Searching for a Management Position in Las Vegas

First Published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal
November 4, 2007

I am pleased to be writing a column to help the management-level candidates in Las Vegas. My goal is to arm you with the latest in technology and thinking in order to make your search both shorter and more productive. But first a reality check.

We live in a very dynamic and growing city! About 6000 to 7000 new residents move here monthly, but hidden inside that statistic is this: several hundred management-level individuals move here every month without jobs, assuming they will find management positions. I once told the V.P. of Human Resources of a large local firm that managers move here without jobs, and she said, “That simply isn’t true…it can’t be true. Why would any career professional move here unemployed?”

The relocation rationale I hear most often is this: “Hey, I’m a very capable person…sure I know Las Vegas is primarily a resort town with a gaming economy, but it’s the fastest growing city in America, and my talents have always been in demand, so I’m sure I’ll find a good position. Besides, I just got laid off from my V.P. of Production job at a factory in Baltimore, the kids are grown, and Margie and I are ready for a new chapter in our lives.” Either that or “My aging mother has Alzheimer’s and lives in Summerlin, so I moved here to be with her.”, or “Heck, I just got tired of shoveling snow in Minneapolis and decided it was time for a warmer climate.”

The reason I never hear is, “Well, Chris, I surveyed the country for the best hiring market for a 45-year old with a degree and experience in Purchasing, and Las Vegas topped the list!” Let’s face it, people move here for personal, “lifestyle” reasons, and if you’re in search of a new position, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve lived here six months or six years, you want to find a good position as fast as possible. The most expensive activity is being unemployed. It can cost $5,000 to $10,000 a month, or more.

So here you are, with a good education, solid experience, and great ability, but living in a city where professional positions can be very difficult to identify and land. Take a ride around highway 215…. you just don’t see the tall office buildings with names of the Fortune 500 companies we all recognize. Where are IBM, Pfizer, General Electric, Monsanto, or the others? They’re simply not here. In fact, take away the hotels, casinos, and condominiums from our skyline… and we don’t have one! The only office building of any height is the Wells Fargo building here in the Hughes Center….imagine that. Even Pocatello, Idaho has a more prominent business skyline. Your new position here will most likely be in a small to medium-sized company, maybe family owned, where you will play a key role. But those companies can be very selective and slow to act when adding new management. It’s like trying to get a seat at another family’s Thanksgiving table… and even if you do, they can be reluctant to pass the gravy.

Many expect to land a management position at a Strip hotel/casino. That’s the longest shot of all. It would be like moving to Washington, D.C., riding by the Pentagon and thinking, “Wow, that’s a big building…I bet thousands of people work in there…..I’ll just go in and get a job as a Colonel!” Ain’t gonna’ happen. Just like the Pentagon, the hotel/casinos on The Strip represent the pinnacle of their world. You don’t just decide at mid-career to join their management team and waltz right into a key position. You typically must get into gaming early and work your way up, just like joining the Army and aspiring to work at the Pentagon. And like Wall Street where I used to work, most key players in Las Vegas know each other. The same goes for most Las Vegas businesses in general. There’s no escaping the fact that we live in a “Who you know” kind of town.

From my experience, management job seekers here arrive at one of three outcomes:
1. They search for several months longer than expected and finally land a good position, 2. They compromise and accept a “bridge” job (which sadly often becomes their new career), or 3. They give up and move back to where they came from.

So, how do you, the intelligent management candidate, determined to stay and make a life in Las Vegas, deal with the job search challenges and market yourself effectively to the hiring companies here? That is the subject of this column. There are innovative new ways to attack the problem and come up a winner, and I am going to share them with you. Tools, techniques, and technologies are available to you to enable you to overcome the obstacles you face. You need a new career in Las Vegas, and Las Vegas needs to retain good management talent.

We can’t have you moving back to Baltimore… We need you here!