If your spouse or partner is in the market for a Portland sporting goods job – or apparel industry job – he or she is in luck. Many leading sporting goods and apparel companies call Portland home. Best of all, most of these companies are growing, and advertising new jobs all the time.
We’re Portland IT recruiters who got our start locating the best technical talent for Portland apparel and sporting goods companies. So we know there are always great software developer jobs and IT jobs at top Portland companies like Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Yakima, and LaCrosse Footwear. But that’s just the toe of the boot. These companies also hire designers, production managers, accountants, HR specialists, supply-chain managers and more.
With all these great, thriving sporting goods and apparel companies, your spouse is sure to find something to float his or her boat. Shameless plug alert: Our sister company, Generator Group specializes in recruitment for sporting goods, apparel and outdoor companies. If you’d like some help in these industries, call them!
Top Portland sporting goods and apparel companies
Portland is home to some of the best apparel and sporting goods companies, including anchor companies Nike and Columbia Sportswear, and smaller companies like Nau, known for sustainable urban performance clothing. This cluster of great sporting goods and sports apparel players attracts creative product designers, marketers and other professionals to Portland.
Nike Inc.
Nike’s world headquarters are located on a sprawling 140-acre campus in Beaverton, just outside Portland. Nike offers great perks to its 5,000 Beaverton employees, including sabbaticals, extra-long lunch breaks for exercising, and alternative transportation incentives - plus a shuttle from MAX light rail to the Nike campus. Nike is almost always hiring in a number of different operational areas.
Keen
If you pay attention to outdoor footwear, you’ve probably noticed Keen. With 126 employees - and adding more all the time - Keen was rated by Outside Magazine as one of the 50 best companies to work for in the outdoor and adventure industry. Keen moved to Portland in 2006 because it’s such a hotbed of footwear talent and a center for outdoor activities. Despite its fast growth, Keen strives to make every employee feel valued and known by name. The company provides bikes for employees’ use at lunchtime and after work; annual profit sharing; lockers and showers; and the Keen “living room,” where employees can gather to eat, socialize and play.
Adidas
North Portland is home to the headquarters of Adidas America, located on a cutting-edge urban campus that was once a hospital. The company tries to outpace competitors when it comes to employee perks such as group exercise classes and fitness evaluations, personal trainers, bicycle share programs, coffee shops, company-wide sporting events, and flex time. Adidas has many open jobs in a variety of areas, from marketing to engineering to recruiting.
More resources for sporting goods jobs and outdoor industry jobs [h2]
The Portland Business Journal is a good resource for searching current local jobs. Here’s the paper’s list of sporting goods industry and outdoor industry jobs:
Tooting our own trumpet again: While EnGn’s specialty is NW or Portland technical staffing, our sister company, Generator Group, specializes in sporting goods jobs and outdoor industry jobs. We invite you to contact Generator if your significant other is looking for job at one of Portland’s many outdoor, sporting goods or apparel companies.
Onboarding Checklist: Setting up New Employees for Success
The benefits of a successful onboarding process are extensive and substantial for both companies and employees.
For employees, the biggest tangible benefits are lower turnover rates and increased job performance. These cut recruitment costs, boost productivity and improve profits.
For new employees, an effective onboarding program leads to increased job satisfaction and reduced stress. It should come as no surprise that these positive effects for employers and employees are deeply interconnected.
Of course, each organization has its own particular needs and process style. But a few common elements go into the design of every effective employee onboarding process.
Onboarding Checklist: 5 Steps to Success
Planning
Developing a successful onboarding program requires first understanding the processes and stakeholders. A holistic grasp of the pieces and players helps the onboarding team provide each new hire a clear vision of their role, responsibilities, and place within the organization.
- Identify key players
- Outline relevant processes
- Compile introductory materials
- Ensure that office supplies and space are ready
Orientation - 7 to 14 days prior to employee's start date
Orientation typically happens one to two weeks prior to the employee's start date. It can be a one-on-one session or, if multiple new hires are starting at the same time, a group event. The primary goal of orientation is to help new hires prepare for their first day.
- Present company background and history
- Review administrative policies
- Take care of logistical needs like parking passes, access cards, etc.
