Jobs...

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lovesthebeach

Guest
I have a question and have been reading the threads to see if I can find any info and have come up with nothing....

Hopefully someone can answer my question and/or direct me to a previous thread.

I am considering a short term move to Puerto Plata with a possibility of staying permantly.....depending on how well or not well the short term goes!!

In the short term, I am considering a minimum 4-6 month stay...yes with my boyfriend.....to see if he is the one or not! (Please no comments about this....just interested in the job info)

While I am there I will be checking out potential long term work opportunities.

My background is event planning & hospitality sales/marketing (weddings, conferences, corporate & social catering).

My question is....

Is there a market for this is the Dominican Republic? And if so.....can anyone provide me with any information?

I have considered starting my own business as an option.....

Still new to this but have been doing a lot of research and am now at the point of seriously considering the move.

Any info would be appreciated!

Thanks
LTB
 

carina

Silver
Mar 13, 2005
2,691
4
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The answer to work here, no matter of field, is knowing the area, knowing the culture, knowing the language, and networking, networking....

As for Puerto Plata, most holiday & wedding, conference planning is taken care of by the AIs, and none has foreign staff for this.
Foreigners are, as posted by many in other threads, hired for commission based works such as selling tours, at vacationclubs if they have specific language skills etc etc.
Companies are also only allowed to have 1/5 of the staff being foreign.
Further more, from a visitors/short term visitors point of view, it is also a matter of money. None of this pays you more than about 150-200 US a month.
 
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lovesthebeach

Guest
carina said:
The answer to work here, no matter of field, is knowing the area, knowing the culture, knowing the language, and networking, networking....

As for Puerto Plata, most holiday & wedding, conference planning is taken care of by the AIs, and none has foreign staff for this.
Foreigners are, as posted by many in other threads, hired for commission based works such as selling tours, at vacationclubs if they have specific language skills etc etc.
Companies are also only allowed to have 1/5 of the staff being foreign.
Further more, from a visitors/short term visitors point of view, it is also a matter of money. None of this pays you more than about 150-200 US a month.


Thank you for the info..

I have read all of the posts and the information is great...just wondered specifically about this particular industry...so thank you!

I have been 4 times already in the last 6 months and loved every minute of it.

Now its time to think about reality and the future....
LTB
 

duhtree

New member
Jun 2, 2003
414
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There are certainly alot of conventions and large conferences held in the D.R. How many have displays, etc I don't know but all the major drug companies, etc are always in full swing.
If you can offer something that's more cost effective or a different approach to their merchandising, etc. I am sure self employment would be feasable.
How ever if this event planning is what you are doing now pm me. I may have something for you to earn with. John
 

Chris

Gold
Oct 21, 2002
7,951
28
0
www.caribbetech.com
duhtree said:
There are certainly alot of conventions and large conferences held in the D.R. How many have displays, etc I don't know but all the major drug companies, etc are always in full swing.
If you can offer something that's more cost effective or a different approach to their merchandising, etc. I am sure self employment would be feasable.
How ever if this event planning is what you are doing now pm me. I may have something for you to earn with. John

This is interesting.. the event planning thing. I would have given my eye teeth for an event planner a month or two ago as we were preparing for an exhibition. I don't know if it will work but it may just if you find the companies that hold events here, find out where the needs are, and market into the niche. I would suggest that you call a few companies that hold events here and talk to them as a feasibility study. If you are skilled in marketing trade shows, I have a few ideas for you.
 

planner

.............. ?
Sep 23, 2002
4,409
26
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It may in fact be an idea. BUT, do you speak Spanish? Do you understand how things work here?

It will be very difficult if you do not speak the language and you will be taken advantage of at every turn until you learn how things work.

I do believe there is a need for what you do. I have experienced one so called even planner who had no idea what she was doing. BUT she had all the right contacts to pull events together.

I do know of a couple of individuals who might be interested in your services....... Let us know how you are doing.
 
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lovesthebeach

Guest
planner said:
It may in fact be an idea. BUT, do you speak Spanish? Do you understand how things work here?

It will be very difficult if you do not speak the language and you will be taken advantage of at every turn until you learn how things work.

I do believe there is a need for what you do. I have experienced one so called even planner who had no idea what she was doing. BUT she had all the right contacts to pull events together.

I do know of a couple of individuals who might be interested in your services....... Let us know how you are doing.


Thank you everyone for your feedback. I figured that you would be the people who would know if something like this would fly!

I will admit that my spanish is somewhat limited....my understanding is good, but speaking is somewhat lacking at this point. I am currently learning so hopefully it will not take long to catch on.

I do know how things work there...I am not new to the "real life" of the dr....obviously I have more to learn and lots to experience but my eyes are wide open and I look forward to it (the good and the challenges).

As for being taken advantage of...I am fortunate that this industry is all about reading people right away, whether on the phone or in person. Being successful in this industry is all about the relationship you have with your client and coming through on your promises.

I love my job and the personal gratification that comes from creating and executing a perfect event. I hope that I can bring together my passion for my work and my love of the DR together...

Thank you,
LTB
 

joecanada

New member
Jan 15, 2004
114
0
0
Some pointers

Best of luck with the move!

Some free advice (so if you don't take it, you don't get your money back!). Most of it is geared towards job hunting, not so much looking for contracts, but I think it's applicable to both.

