BootsnAll Travel Community

Hello! I've been "off the charts" for a bit...kind of depressing having to take care of immigration and things for my New Zealand partner here in the US Midwest and trying to get a leg up to leave and live where we want to in the US.

He's a bartender by trade (I do freelance writing/web work, so can live wherever) and we've had our eyes set on Las Vegas as a high-speed, diverse, opportunistic, great climate spot in the US to call our homebase for a bit. And of course, it's an international tourist spot where we can finally feel like part of the international community again.

As it is, we have the chance to spend a week in Vegas and job hunt. We're flying there on Feb. 21st and returning Feb. 28th. For those of you who've lived or worked there, I'm wondering how to best go about a job search for bar-related work. It seems the casinos don't really post job openings on the big online job sites and I've heard of job hotlines and things that exist to check out what's actually available.

I'd greatly appreciate any insight you may have about going about a job search, making the most of our week in town, hot opportunities to check out, good contacts, and whatever else you think two young people headed to Vegas for relocation need to know.

THANK YOU!

When I was there last March, I recall seeing a "Job Center" at one of the hotels. I guess your best bet would be wait till you get down there, and hand out your resumes. Cant say much about the bars, as I didnt go into them (not old enough) but there are enough of them that surely one must need a bartender or two. Good Luck.

Thanks for the tip! Yet another place I wouldn't have thought to look for job resources.

Hey Justine,

Check this out: http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/ret/.

Not sure how useful it will be but it's probably worth a shot.

Thanks, Jen! I never would've thought to apply Craig's list to this situation.

I think Craigslist is an excellent source of information for jobs. For the bigger casinos I'd suggest the job hotlines and usually they'll have an open interview day where they can interview with a human rescource person. If he wants to work in a really hot club or bar I'd suggest getting a headshot and handing that in with the resume. It might sound weird but it's perfectly normal to do this in Vegas since so many people apply for those bartending jobs and they want someone that looks good. He also might want to try the Outback if they have one there. Yes he's not an Aussie but most people that go there don't know the difference.

Thanks so much, Joanw. I was wondering about the photo thing. I know an employer would think one attached to a resume odd here in the Midwest, but I thought that might just be how things are done in a town like Vegas.

And I'm glad to hear there's usually an open interview day at the casinos. We'll definitely try to take advantage of that while we're there.

Thank you!

In Las Vegas, most of the major hotels have contracts with local unions that cover their food and beverage employees.
Many of the nightclubs and some of the restaurants are leased to outside companies and are non-union and can hire "off the street". Tons of local bars as well that may be an easier avenue for a job search. Check out the Nevada Tavern Owners website www.nevadatavern.org/about_us
as I think they have a online resume page. Here is the bartenders union's website www.herelocal165.org/Index.htm
If you have any other questions just e-mail me.
Good luck!

Thanks so much for the added info, Keith! That's just the bit of insight we needed. Being the US citizen in this partnership, I've never even been a part of a union or understood just how they work, so it's great to at least know where to look for more info. Sounds like there's much for us to learn in living in Nevada.

We're now headed there in just two weeks to officially relocate and pick up the job search again. Keep your fingers crossed for us!