- Assign a sponsor or mentor
Socialization - Day 1 to 90
The socialization process helps integrate new hires into the organization. It facilitates the proper development of working relationships, collaboration and understanding of company culture and processes. This is arguably the most important - and most overlooked - period of the onboarding process.
- Introduce key stakeholders and co-workers to the employee
- Check in frequently, and answer questions as needed
- Explain job responsibilities and expectations as often as necessary
- Assign work to the employee, and ensure he or she understands the assignments
- Provide early, timely and constructive feedback
- Solicit feedback on the onboarding process from the employee and his/her colleagues, and adjust as needed
Development - 180 days after start date
After six months, the employer should give the employee a performance evaluation and review. This helps identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. The outcome of the evaluation and review should be a development plan crafted by the manager and employee to help improve performance. A development plan has another benefit: It tells the employee that the company is invested in him or her, and so encouraged greater employee commitment.
- Conduct performance evaluation
- Create development plan
Monitoring - Ongoing
After the first months, most employees are pretty familiar with their new role and responsibilities. However, it's crucial for managers to continue monitoring employees - this is the only way to assure continuous improvement. Regular meetings bring issues and challenges to light early, and help both the manager and the employee make changes as needed.
- Regular one-on-one meetings with manager
- Make modifications as needed
- Ensure continuous improvement
A successful onboarding process yields business benefits and greater job satisfaction for new employees, their managers, and colleagues. If you don't have a formal onboarding process yet, it's time to jump aboard!
Does your organization use an onboarding checklist? Which processes have proven to be the most valuable in your company or industry? Share in the comments section below!
If you do leverage onboarding as a valuable tool to welcoming new employees we would be curious at what level in the organization you provide it? Great for CTO's, VP of I.T., Directors of Software Engineering but just as useful for the new to Portland .net software engineer as well.
Portland is paradise for foodies. If you’ve been lucky enough to land a Portland software developer job or other Portland IT job, and your beloved is in the food industry, finding a job for your spouse should be a piece of cake.
Portland’s cup runneth over with restaurants offering cuisine of many cultures, from Arab to Indian to Hawaiian to Ethiopian. If you’ve read anything about Portland in the last few years, you’re probably aware the city is chock-full of innovative and delicious food carts. (Portland IT recruiters like to eat, too!) Aside from food service, Portland is also home to some amazing supermarkets and food manufacturers - all doing well, and hiring.
New Seasons Market
Along with the rest of the Portland technical industry, we love supporting our local grocery chain, New Seasons Market. With seven stores located in and around Portland, New Seasons is the place to go for sustainable, local and organic produce, meats and seafood. The company works with local farmers to get the best produce and keep prices low.
New Seasons offers its employees stellar benefits, including health insurance to all employees working at least one shift per week, 20 percent off on all New Seasons purchases, 401K with matching company contributions, paid vacations, flexible scheduling and much more. No wonder New Seasons employees stick around! But the company opens new stores on a pretty regular schedule, so you’ll see New Seasons hiring on an ongoing basis.
Whole Foods Market
Listed as one of Fortune Magazine’s 100 best companies to work for since 1998, Whole Foods treats its employees well with personal wellness accounts for expenses, comprehensive health insurance including dental and vision, stock options, leaves of absence, paid time off, and employee discounts.
Whole Foods has multiple locations in and around Portland, and the company is often hiring. In addition to grocery service job and cooking jobs, the company often lists software developer jobs and IT jobs.
Portland Food Manufacturers
With strong statewide agriculture, and a history of food innovation, the Portland metro area hosts hundreds of food manufacturers, ranging from famous brands like Widmer Brothers Brewery and Bob’s Red Mill to small artisan distilleries and ice cream makers, with purveyors of organically raised meats, gluten-free bakeries and Asian food specialists in between.
Check out Portland food manufacturing jobs here:
Portland Restaurants
Portland is the place to be if you love dining out. (We do!). Many foodie trendsetters live in Portland, and Portland restaurants are in the first wave of new, exciting food concepts.
