Moving in 6 days Need a Job! HELP!!!

Flaboy, have you been down here before? In my three years down here, I have yet to see a residential loft. You might want to adjust your thoughts when you are envisioning your future life on-island.
Also, telling us what you do professionally might assist us in assisting you. 🙂

Sorry for the short message. I have managed a beach service all summer and have extensive restaurant experience. I would like to find roommates since studio style places are not available.

Thank You

what is "extensive" restaurant experience? Are you just moving for season or longer?

I have doen just about everything at a restaurant except for full service bartending. My experience includes but is not limited to......banquet serving(500 total persons).....Beer and wine bar bartending......four star backwaiting.......seafood restaurant waiting.....prep cooking .......line cooking......and managment of small kitchens.

I ahve also been a manager of a beach service that had.....at hieght of season...... 300 setups.

I paln to move for the season but if the right job is presented I could be on the Island for longer.

thanks Dustin

Flaboy, we're trying to help you out here in all good faith but it seems that you haven't done a PMV.

You're apparently coming down here cold within the next couple of weeks, have booked your passage, have made your mind up already to simply "reach" here with expectations and just decided to look for help on this forum without researching this forum? Consider a given "DUH"?

Studio apartments are indeed available.

Flaboy I really do wish you the very best!

Everyone at the message board,

I have planned this trip for a very long time. Not only that but I have spent 8 years backpacking andor driving in Europe. With that said I am not coming down to STT cold. I have more than one person to stay with. I just would like some assistance in the job market and possibly a roommate for at least the season.

Thanks Dustin

Whats a PMV??????????????????????

Pre move Visit.

My suggestion is to come down with enough money to last for 2 months. Stay with your friends and explore the island. Try to determine where the jobs you are interested in might be located. Then start looking for a small apartment/room in that area. After you have a residence, start making the rounds of bars and restaurants until you find a job. Our season doesn't even start until Thanksgiving and doesn't get hot and heavy until Christmas.

None of this can be done from off-island. Employers and landlords will NOT talk to you seriously (unless you have some pretty specific skills - Nurse, pharmacist, etc) until you are here. They've seen too many people plan to come and never show up.

We aren't trying to be negative, but that's the way it is.

Good luck

It was very hard for me to understand the concept of not getting everything taken care of before I actually moved, but jobs/apts/cars, etc are something most people find when they get here. My husband runs a restaurant and is looking for good help, but he won't talk to anyone until they are here, have a place to stay, and reliable transportation. Come down with some cash to make it work until you find those things. He is looking for a person who can wait tables/ bartender for season or longer...

FlaBoy,
If like recommended you bring 2-3 months worth of money to get you by you will be fine. There is not exactly a deep pool of talent to hire from in the hospitality industry, so if you show some talent and work ethic you will be snatched up quickly.
Lots of folks have survived without a pmv and plenty have failed even with a pmv it is all up to you.

I think this is my first post since arriving in STT. I didn't do a PMV. But I had a job at the hospital, a permanent position, a temporary place to live, and a good line on a vehicle before I actually moved. I knew that many things would be left to chance and wanted to hold as many cards as I could so to speak.
Here are a few things I found to be helpful prior to my departure...

I got a physical before I left for two reasons. The first I know my doctor in the States and was able to stock pile on sample drugs and things I thought I might need. The second, it's a lot cheapier and faster! In the service industry you need a health card which entails many things,including but not limited to, a stool sample. Check into this maybe a potential employer can fax or mail you a copy to save time. I've heard it's delayed employment and the much needed first paycheck for many.

I didn't have a passport and am very glad I got one. I've needed a second ID everywhere and it's so handy.

Check out the dailynews in the vi on the internet. They update regularily and you can check all their classifieds for FREE!!!!! (Jobs, cars, apartments...) Just google "daily news vi" and it pops right up. I also liked getting an idea of the happenings here. I also used this to start studying for my drivers test, they have a button for it. I also checked out the St Thomas Source, but they do not update their classifieds as frequently.

I didn't recieve my first paycheck, keep in mind I had secured a position 4 months prior to my departure, until I was already here for 5.5 weeks! Had I not come with a pretty significant amount of money, place to stay, and vehicle I would have been fairly well panicked. So many changes so fast and the last thing you want to worry about is a lack of funds!

I'm from Montana and let me tell you I am definitely a fish out of water. I have met some wonderful people, have moved once and love my new place. A 2 bdrm, great view, bath-tub (a rare find), lots of storage, great landlords, pay 1000, which I split with a roommate and our utilities. My WAPA bill was 99$ for September when I left the AC on 24/7 pretty much. Hey I came from the cool mountain air, it snowed about a month after I left!

Culturally speaking it's so different than anything I could have ever prepared myself for.

I hope your next get together falls on a night that I'm on the day shift!! I can't wait to meet some new people and ones that were helpful without even really knowing it.

Sara

Hello there buddy:

Listen, I had done some research on STT as far as the living expense. It is kind of high down there due to tourism. I am planning on coming at the end of November. Do you think you can help as far as job leads. I have a place to stay that is not a problem. I had set up a resume on a website for the employers to view before I arrive down there. Hopefully they would respond to me. But if you can find some job leads for me I would really appreciate it. Thanks for your time and looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Kindly Regards,

Martel L. Dantzler