job prospects in portland

The restaurants in Portland are really good, but they are still restaurants. Therefore there will be angry restaurant employees. These are the people who can’t do their job, & use blogs like this to vent because the people they used to work with don’t want to hear it anymore. If you are a true professional who is committed to food & service then you’ll be fine.

I’ll disagree with toesnclaws’ post on several levels:

1) our restaurants aren’t “really good”, frankly our rep as a food town is madly undeserved…but there you are.

2) most restaurant owners are individuals who frequently either A) know F&B, but don’t know a whole lot about running a business, including labor laws or B) the typical “it would be like a nightly party to own a restaurant” novice—so many of the complaints are fully deserved.

3) Portland’s unemployment rate is pretty high for a variety of reasons: timber and construction are still a large part of our economy, plus some “new” industries (like semi-conductors) have colapsed as well. Plus people keep moving here (for the record, I’m an east coast transplant, myself), pushing the rate ever higher. All of this translates to lots of people who can’t afford to go out to eat, so the already weak restaurant industry (some experts predict it won’t truly recover until 2015!!!) is further softened.

On the other hand, it’s pretty nice to live here—a still affordable (sorry, folks the only cheaper city on either coast is Philly), charming city with lots of waterfall hikes in the summer (speaking of summer, it doesn’t rain here once that kicks in), mild, albeit rainy winters and a high minimum wage.

I have to agree with zumpie. It is a tough market to crack. I moved here with my husband about 7 years ago, and while he was boh and I was foh, we are both working for less money than we did before the move, and it has taken me 4 years to find a place where the owners/GM’s are not paranoid, drunk, sex addicts or just plain bat-shit crazy. Where I work now is awesome, but any new employees that we bring on are usually friends of mine or friends of other co-workers. We take care of our own here, which once you are in with the right people, you’re good. It is long hard climb though, to get there. You will find jobs, cause there is a restaurant on every corner. But it might take you a long time to find a job that you enjoy and pays you what you are worth.

Do your research before you come. Map out where you want to work. Know everything about them, including who does the hiring. With the internet, there is no excuse for not knowing all of this info in advance. Walk your resume in, between 2 and 4 p.m. It’s basic, but you would be surprised how many people walk into the spot where I work and can’t get even those basics down, so their reso goes straight to the trash.

Good Luck!

Zumpie offers a lot of good points, particulary regarding the Portland/Oregon economy & its impact on diners entertainment budgets. But it could be worse (Detroit, St. Louis, Omaha, Minneapolis, just about anywhere).

I’ll stand by my “really good” rating of our restaurants. I stopped short of the typical “Oh my God the food here is so awesome” food network foodie opinion. As for the anonymous post… The operators in Portland are as flawed as any business person in any industry anywhere in the US. They are in fact human & the sex addict comment makes me wonder if they’ve been working in strip clubs. But the anonymous post is spot on regarding your research. It might take a while but I’ll say it again, If you’re a hard working skilled person you’ll be fine.

Portland…the restaurant capital of the northwest coast??????

I don’t think so…however…if you’re smart, you’ll stay away from the renowned places….why????
They are the one’s that screw you the most!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stick with a local trendy place…one that’s run by good people!
Your chance of being able to talk to mgm’t, will be better received and looked upon more often as positive input!

Portland is a big city, but a SMALL town. Our restaurant family is tight. Meet some peeps…get in on it. That is the BEST way to find a job here. Everyone knows everyone who knows someone who knows someone else.
I have lived and worked here for 10 years and every single job (aside from the first one…so you have a chance) has been word of mouth. We take care of our own.
BUT…the place I am at now is full of new transplants.
GOOD LUCK!
It is a great place to live!

I agree with both Zumpie, there are too many people moving here, and I agree with Anonymous, [it's hard to] “find a place where the owners/GM’s are not paranoid, drunk, sex addicts or just plain bat-shit crazy”. I’ve never experienced the lack of professional behavior and abundance of condescending meanness than I have since I’ve lived in Portland and worked at some restaurants. I suppose I haven’t hit the jackpot yet though and it’s been like seven years!! I recommending staying away from any restaurant German owned. This is just from my experiences, which numbers three.

Also, there is a new trend where restaurants only hire tattooed “rock stars” with absolutely no personality or customer service skills for FOH. So, if you have a shitty attitude and don’t give a shit about doing a good job, you just might get a job at some hipster joint. Good luck!