Portland is home to the first USDA-certified salumeria - Olympic Provisions - and is a capital of cutting-edge vegan cuisine, too. You can eat amazing pizza at places like Sizzle Pie, Ken’s Artisan Pizza and Apizza Scholls, or enjoy Thai street food as interpreted by Andy Ricker at Portland restaurants Pok Pok, Whiskey Soda Lounge and Pok Pok Noi. (Ricker opened two New York branches of Pok Pok this year.) Want something different? Portland has it.
If your partner is looking for a Portland restaurant job, check out http://portland.poachedjobs.com/
Culinary Schools
Maybe you’re happy with your Portland IT job, but your partner is hungering for a career in the food industry. Portland is home to three culinary arts schools: Oregon Culinary Institute, Le Cordon Bleu and Art Institute of Portland Culinary Program. We’re really spoiled for choice here in Portland!
We hope your significant other won’t be overwhelmed with all of the possibilities! Want to chat about life and jobs in Portland? Are you looking for Technical Staffing firm to represent you when looking for your next position or contract Contact us. Also take a look at a few reasons why it is good to work with us here.
Is your significant other looking for a green job? Check out our post on Portland's sustainability industry.
For a posting we did on some food and entertainment see this blog post.
Also note
Green Jobs Abound in Portland
So you’re considering a move to Portland to take that hot technology job. But your significant other is wondering what kind of work is available – and not sure where to start looking.
Good news! If your life partner is interested in sustainability, Portland is the place to be. With roofs of commercial buildings turned into gardens or topped with windmills and solar panels, a city code that allows for cob buildings, and commitment to mass transit, bicycles and foot travel, Portland is one of the most eco-friendly cities in America. The best part about Portland’s environmental rep? We have loads of green jobs.
Here at EnGn, we’re technology job recruiters. We know many job candidates need to think about spouses who aren’t software developers, Ruby programmers, or any other stripe of technologist we could place in a good technology job.
With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of some Portland sustainability companies that are rising stars – and currently hiring to fill some great green jobs.
Vestas Wind Systems
Denmark-based Vestas is a leading wind turbine manufacturer with offices and production facilities all over the world. Its Portland offices are in a newly renovated historic building in the swanky Pearl District – very conveniently located for almost any nice Portland neighborhood. Vestas employs about 400 people in Portland, and is actively hiring.
Agilyx
Another alternative energy company, Agilyx, takes hard-to-recycle plastics and turns them into synthetic crude oil. Located in Beaverton, a small city that’s adjacent to Portland, Agilyx is a fast-growing company that landed $25 million in funding late last year. The company is looking for engineers who are passionate about helping to scale Agilyx’s solution for turning waste plastic into fuel, and helping to reduce America’s oil dependency.
SERA Architects
SERA is an award-winning architecture firm that has helped to create Portland’s reputation for sustainable architecture and green building. The 90-employee firm is located in Portland’s vibrant Pearl District, and offers urban design and planning, interior design and consulting services, in addition to traditional architectural design services. SERA practices what it preaches, following Natural Step guidelines for office sustainability, and providing employees with incentives to use sustainable transportation for commuting to work. SERA’s robust benefits package includes multiple retirement plans and continuing education. (Speaking as technology recruiters, we know those are some serious perks!)
Ecova
Ecova, a division of publicly traded Avista Corp., provides facilities management and energy management solutions that help businesses and utilities reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts, and become more sustainable. Headquartered in Spokane, Washington, Ecova employs more than 1,000 people at multiple locations around the country, including Portland. The company is growing and hiring.
Need more green jobs resources? Sustainable Business Oregon, a publication of the Portland Business Journal, has a page devoted to green jobs:
Staye tuned as we will be posting a few more blogs on other industries/clusters that could be helpful for those who are new to town.
Looking for software developer, software QA, Database Admin, Business Analyst, Network Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical engineering, and other technology jobs in Portland? Review our jobs by clicking below or contact us.
If you are interested in being a consultant or working with a unique Portland technical staffing firm to augment a project see our Why EnGn Page?
Bikes, gourmet food, beer, beautiful countryside…it’s all any Portland software developer could ask for. (Portland has great software jobs, too – just ask us!)
The Gourmet Century took place last weekend, launching the unofficial long-bike-ride season in Portland, Oregon. It’s been sponsored for a few years by Chris King Precision Components, a bike components manufacturer and retailer located in Northwest Portland.
