Question:
I'm interested in moving to a different area of the country but I would like to land a job there before I move. How do I do that?
First Answer:
It's easier to get a new job when you already are employed, and certainly, before you move. I suggest that you use your existing contacts where you currently live to make new contacts in the area you want to live in, before you move. Don't overlook your alumni association and other groups with whom you are affiliated. Companies in your area might be looking for people to work in other areas of the country, as well. The Internet and classified ads in local papers are also good ways to find out what the going rate and availability is for jobs you might like, in other areas of the country.
-- Alison Blackman Dunham, life & career expert, columnist, personal public relations consultant, half of THE ADVICE SISTERS®, and the author of the ASK ALISON career advice column.
Second Answer:
You need to make inquiries some months in advance of your anticiapated move date. You should begin my surveying the local job market, identifying companies that might need your skills. Be sure to get contact names and not just HR dept information. Check out each business's wsebsite and learn as much as you can about them so that your cover letter reflects this insider knowledge and you can demonstrate with specifics how your background makes you the best candidate. This applies to both open postitons and writing a general letter of introduction. Remember to follow-up your letters with a phone call the next week and to request a preliminary telephone interview. Make sure that you tell them in your intitial correspondence that you will be relocating and the date. You might still be elegible for a moving allowance and travel expenses, but don't count on it. If they are interested in meeting you in person, arrange this one one of your trips there ar if you aren't planning on a visit, ask if they will pay your way if it exceeds $50. Rmember also that relocation for work is a tax- deductible expense!!
Another way would be to scan local internet job boards and the national web sites for opportunties where you want to move, but this is certain to be less effective than doing the research described above. Good luck.
-- Debra Feldman, founder of JobWhiz, creator of the JOBWHIZQUIZ, and specialist in cyber savvy strategic job search consultations.
Third Answer:
Here are some steps to consider when mounting a long-distance job search:
- Learn as much as you can about the city to which you wish to relocate, if for
no other reason than to make sure that's where you really want to be. Make sure
you'll be able to afford the cost of living in that city. Decide whether you'll
be content with the city's climate and cultural offerings. Lots of sites on
the Internet can help with city research and relocation information.
See http://www.quintcareers.com/jobseeker_guide/relocation_resources.html
,
especially the city information available at WetFeet.com and Experience.com .
- In the "old days," job-seekers who wanted to move to a new city would
subscribe to the new city's newspaper, particularly the Sunday edition, so he
or she could scope out the employment ads for that city. In the Internet
age, it's much easier to check out employment ads because most metropolitan
newspapers have their employment ads available online. So, be sure to
check out those ads.
- Remember, though, that only about 5 percent of job-seekers find their jobs
through employment ads. Networking is the best way to get a job, so brainstorm
ways you might be able to network in your new city. In a survey I did to
research my book, A Foot in the Door, professional associations were cited
as, by far, the No. 1 venue for networking. Locate chapters of professional
organizations in your field and in your new city and join them.
Start networking with members of the organizations using methods
described on Brian Krueger's Web site, College Grad Job Hunter: http://www.collegegrad.com/jobsearch/8-22.shtml
- Conduct research to find out what major employers are located in
the city to which you wish to move. Use guidelines such as those found
at: http://www.quintcareers.com/researching_companies.html. Make a list
of employers in that city that you think you might like to work for.
Brainstorm ways to network with people in those companies. Plan to "cold
call" any employers for which you can't think of a way to network. You
may want to read Cold Calling: A Time-Tested Method of Job-Hunting at
http://www.quintcareers.com/cold_calling.html.
- Whether writing cover letters that respond to ads or "cold-contact"
cover letters to employers in your new city, offer the employers the
possibility of conducting a phone interview with you in advance of an
in-person meeting. Employers may be more willing to conduct initial
screening interviews with long-distance candidates by phone if they
don't have to worry about the expense of getting you to a face-to-face
meeting (which most employers won't pay for at the entry level).
- You will probably have to make at least one trip to the new city
before your actual relocation. Plan to make the most of your trip by
having as many interviews lined up as possible. Schedule these interviews
by making follow-up calls to all the employers you've contacted so far
in your new city. Tell them you'll be in town on such-and-such a date, and
you'd like to schedule an interview.
- If you are not successful in lining up job interviews before your trip to
the new city, at least line up some informational interviews. These
interviews will provide you with a networking "in" at companies at which
you previously didn't have one. Find out more about how to conduct
informational interviews at:
http://www.quintcareers.com/informational_interviewing.html
-- Katharine Hansen, former speechwriter and college instructor who provides content for the Web site, Quintessential Careers, edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers, and prepares job-search correspondence as chief writer for Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters.
