Question:

I go to school in New York, but am planning to move to New Hampshire after graduation. Where and how should I network in order to get a job in New Hampshire?

First Answer:

There are several ways to begin the process of looking for a job before you actually move to your new location:

1. Use the library to check out the Classified Section of newspapers in and around the place you plan to move. Send your resume with a letter explaining that you will be graduating and relocating to this area. If you are planning to visit that area (like Spring Break) before you actually graduate, try to arrange interviews or informational interviews with possible employers during your visit.
2. If you have contacts in the area, let them know you will be relocating and what type of job you are looking for. Follow up with any leads that they give you.
3. Use business resources in the library to check out employers in the area you are relocating to that have the type of position that you are looking for. Begin contacting them and marketing yourself to them.

It is not easy to find a job long distance. It is very important that you lay the groundwork and make initial contacts before you actually relocate to speed up the job search process.

-- Linda Wyatt, Career Center Director, Kansas City Kansas Community College

Second Answer:

Good for you for realizing that networking in your new area will give you a huge advantage as you approach graduation. Here are some ways you can accomplish that goal:

• Visit the career-planning Web sites of New Hampshire colleges. That advice comes from college career counselor Doris Flaherty, who notes that "Any college usually has more focus on its surrounding area since the majority of the graduates will find work there."
• Explore the possibility of reciprocity agreements between college career centers. Your own college likely has a reciprocal agreement with colleges in your new locale that will allow you to use the resources of those colleges' career centers.
• While you're at your college career center, ask there -- or at your school's alumni office -- for the names of alumni living in the area you want to move to. Alumni, especially recent ones, are among the very best networking contacts.
• If you belong to a fraternity/sorority, ask about New Hampshire alumni of that organization.
• Start contacting those in your existing network, especially in your new location, and let them know you are relocating and looking for a new job there.
• 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. Once you join, you often receive a membership directory. Start networking with members of the organizations using methods described on Brian Krueger's Web site, College Grad Job Hunter.
• An article on the University Job Bank Web site describes a job-seeker who sent a postcard to every member of the professional association she belonged to her in her area telling them she was relocating to San Francisco. She asked them for names of contacts they knew in San Francisco. Focus your efforts on building a network of people in your desired new location not only through professional associations, but also through friends and colleagues.
• If you are able to make a preliminary exploratory trip, you can use it to conduct informational interviews to expand your network in the new city. These interviews will provide you with a networking "in" at companies at which you previously didn't have one. You can ask interviewees which companies would be the best to apply to, advice for breaking in, and names of other contacts for your network. Find out more about how to set up and conduct informational interviews. Although not ideal, you can also conduct informational interviews via phone or e-mail from your current location.
• Most of these tips are taken from an article I wrote, New City, New Job: How to Conduct a Long-Distance Job Search.

-- 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

Third Answer:

One great way to start networking in a new location is to find out which organizations are based there of which you're already a member. Start contacting the officers of the organizations and let them know that you're planning to relocate and would like to get on their mailing list and start getting to know the members.

The other thing is to subscribe to the online version of the newspapers in that area and make certain you're aware of the news in the locale. This will give you a sense of what the community standard and culture is. You'll also be able to see, from the social news, what other activities are going on that are of interest to you so that you can fit in comfortably and start connecting with them.

With those connections started, you'll have a network of contacts from which you can learn about companies that have open positions and what those companies are like.

-- Yvonne LaRose, career and professional development coach, Career and Executive Recruiting Advice

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