For some Portland tech folks, the Gourmet Century is the premium organized ride of the summer – a chance to ride 100 kilometers of beautiful countryside, while enjoying gourmet food, beer and wine along the way.
Portland tech folks – and other bicycle-obsessed types – started the day early, with a sumptuous breakfast at Chris King headquarters, cooked by Chris King’s own chef, Robert McSpadden. (Lucky Chris King employees are fed by McSpadden every day!) Then they climbed on their bikes and rode up and over Portland’s West Hills, stopping for a snack before pedaling west.
Cyclists ascended as much as 1,000 feet in some spots to enjoy breathtaking views. The lunch, afternoon and dinner stops were catered by McSpadden, along with chefs Jason French of Ned Ludd, Chris DiMinno of Clyde Common, and John Gorham of Toro Bravo – all well-loved Portland restaurants.
In the words of one avid biker and software developer we know, “every bike ride should be in such beautiful places, and involve great food.”
Plenty of long rides for Portland software developers and I.T. Pros. [H2]
The Gourmet Century isn’t the only event that combines Portland’s biggest obsessions: bicycles, food, beer and wine:
- The Portland Century, scheduled for August 19, is a popular blend of biking, countryside, good food and beer. The Portland Century can be enjoyed as a 100-mile, 80-mile or 40-mile day, depending on your strength, stamina and ambition.
- Harvest Century – A 100-mile, 75-mile, 45-mile or 3-mile ride that starts and ends in Hillsboro, where farmland still graces the rolling hills. The ride, like other centuries, includes meals, snacks, wine and beer. Live music, too.
- Cycle Oregon is a major event – a week-long or weekend ride that’s not for the untrained or faint of heart. This year’s one-week event marks the 25th anniversary of Cycle Oregon, and it’s sold out. There’s a waiting list for the weekend ride. This is the real all-in deal, with everything laid on: not just food, but sleeping arrangements, massage and entertainment, and a route that shows off the many beauties of Oregon.
- Bridge Pedal- A celebration of urban biking, Bridge Pedal is an annual ride over Portland’s Willamette River bridges. This year’s ride is scheduled for August 12th, and it will cover all 10 bridges. Food? You bet. Participants in Bridge Pedal can also go to Bite of Oregon for free. The nosh-for-charity event takes place on August 10-12, and benefits Special Olympics. Beer? Yes, of course. Wine, too. It’s Portland, remember?
Have we left out any great rides? Tell us in the comments section below, and we’ll add them to the list.
New offering recognizes outdoor industry's need for exec-level IT talent
Portland, Ore. - Generator Group, a leading executive recruitment and talent management firm for the outdoor sports industry, today announced a new service offering that focuses on the outdoor industry's growing need for senior-level IT talent. The new service is an extension of Generator Group's SureHire Search program - an innovative search and selection process designed to identify high quality candidates. SureHire Search IT services announement coincides with the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market event taking place this week in Salt Lake City, UT.
"More and more companies in the outdor industry are adopting sophisticated technology solutions in order to efficiently integrate product design, operations and supply chain management," notes Enrique Washington, CEO of Generator Group. "SureHire Search IT is tailored to deliver against the increasing need to find high caliber IT Talent."
The Outdoor Industry Association 2011 Manufacturer Benchmark Report published by the Profit Planning Group is a proof point to the growing need for IT talent in the industry. The report indicates more than 40% of surveyed companies plan to implement a new CRM system and appoximately 80% either already have or plan to adopt ERP systems. This means that a third of the companies in the outdoor industry are moving to sophisticated technology solutions for mission critical operations.
The SureHire Search model delivers the highest level of resources to predict a great hire. The innovative search and selection process provides qualitative assessments based on accountability, performance and results and is designed to identify candidates who will become high performance employees. The proven methodology can increase talent selection accuracy by as much as 50 percent over standard interviews.
SureHire Search IT represents the integration between Generator Group and its subsidiary EnGn LLC. Founded in 2011, EnGn provides executive search and technical recruiting services for a wide range of software, hardware and IT professionals for fulltime, part-time and contract positions.
