“Youthism”

Before I left Breckenridge, CO, many of my friends and acquaintances kept asking me the same questions, “What are you going to do up there?” My response was, “I have no idea,” which was then followed by a statement that went something like this, “You have no idea? You are just moving up there without a job?” “Yep!”

For me, I have found the leap of faith, the risk of moving somewhere new without a concrete plan not only enthralling, but also an act of “youthism,” a scheme that I concocted in my mind to take advantage of the freedom my youth brings as well as a way to make sure I have no regrets when I am 50 years old. Moving somewhere without a job is an intensely scary endeavor, but it pretty much seems to have become my motif. Why? I think it’s mostly because I have this steadfast faith that if you put enough effort into creating new opportunities, and do everything in your power to make it happen, it generally works out, and by work out, I mean, it becomes an unforgettable experience. With that said, I am sure that it does not always work out, but for me that is what makes the leap and the risk not only extremely nerve racking, but unbelievably exciting at the same time. So with all of that said, I moved up north not only without a job, but also without knowing a single soul in the small, fishing village of Homer, Alaska.

When I moved half way across the world to the small ski town of Queenstown, New Zealand, not knowing a single person in the town, I still managed to find two incredible jobs relatively quickly. However, when I moved to Homer, Alaska, it was quite harder. I have concluded that this is mostly due to my skiing background compared to my fishing background, skiing being heavily embedded in my life, hence why a job was easier to find in Queenstown, NZ, compared to my near zilch fishing background, hence why it was much harder to find a job in Homer, AK. Nevertheless, I still managed to find a great summer job in Homer waitressing at a local’s restaurant called AJ’s OldTown Steakhouse and Tavern. The job has worked out perfectly, because I work nights, so it has opened up my days to truly experience everything this region has to offer, which ultimately, was the real reason why I moved to Alaska!

And the Hunt Is On

For anyone desiring to move to Alaska, I hope this next section will give you insight into what resources to use/how to go about finding a job. The first thing I did was think about what jobs in Homer, AK, I would be qualified to do and in what sectors I would have the most experience. Also, I really wanted to go for the jobs that I thought would be the most enjoyable. This thought process seemed to veer me towards two sectors: adventure guiding and flight seeing/aviation. Consequently though, as I learned soon enough, all of the guiding positions for mountain biking and hiking had long since been filled (we were definitely late on our arrival into Homer because most Alaskan summer jobs are filled in April and May). So my dreams of becoming a hiking guide for the summer were quickly snubbed out. I then put all my effort into trying to obtain a job working for an aviation company, mostly owing to my experience working for Harris Mountain Heli-Ski, which also had a flight seeing sector. I dropped my resume off at multiple companies and I tried to speak with as may of the managers and owners as I could, but to no avail.*

I then began to delve into the newspapers (Homer has two local newspapers called the Homer Tribune and the Homer News both of which come out once a week), and of course, Craigslist, to see if any positions seemed viable for a potential job. After zipping off my resume to multiple places as well as calling pretty much everyone on my list, I still had no job offers. After that I decided I was going to try and see if the town had an employment office where I could drop in and check out any listings they have/speak with a representative. Turns out Homer did in fact have a job center, as many towns in Alaska do, so I stopped on in and was directed towards a computer where I set up an account/profile as well as scrolled through their very extensive job database. For anyone moving up here, I would highly recommend checking out their website at: http://www.jobs.state.ak.us/. It was the most useful job resource I came across and the website seemed to be where most employers ONLY posted their job openings.

After a week of constantly searching for a job, with nothing to show for, I randomly came across a brochure for the Driftwood Inn at the Homer Airport where I was trying to speak with a woman who ran an aviation company about a potential position. By chance, I called the number on the brochure and asked if they had any job openings. Turns out they were looking for front desk attendants as well as bartenders/waitresses for their restaurant located across the street. I immediately stopped by and filled out an application form and tried to sell myself the best I could. They said they would get back to me if they thought I was right for one of their positions. The next morning I decided to follow up with a phone call to try and show how interested I was. Later that evening, the owner called me and asked me to head into the restaurant right away, wearing all black. I was incredibly excited that I had finally heard back from someone! The next day the owner interviewed me before I was officially supposed to begin my training. She said the only reason she called me back was because of my very interested phone call I had made the day after I had dropped off my application. I had officially been made a waitress six nights a week and I was unbelievably relieved that I FINALLY had a job!

Lessons Learned

Anywhere you may move, whether it’s Homer, Alaska, Queenstown, New Zealand, or New York City, firstly, it immensely helps to have a point of contact. This person can connect you into the local network as well produce introductions. Obviously, from my own experience I don’t always go by this, but for your own heart’s sake, this is an important thing to consider. Secondly, I would always recommend moving to a town or a city where you know you have experience within the major tourist industry. Finding a job in a ski town was much easier for me compared to a fishing town. Patience and the knowledge that you are going to be told NO more than YES, is the third lesson I learned. Finding a job in a town where you know not a single person can be awfully demoralizing, so my best advice is to just keep at it and fight your way through it. Fourth, I would recommend doing your homework early. When we moved to Homer, we arrived after the summer season had already started. This placed us in a situation with limited job availability because most of the seasonal jobs had already been filled. Lastly, my biggest lesson learned was that no matter what, keep putting forth all your cards and all your effort. Ultimately, I found my waitressing job because of my follow up phone call. Any little extra effort can make a big difference.

Now that I have locked and loaded a job for the summer, I am really looking forward to exploring and enjoying this astonishing state. Bring on grizzlies, fishing, floatplanes and so, so much more! Watch out Alaska!

Last, but not least, I can’t thank Evan and Mimi enough for putting up with stressed out Tucker! You both are rockstars!

*(The aviation company Smokey Bay Air called me later on with a part time opening they wished to hire me for, but it turns out that things were working out so great at the restaurant, I decided to stick with my waitressing job instead. I am a strong believer in things working out for a reason and this was a perfect example of this!)