Portland Oregon Among Best Cities For Career Development, Recent Study Shows

Planning on relocating to Portland Oregon? If so, you’ve making a smart choice! Thanks to a recent study, we know that the PDX area is among the best cities in the United States for career development.

When you move to Portland, OR,  you can count on living in an area that’s the best incubator for any career regardless if you are in sales, customer service, support or if you plan on starting a business, the Portland area is the best place to be.

Key Findings From The Study

• Portland metropolitan area recorded the 4th-highest percentage (8.5%) increase in jobs that require higher qualifications between 2021 and 2022.
• Additionally, 32% of Portland Oregon employed residents currently work within positions that require advanced skills and knowledge. This highlights the importance of having a skilled and diverse workforce, which can further create opportunities for career development and growth.
• Also, Portland performed well for its job mobility index (roughly 4%), ranking 9th on the list among all metro areas included in the study. This brings numerous benefits to workers as it allows them to explore new opportunities and take on new challenges.
• Based on its performances across the 10 metrics we analyzed, Portland ranked 14th best metro for career development in the U.S.

West Coast Is Tops For Careers in The United States

Besides Portland Oregon, Seattle, San Jose and San Francisco also continue to be some of the strongest cities in the United States, and the West Coast, for career development.

San Jose, Calif., cemented this Western domination by topping the ranking with a total of 74 points. The California metro area earned the highest accolades for the largest percentage of high-skill jobs, as well as the highest median wages for these occupations.

Next, the Trenton, N.J., metro secured second place by racking up 71 points and boasting the best student-to-teacher ratio on the list. In addition, Trenton-Princeton, N.J., also put together a couple of second-place finishes for its average graduation rate, as well as its share of training facilities per 100,000 residents.

To complete the podium, Boston gathered 68 points with top-five finishes for its average graduation rate, percentage of jobs requiring a higher qualification and the corresponding yearly median wage. In addition, the Massachusetts metropolitan area also had the second-highest number of top universities within its bounds, including Boston University and Northeastern University.

Tips For Finding A Great Job In The Portland Area 

1. Get Clear On What You Want

Before starting your job search, take the time to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses and the type of work you enjoy doing. The better you know yourself, the more likely you’ll find a new Portland Oregon job that provides you with greater satisfaction. What do you want in a job? What’s most important, title, money, promotion, the work itself, location, or company culture?

2. Research Your Target Companies

Once you know what you want, it’s time to find out what the companies you’re applying for want. A great tip for finding a new job is to investigate a company’s Glassdoor page. It will help you get a feel for their company culture, figure out what questions they commonly ask in interviews, and even discover what salary you’re likely to be paid.

3. Tailor Your Resume To Each Job

Your resume is still one of the most critical tools of a job search. A lot of resumes I see are full of responsibilities (instead of tangible achievements) and jobseekers send the same resume to various openings. One of my best tips for finding a new job is to have an achievement-oriented resume that includes quantifiable achievements that are relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Make yourself an obvious fit. Study the words and phrases that are used in the job description? Make sure you include them in your resume (provided you have that experience, of course). Tailor your resume to each job – the recruiter should know within a few seconds of looking at your resume that you have the skills they are looking for.

Editor’s note: You can tailor your resume, or build a new one from scratch, using LiveCareer’s free resume builder.

4. Create Your Online Career Brand

Building your brand simply means showcasing your expertise and passion online where employers searching the Web can find it. Most recruiters, including myself, use LinkedIn as their primary search tool and if you’re a professional, you need to be using LinkedIn to your full advantage. It’s a great resource for finding people working at companies that interest you and also for positioning yourself to be found by recruiters and hiring managers with relevant openings.

5. Get Organized

Before you start applying for jobs or interviewing with employers, take a moment to develop a system that works for you in organizing your job search. A simple spreadsheet works best for many to keep a track of the jobs you’ve applied for, where you have been invited to interview, etc.

6. Build, Cultivate, And Utilize Your Network Of Contacts

For the vast majority of Portland Oregon jobseekers, a large and strong network of contacts — people who know you and want to help you uncover job leads — results in more job opportunities. Networking – in person and online – is essential to your success in your job search.

It also helps you to get a good idea of what is out there and available, so you can be more strategic in your job search.  Don’t be afraid to reach out to people on LinkedIn, and if you know someone working at a company that interests you, ask for a referral. Hiring managers would prefer to interview people who came recommended before sorting through the resumes arriving via a career website.

7. Don’t Limit Yourself To Online Applications

If you rely only on submitting online applications, you could be looking for a job for a very long time. By the time you apply, the company might be in the final interview stage, or the job might have even been filled. Contact companies that interest you directly – you might get in contact with an internal recruiter or schedule informational interviews with people who work in those companies. Ideally, you want to be known to the people who might influence you getting your foot in the door.

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