About Generator Group
Founded in January 2000 by three former Nike recruiters, Generator Group was created to fulfill a single, unique vision: To take the successful talent-acquisition skills used by Fortune 100 businesses and develop them for small and medium businesses. Headed by talent-management experts who understand the needs of organizations with limited resources, Generator Group's goal is to increase the hiring success rate for growing businesses while providing them with the talent-management skills needed to survive and thrive.
For more information contact:
Jeremy Barnaby, President, EnGn
Enrique Washington, CEO, Generator Group
You’re considering an awesome Ruby programmer job in Portland, and you’re wondering what the city has to offer for families with kids.
You’re in luck, especially if you’re flying into Portland with the family for your interview. We’re here to tell you that kids and summer go together in Portland like bacon and doughnuts. You might wonder what a Portland technical staffing agency knows about summer activities for kids…but we’re family people, too! We’ve tried almost every family summer activity option in and around Portland, and we’re happy to share some of our favorites.
Head downtown to Director Park 
Portland is full of great parks. This urban park is a win-win for the whole family: kids get to play and parents get to eat and have an actual conversation. You’ll often see people focused on their laptops in Director Park – evidence that many Portland tech jobs offer leeway on working outside the office. (Yes, Portland technical staffing people like to work outside, too!)
Located in the heart of downtown Portland, Director Park boasts a fountain, plus Portland gourmet deli Elephants Delicatessen just a hop, skip and a jump away. Grab a table, grab some delicious, healthy grub, and let the kids play. Then head down the street to Tartberry a Portland frozen yogurt shop with toppings galore.
Pick berries on Sauvie Island 
Sauvie Island is a little piece of rural life, located in the Willamette River at the northern edge of Portland. It’s a perfect day trip and a one-stop shop for all the delicacies of summer. Head to Sauvie Island every summer month for something new: in June for melt-in-your-mouth Hood strawberries; July for raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries; and August for peaches. Be sure to seek out Sauvie Island’s sandy beaches along the Columbia River to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labors. You can even catch an evening concert at Kruger Farm if everyone’s not too tired. Note of caution: There is a clothing-optional beach on Sauvie Island – something for parents to keep in mind when choosing where to settle for the afternoon.
Splash in the Jamison Square Fountain
Kill an afternoon, Portland style. Located in the Pearl District of Northwest Portland, Jamison Square Fountain is all about relaxation and location. Small children love the fountain’s wading pool, and older ones enjoy climbing on the water-spewing rock wall. The grassy area next to fountain is a great place for parents to relax while keeping an eye on the kids.
The park is a perfect urban picnic spot, with pizza, burritos, and microbrews available just a few steps away from locally-owned Laughing Planet and Hot Lips Pizza. They’re located in the beautifully restored historic Ecotrust building, a well-known Portland landmark that’s also a popular wedding spot. Note: Hot Lips has an awesome happy hour with specials on pizza and delicious beer. Technical recruiters love beer, too ;-)
Concerts in Mt. Tabor Park
Pack a picnic supper and get ready to boogie! Mt. Tabor Park is just one of several Portland parks that host free summer concerts –
but it’s a special one. What other park can boast a natural amphitheater created by volcanic eruption? Yes, Mt. Tabor really is an extinct volcano – you can throw your picnic blanket on the ground, right next to the cinder cone.
Before or after the show, climb to the top of Mt. Tabor. It’s an easy hike for anyone of any age, and you can watch catch the sun setting behind downtown. For more excitement, take a spin on the merry-go- round beneath the mature-growth Douglas firs.
This is just a short list of all the great things you and your family can enjoy during a mild Portland summer. Want to know more about living in Portland? Please email us – we’re happy to answer your questions, and who knows? We may even have the perfect tech job for you.
On July 7th we (my wife Heidi and I )participated in the Hagg Lake Tri-athalon. This was a return to the event we did as a company for our 10 yr anniversary. It was an absolutely incredible day with crystal clear skies and water temperature that were close to 70. 
We did the sprint this year which turned out to be a good distance for us:
Sprint Triathlon*
- .5mi swim
-12.5mi bike ride
-3.2mi run
Both of us felt great during the race and other than wasting time swimming in the wrong direction while blinded by the sun we finished without a hiccup.
