The best way to find an entry-level job in Houston is to use several job-search methods at the same time: Indeed, staffing agencies, hiring events, temporary-work apps, direct employer websites and face-to-face contact with businesses that hire frequently. Just as important, narrow your search to two or three types of jobs instead of telling yourself, “I’ll take anything.”
If you have little work experience, you probably do not need another lecture about creating a LinkedIn profile and submitting hundreds of applications. You need practical ways to get in front of employers who are willing to train someone.
I’m Nick Bryant, founder of Houston Healthcare Jobs and author of Understanding Healthcare Is Half the Battle. I have worked in Houston healthcare for more than 15 years, and my regular work involves helping people understand complicated systems such as Medicare, Marketplace health insurance and healthcare resources.
One thing I have learned from helping people navigate systems is that knowing where to look can be just as important as working hard. The same applies to finding a job.
First, Decide What Kind of Job You Actually Want
Choosing two or three types of work will make your job search much easier than saying, “I’ll do anything.”
I understand why people say they will take anything. If rent is due, you need money.
But “anything” is difficult to search for.
Instead, choose a few categories that fit your abilities, transportation, schedule and interests.
For example:
- Warehouse and logistics
- Delivery and driving
- Retail
- Restaurants and fast food
- Customer service
- Call centers
- Office and administrative work
- Hotels and hospitality
- Security
- Healthcare support
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Schools
- Apartment communities
- Cleaning and environmental services
You do not have to choose your forever career.
You are simply narrowing the search.
Someone might tell me:
“I want warehouse work, delivery work or a hospital support job.”
Now we have something to work with.
I can give that person specific job titles, employers and staffing agencies instead of sending them a random list of 100 jobs.
Use Indeed, But Search for the Right Words
Indeed can be one of the best places to find entry-level jobs, but you should search for specific entry-level terms and job titles, not simply “jobs in Houston.”
There are currently Houston listings on Indeed specifically labeled entry level, no experience required or paid training.
Start here:
Search entry-level no-experience jobs in Houston on Indeed
Try searching these phrases one at a time:
- Entry level
- No experience
- No experience required
- Will train
- Paid training
- On-the-job training
- Trainee
- Apprentice
- Helper
- Associate
- Assistant
- Team member
- Crew member
- Immediate hire
- Hiring immediately
- Open interviews
- Walk-in interviews
- Hiring event
Then search actual job titles.
For customer service and office work, try:
- Customer Service Representative
- Call Center Representative
- Receptionist
- Front Desk Representative
- Administrative Assistant
- Office Assistant
- Data Entry Clerk
- Appointment Scheduler
For warehouse work, try:
- Warehouse Associate
- Warehouse Worker
- Order Picker
- Order Puller
- Material Handler
- Package Handler
- Shipping Associate
- Receiving Associate
- Production Associate
- Assembly Worker
For retail and restaurants, try:
- Retail Associate
- Stocking Associate
- Cashier
- Team Member
- Crew Member
- Food Service Worker
- Restaurant Team Member
For driving and transportation, try:
- Delivery Driver
- Driver Helper
- Route Driver
- Courier
- Valet
- Parking Attendant
For healthcare support, try:
- Patient Transporter
- Patient Sitter
- Patient Access Representative
- Registration Representative
- Dietary Aide
- Environmental Services
- Hospital Housekeeper
- Specimen Processor
The job title matters.
Many people tell me they cannot find work when the bigger problem is that they do not know what employers call the work they are qualified to do.
Contact Houston Staffing Agencies
Staffing agencies can help you get into a company that might otherwise overlook your online application.
Instead of trying to figure out which Houston staffing agency handles your particular type of work, I created a guide that separates Houston staffing agencies by industry.
It includes agencies for areas such as:
- Administrative and clerical work
- Construction
- Energy
- Engineering
- Food service and hospitality
- Finance
- General staffing
- Industrial work
- IT
- Medical jobs
- Warehouse jobs
- Employment assistance for people with criminal records
- Employment resources for immigrants and refugees
See my Houston staffing-agency guide organized by industry
Do not register with only one staffing agency.
If you are looking for warehouse work, for example, I would contact several agencies that regularly place warehouse and industrial workers.
Tell the recruiter exactly what you want:
“I’m looking for warehouse or production work in northwest Houston. I can work days or evenings, I have reliable transportation and I can start immediately.”
That is much easier for a recruiter to work with than:
“Do you have any jobs?”
Ask Staffing Agencies About Temp-to-Hire Jobs
Temp-to-hire jobs can give someone with limited experience an opportunity to prove themselves before an employer makes a permanent hiring decision.
Your résumé might not look impressive yet.
Your work ethic can.
If a company needs five warehouse workers Monday morning, a staffing company may be able to get you through the door much faster than a traditional corporate application.
