Hawaii's dirty little secret

[Exengineer]

Hawaii, a great place to relax, unwind, enjoy the beaches and the sights. Also a great place for lots of engineering jobs on Oahu, including civil/structural, mechanical, electrical and software. The only catch is you have to be a resident before you apply for any of them. That's right, it's not the best candidate who gets the job, it's the best candidate who lives on Oahu! That means there could be five better applicants from the mainland, but since they don't live there, the sixth best applicant gets the job. I have seen some of the same thing in California as well. Only state residents need apply. This is referring not only to government jobs, but private sector jobs too. Do they have the right to exclude applicants on the basis of location? I know both states are overcrowded, but how does one become a resident without being born there? My belief is that any U.S. citizen has the right to move to any state of his/her choice without coming into conflict with these stupid rules.

 

[navyasw02]

Employers do this all the time, it's not a new thing. Being military, my wife and I move all the time. My wife NEVER gets any phone calls/emails from companies until we have an in state address on her resume. She can apply to the same company before and after the move, but no response until we're there. She also doesn't get hired unless she tells them we have plans on staying in the area for an undetermined "long time". If she says we're just going to be in the area for 2-3 years like it says on my orders, the background music stops, the record scratches, and the interview ends. I dont know if it's legal or not, but it's reality.

 

[Exengineer]

This is a most unfortunate state of affairs. It means your success depends more on your location than on your resourcefulness, ambition and motivation. That is clearly wrong. When I was a student and also early in my career, I had job interviews that took me from Wisconsin to Ohio, from Indiana to Nebraska, and from Michigan to Texas. That would probably be unheard of today, because there is such a glut of engineers most companies can find them locally. However, if you get stuck in a location that is going down the drain economically and there are no good job prospects, you might have to move first and then apply for jobs. That sounds risky and a bit crazy to me. A sad tale for engineering in general.

 

[willsee]

This is a most unfortunate state of affairs. It means your success depends more on your location than on your resourcefulness, ambition and motivation. That is clearly wrong. When I was a student and also early in my career, I had job interviews that took me from Wisconsin to Ohio, from Indiana to Nebraska, and from Michigan to Texas. That would probably be unheard of today, because there is such a glut of engineers most companies can find them locally. However, if you get stuck in a location that is going down the drain economically and there are no good job prospects, you might have to move first and then apply for jobs. That sounds risky and a bit crazy to me. A sad tale for engineering in general.

Because Hawaiians hate all people from the mainland?

They already feel that USofA stole their 'country' why would they want you to steal their jobs as well.

 

[roadwreck]

I think for the moment it is simply a function of supply and demand. Right now there are going to be available candidates to fill a position in just about any market, that wasn't always the case. Just a few years ago companies were willing to pay to relocate people for open positions. Why would a company want to take on that extra expense if there are candidates to fill the position locally? I don't imagine it will remain that way forever.

 

[FusionWhite]

Hold on here. You are confusing two issues here.

Issue 1: Companies dont want to hire out of towners. Personally I dont see this as a problem. Companies can hire whoever they hell they want (with in reason according to the Civil Rights Act, ADA etc). If you live too **** far away and they dont want to hire you (thus potentially having to play relocation fees) then tough ****.

Issue 2: You implied that you cant move to a state because it overcrowded. The Supreme Court ruled (I cant find the exact name of the ruling) that peoples right to free movement allows them to live in any state they want. People choose states, states dont choose people. Your implication that states are not allowing people to move into them for jobs is flat out wrong.

 

[picusld]

Hawaii, a great place to relax, unwind, enjoy the beaches and the sights. Also a great place for lots of engineering jobs on Oahu, including civil/structural, mechanical, electrical and software. The only catch is you have to be a resident before you apply for any of them. That's right, it's not the best candidate who gets the job, it's the best candidate who lives on Oahu! That means there could be five better applicants from the mainland, but since they don't live there, the sixth best applicant gets the job. I have seen some of the same thing in California as well. Only state residents need apply. This is referring not only to government jobs, but private sector jobs too. Do they have the right to exclude applicants on the basis of location? I know both states are overcrowded, but how does one become a resident without being born there? My belief is that any U.S. citizen has the right to move to any state of his/her choice without coming into conflict with these stupid rules.

oh life is so unfair...

Just because a job is posted does necessarily imply that there is an open position.

 

[IlPadrino]

I get the concern that if you're looking to move to a new state (or city even) maybe you're just looking for something temporary until a better opportunity comes along. So here's the question: how do they know if you're "in state"? Does the application ask you to check a box? If so, I'd leave it blank. Of course, you'd need a local mailing address but I imagine that's easy to find if you have any sort of network established.

 

[cableguy]

The company I work for can be picky at times about who they hire. They really prefer to hire locally, or someone that has local roots. Reason being, if someone's not rooted here in any way, makes them much likelier to pick up and move in a couple of years - and then the company has to go through the time and expense of hiring someone all over again. Heck, I did that. I moved to Atlanta. No roots there. Made it real easy after a few years to just say "screw this mess" and move back to Texas when the opportunity presented itself (my family & wife's family live in Texas).

It makes sense to me. Fair? To the company, yes. If you want a job there, move there then apply. I don't think anyone's stopping you from doing that.

 

[Road Guy]

i had a friend from California who told me (about a decade ago) that the State Workers Union had a law passed banning non state employees from doing DOT type work (road design, etc) Not sure if that is still the case there, but I assume the legislature for any state can do most anything they please (within the boundaries of the Constitution of course)