The best part was bumping into my friend Steve Dunn who I met 8 years ago when I recruited him to Hanna Andersson for their CIO executive search. Steve and his wife were racking their bikes
just across from me as we got settled before the start of the race. With some pre-race butterflies we did not get much of chance to connect until after the race. When we did we learned that this was their fourth or fifth tri already this year. Both him and his wife have grown to love the Portland area and are thriving in the outdoor/active culture. It was so great to see Steve and to know that he really had found a home in Portland and with Hanna after 8 yrs.
One of the many wonderful things about our field is that we do get to introduce people to this great area and all that it offers. For our client they got a great executive for the last eight years and I have to say after chasing Steve the entire race I think his acclimation process is complete!
As I left I began to ponder whether or not I should send my technical recruiters out to local
tri-athalons to find good talent, maybe so. Great running into you Steve! :-)
We are excited to be going as a team to the FriendsRaiser tonight. Should be a great evening of good food, wine, and company. We hope FOTC raises a bunch of $$ for the kids! Thank you to all of our clients and contractors that help give to this great organization through their business and hard work respectively!
More than 750 of Portland’s business and community leaders gathered together on Thursday, May 12, 2011 for the 2011 Friend Raiser presented by KeyBank. Last year’s event raised more than $1.4 million!
Thanks to the continued success of this event, Friends of the Children has been able to provide professional mentors to more of our community’s most vulnerable children. We have increased the number of youth we serve to over 375 children in over 100 schools in the Portland metropolitan area. We extend a heartfelt thank you to all sponsors, donors, guests, volunteers and everyone involved in making each Friend Raiser a huge success!
The Quest Foundation is offering a generous Challenge Match of $132,000 at this year’s Friend Raiser. This funding will support 4 Friends and 32 youth in our program. We hope you will help us to reach our goal! Make a donation now.
We hope you’ll join us this year! For additional questions please contact Allison Pauletto at apauletto@friendsofthechildren.org.
Corporate sponsorship opportunities are still available. Benefits and levels are outlined here. Purchase your corporate sponsorship here.
Parking is available under the medical building and the open-air lots on 2800 N Graham Street. A shuttle driver will be available.
How do we define Technical Recruitment? At EnGn (www.theEnGn.com), a specialized technical staffing firm in Portland, OR, we like to say it is the closest thing to being a professional athlete as it comes.
Probably doesn’t make sense, but I will elaborate more. A professional athlete experiences the highest highs and lowest lows during a single game. In one moment an incredible play or shot puts you in the lead only to have victory snatched from your grasp by late foul charge and a 45 yard field goal. The emotional and physical roller coaster is hard to match. 
While our bodies may not be getting abused by a 300 pound slab of muscle trained to kill us, in technical recruitment we still ride the highs and lows. An example is when we find and recruit a person that represents .0003% of the workforce who is a gifted software architect capable of designing enterprise, Ios or droid mobile, and cloud base applications willing to move to Portland Oregon and make 10% less than the market is commanding. YES..! Finding that person is like hitting a three pointer at the buzzer. There are days when we scour the landscape for technical talent only to receive 25 no’s, 15 maybes, and 7 hang ups – brutal right? Not even close. Making calls to people and offering an opportunity to consider $125k+ job is not so bad. 
Our lows are when you found the person (mentioned aboved) and then walk them right up the finish line where our client loves them, they love the job and client, and then have the offer declined because the "trailing partner" gets accepted to a PHD program for the study of micro-chameleons in Madagascar. Now that stings! Your candidate is gone, client is blown-away because they just saw their window to build the next best thing vanish and we are sitting empty handed with a substantial fee wiped from the proverbial WIN board.
Suck it up! "First place is a new Cadillac, second place is a set of steak knives, third place is... you're fired" This is a game where you are guaranteed to be under .500. You WILL lose more than you win.
You may ask, why do people jump into this career then? My answer will be formulated during this 6 month blog topic, but I will leave you with one word and one phrase. Word: Adrenaline. Phrase: I am 5 foot 8, with a size 9 shoe size; I will never be a pro athlete. Stay tuned for our next edition of “the day in the life of technical recruitment” as we will dive deep into the caverns of this profession.