Once you arrive, your job becomes simple:
Show up.
Show up on time.
Learn.
Stay productive.
Be someone the supervisor does not have to worry about.
A temporary assignment can create the recent work experience that was missing from your résumé.
Try Instawork for Flexible and Entry-Level Shifts
Instawork can help Houston workers find flexible hourly shifts while they continue searching for permanent employment.
The platform offers work that can include hospitality, warehouse, picking and packing, food service and similar hourly positions. Instawork specifically identifies some shifts as entry-level positions.
Learn how Instawork works and look for available shifts
I would not necessarily use an app like Instawork as my entire career plan.
I would use it strategically.
If you have been unemployed for three months, working several shifts gives you something recent to talk about in an interview.
It can also put some money in your pocket while you continue applying for permanent positions.
Attend Houston Hiring Events Every Week
Hiring events can give you something an online application cannot: face-to-face access to employers.
Workforce Solutions Gulf Coast maintains an active Houston-area events calendar with hiring events, job fairs, job-readiness programs and employer recruiting events.
See upcoming Workforce Solutions Gulf Coast hiring events
I would check that calendar every week if I were unemployed.
Workforce Solutions events can cover industries such as:
- Warehousing
- Manufacturing
- Transportation
- Security
- Government
- Food service
- Customer service
- Education
- Skilled trades
- Healthcare
Some events specifically advertise that hiring managers or recruiters will be onsite. Workforce Solutions has also hosted events where employers interview candidates during the event itself.
That is very different from sending application number 87 into an online system.
Search Eventbrite for Houston Job Fairs
Eventbrite is another place to look for Houston hiring events, career fairs and employer recruiting events.
Search terms such as:
- Houston hiring event
- Houston job fair
- Houston career fair
- Warehouse hiring event Houston
- Healthcare hiring event Houston
- Veterans job fair Houston
- Entry-level hiring event Houston
There are Houston career fairs currently advertised on Eventbrite where applicants can meet recruiters and hiring managers face-to-face.
Search Houston job fairs on Eventbrite
Check it periodically because events change throughout the year.
Look for Houston Healthcare Hiring Events
If you specifically want a hospital, clinic or healthcare job, I maintain a separate Houston Healthcare Jobs hiring-event guide.
It includes links to employers such as:
- Harris Health System
- Memorial Hermann
- HCA Houston Healthcare
- Houston Methodist
- MD Anderson
- Kelsey-Seybold
- CVS
- DaVita
- UnitedHealth Group
- Harris County Public Health
See Houston healthcare hiring events and employer career-event pages
Healthcare hiring events can be especially useful for people who completed a certification but keep hearing the same problem:
“You need experience.”
If you are a new medical assistant, pharmacy technician, CNA, phlebotomist or other entry-level healthcare worker, meeting recruiters gives you another way to explain what you know besides letting an applicant-tracking system judge you first.
Do Not Be Afraid to Walk Into Restaurants and Retail Businesses
Applying online first and then introducing yourself to a manager can still work well for restaurants, retail stores and other businesses with frequent employee turnover.
Yes, most large companies want applications submitted online.
Do that first.
Then consider going to the location during a slower time.
Say something simple:
“Hi, I applied online for the team-member position and wanted to introduce myself. Is the hiring manager available?”
Do not walk into a packed restaurant during lunch or dinner and demand an interview.
Use common sense.
There is a Whataburger near my office, and I have seen applicants sitting in booths interviewing with managers plenty of times.
That tells you something.
Online applications have not completely eliminated local managers from the hiring process.
Restaurants still need people to show up for shifts. Retail stores still lose employees. Hotels still need rooms cleaned. Warehouses still need orders pulled.
Sometimes getting your name and face in front of the person running the location helps.
Target Businesses That Hire Large Numbers of Entry-Level Workers
Businesses with large workforces and frequent turnover can provide more entry-level opportunities than small companies that employ ten people.
Consider businesses such as:
- Whataburger
- McDonald's
- Chick-fil-A
- Raising Cane's
- H-E-B
- Kroger
- Walmart
- Target
- Grocery stores
- Hotels
- Car washes
- Storage facilities
- Apartment communities
- Senior-living facilities
- Hospitals
- Warehouses
- Manufacturing plants
- Security companies
- Restaurant chains
Do not assume these jobs only lead to more entry-level work.
Someone can start as a restaurant team member and become a shift leader or manager.
A hospital transporter can eventually move into another hospital department.
A warehouse associate can become a lead or supervisor.
Your first job does not have to be your last job.
Use WorkInTexas in Addition to Indeed
WorkInTexas gives Texas job seekers another free place to search for employers and build their job search.
The Texas Workforce Commission describes WorkInTexas as the state's large free job-matching network, with job matching, résumé tools and career resources.