Bring enough money to live for a few months without working. That way you won't be desperate to take the first job that comes along.

Write a resume and find someplace to print a proper cover letter for each job you apply for. No one does this and it will make you stand out from the crowd. Trust me. The number of foreigners I've had saunter into my place in flipflops expecting a job just because they're foreigners is mind-boggling. If you can't make the extra effort to be professional when applying for a job, that tells me everything I need to know about how you'll perform the job.

Always send your resume to the GM or owner -- not the personel department. Exec level positions are very rarely vacant, but rather vacated if a better candidate comes along and are often very friendly with the person who's jb you want. Often the personel manager has no idea that management is not happy with an exec. Your resume in the right hands might be what makes them make room for you.

Research the place you're applying for. Seriously -- if you can't be bothered learning a little about a place, you're obviously not that interested in working there. On the flip side, a passing knowledge of the history of a business will go a long way in an interview.

Enrol in Spanish classes. I picked up my spanish on the fly and now speak like a motoconcho :). Seriously though, a few classes a week will do wonders for you in learning the language, as will reading the paper (or comics if that's the best you can do). Besides, then you can say you're taking classes when your potential employer asks you about your language abilities -- makes you look pro-active.

Don't mention that you're moving here for your boyfriend. As different as your relationship may be from all the others, most employers are going to be hesitant about someone who's moving here for their boyfriend because they don't want to hire someone and train them only to lose them once they and their special guy break up. As I said, you and your boyfriend might be different, but there's a sterotype for a reason.

Bring some half-decent office clothing with you. You'd be surprised...

Get out there and meet as many people as you can and tell all of them you're looking for work. Post flyers at the supermarket, at the local mail forwarding centre, anywhere you can. Get the word out however you can. Business owners here are always complaining about not being able to find good execs, but there's no mechanism in place to find them. Make yourself easy to find.

Also: Remember that in an expat community everyone knows everyone. That can help or hinder you. Get to know as many people as you can, but try to stay out of the local pissing contests -- you can't win and can only hurt your reputation (and by extension your employability and ability to get clients)

Get a cell phone right away. Not one shared with your man, but your own. That way, when people call you they get you. Also, get a hotmail/yahoo/whatever account and check it daily.

If/when you get an offer, ask around some more about the business. If you keep hearing the same complaint, ask yourself if you really want to work there. Where there's smoke there's fire.

Do some research on salaries and cost of living. If you're thinking in US salary terms, you're in the wrong country. If you want to make the kind of money you'll need to live like a tourist all year and still affort to travel to the US a few times a year, you'd best either open your own business or sell time share. More to the point, employers hate having to educate job applicants on salaries in the DR. Know your value in Dominican Terms.

A lot of this stuff seems pretty obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many people forget it the minute they step off the plane. Remember that the person who owns the business you're applying to is generally not someone who came here to windsurf, but someone who built a business and is there to make $. You have to show how you can help him do that.

Best of luck, and I hope some of this comes in handy.
 
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lovesthebeach

Guest
Thank you for taking the time to share your advice.

I have been reading everyone's comments for awhile and finally was ready to post!

I am glad that people have been more interested in the job info than the boyfriend situation. I truly was expecting to read many negative comments about that...so thank you and everyone else for the help and advice.

When I arrive it will be to be WITH my boyfriend but NOT FOR him. I have to live my life for me and hopefully together it will work out for us.....but if it doesn't I am not someone that will run back home...

The whole reason I am trying to do a little research on the job market to be able to do something I love in a place I love with someone I love.

thank you again....it is so nice when people share their ideas and knowledge to the newbies!

hopefully look forward to meeting you all some day soon.......

LTB
 

jstnorv05

New member
Jun 13, 2005
112
0
0
I work down on Sosua beach and we throw a lot of parties down here. I was talking with the owner, Lou, and ran my idea of contacting you to see if you would be interested in doing some work with us with respect to those parties. The parties usually have between 50-70 people and we ususally hire a band. We throw these parties around 1-2 per month. If you would be interested in speaking with us about this further contact me, Justin or Lou at the New York Shark Bar phone 809-571-2764 or send me an email at newyorksharkbar@yahoo.com .


lovesthebeach said:
Thank you for taking the time to share your advice.

I have been reading everyone's comments for awhile and finally was ready to post!

I am glad that people have been more interested in the job info than the boyfriend situation. I truly was expecting to read many negative comments about that...so thank you and everyone else for the help and advice.

When I arrive it will be to be WITH my boyfriend but NOT FOR him. I have to live my life for me and hopefully together it will work out for us.....but if it doesn't I am not someone that will run back home...

The whole reason I am trying to do a little research on the job market to be able to do something I love in a place I love with someone I love.

thank you again....it is so nice when people share their ideas and knowledge to the newbies!

hopefully look forward to meeting you all some day soon.......

LTB
 
L

lovesthebeach

Guest
My apologies if I am missing something, but I don't see how this site relates to the Dominican Republic or how it could possibly help me or anyone else in the DR.....

LTB
 

Its_where_I_Belong

New member
Nov 5, 2005
102
0
0
Actually they are specialized search consultant (Head Hunters) for the Caribbean And Mexico. Dominican republic is in the Caribbean as far as I can remember!!!

Cheers


Alain
 
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lovesthebeach

Guest
Ok Thanks....Not really what I am about but regardless thank you for the info.
LTB