bay Area from Los Angeles six years ago...good to remember.
Jess
Posted by: Jessica | April 06, 2009 at 02:28 PM
I second the recommendation for EdgeLink http://www.edgelink.com My experience with them has been positive. Very diligent, thoughtful, experienced technical recruiters. They seem to be quite popular and well-connected in the community.
Posted by: Margeret | January 07, 2011 at 03:20 PM
Add my vote for EdgeLink! Hands-down the best IT Staffing company I've encountered in Portland. http://www.edgelink.com
Posted by: Erica | June 04, 2012 at 11:34 AM