Visit WorkInTexas
There is no reason to depend completely on one website.
Indeed might show one set of employers.
WorkInTexas may expose you to another.
A staffing agency may know about a job that has not even reached either website yet.
That is why using several methods matters.
Apply Directly on Employer Career Websites
Once you identify companies you want to work for, check their official career websites instead of relying entirely on Indeed.
For example, if you decide you want healthcare support work, identify five or ten Houston hospital systems and check them every week.
If you want grocery or retail work, identify the stores within a reasonable commute from your home.
If you want warehouse work, identify major logistics and distribution companies near your part of Houston.
This is another reason I like narrowing the job search.
Instead of:
“I need a job.”
You now have:
“I want an entry-level warehouse job within 15 miles of my house, preferably paying at least $17 per hour.”
Now you can actually build a list of companies.
Look at Houston Industries People Commonly Overlook
Entry-level jobs exist in many places that applicants never think to search.
For example, apartment communities may hire:
- Porters
- Groundskeepers
- Leasing assistants
- Maintenance helpers
Hotels may hire:
- Front-desk staff
- Housekeepers
- Laundry attendants
- Banquet staff
- Maintenance workers
Hospitals may hire:
- Patient transporters
- Food-service workers
- Housekeepers
- Patient sitters
- Registration representatives
Schools may hire:
- Custodians
- Food-service employees
- Bus monitors
- Teacher aides
- Clerical workers
Car dealerships may hire:
- Lot attendants
- Porters
- Valets
- Detailers
Senior-living communities may hire:
- Dining staff
- Housekeepers
- Caregivers
- Activities assistants
- Receptionists
You may have more options than you realize.
Stop Saying You Have No Experience
Many entry-level job seekers actually have useful experience; they just do not know how to describe it.
If you worked fast food, you may have experience with:
- Customer service
- Cash handling
- Teamwork
- Food safety
- High-volume environments
- Conflict resolution
If you worked for a moving company, you may have:
- Delivery experience
- Loading and unloading
- Customer service
- Logistics experience
- Physical stamina
- Route familiarity
If you worked in a warehouse, you may have:
- Picking and packing
- Inventory
- Shipping
- Receiving
- Barcode scanners
- Safety procedures
If you cared for a family member, volunteered at church or helped with community events, you may also have transferable skills.
Do not lie on your résumé.
But do not erase your own experience either.
Tell Friends and Family Exactly What Kind of Work You Need
Personal referrals can help, but specific requests usually work better than posting, “Who is hiring?”
Try this instead:
“Does anybody work at a warehouse, hospital, hotel or delivery company in Houston that is hiring entry-level workers?”
Now people know what information to send you.
You can also check:
- Neighborhood Facebook groups
- Community Facebook groups
- Church groups
- Alumni groups
- Nextdoor
- Professional associations
- Community organizations
Be careful with informal job postings.
Never pay someone just to submit an application for you, and verify the company before providing Social Security numbers, banking information or other sensitive information.
Follow Up After You Apply
Following up can make sense when you are applying to smaller employers, restaurants, retail stores, medical offices and locally managed businesses.
A short follow-up is enough:
“Hi, my name is ____. I submitted an application for the warehouse associate position earlier this week. I wanted to confirm that you're still interviewing for the role and see whether there is anything else you need from me.”
You do not need to call every employer five times.
The goal is simply to separate yourself from the pile when appropriate.
What Should You Do Every Day If You Are Unemployed?
A good Houston job-search routine should create several legitimate employer contacts every weekday without forcing you to submit 50 random applications.
I would try something like this:
Apply to five targeted jobs.
These should be jobs you reasonably qualify for.
Contact at least one staffing agency.
If you already registered, check in about new assignments.
Check Instawork or another temporary-work source.
Look for opportunities to earn money and build recent work history.
Check Workforce Solutions and Eventbrite for hiring events.
You may find an event later that week.
Contact or visit two local employers.
This works particularly well for restaurants, retail, hotels and other locally managed businesses.
That gives you multiple opportunities every day without turning your job search into mindless clicking.
Track where you applied.
Write down:
- Company
- Position
- Date
- Contact person
- Follow-up date
- Interview date
- Result
Treat finding a job like a job.
The Best Way to Find an Entry-Level Job in Houston
The best way to find an entry-level job in Houston is to combine Indeed, staffing agencies, Workforce Solutions hiring events, Eventbrite job fairs, Instawork, WorkInTexas, employer career pages and direct contact with businesses.
More importantly, stop searching for “anything.”
Pick two or three job lanes.
Learn the job titles employers use.
Contact several employers every day.
Go where hiring managers actually are.
And remember that your first goal does not have to be finding your dream career.
Sometimes the first goal is simply getting through the door, earning a paycheck, building experience and putting yourself in a better position for the next opportunity.