"Willing to relocate" on resume? (New York, York: subletting, hotel)

[DavidTheExpert]

I am applying to jobs in NYC, but I live out of state at the moment. I'm not too far away, so it won't be too hard for me to travel for interviews and whatnot. But I've heard that companies will often discard your resume immediately upon seeing that you live out of state, because they assume that they will need to cover the cost of relocation, or that it will be difficult to set up an interview.

So should I include "willing to relocate" next to my postal address on my resume to make it clear that I will be moving to New York one way or another? Or is it better to let them assume that I will be relocating since I can't exactly commute 4 hours every day. I'm also worried that including anything about relocating on my resume will make it sound even more like I'm fishing for reimbursement for moving.

Maybe it would be better if I leave my address off the resume entirely? But then it would look like I have something to hide. And before anyone asks, no I don't have any friends or family in NYC whose address I could use. I'm flying solo!

[yee8p]

no, you need to include an address, even if it's out of state. We're used to seeing that info. Leaving it out would definitely seems like you're hiding something.

I would say that in this economy, company would assume that you'll move yourself. But likely companies may still prefer local candidates. Sometimes, they'd think you'd know better how it works here. Or, they'd think you have connections and they don't have to hand hold you as much. Or, they'd think you aren't going to try it here for three month, and leave them high and dry because you can't make it here.

one suggestion i would suggest investigating is to get a local address still and somehow forward it to your home address. Look into if you can get a PO box or some mail services (e.g. UPS) actually give street addresses. I think local addresses do carry some weight

[skinnayyy]

just find a random street address for where you would be living and then go with it. if they say that they are going to mail you anything just say you were subletting and your address is now 123 abc drive, plain city, nj

[Jobless and Broke]

I tried moving to New York from out of state for a year and spent $5000 on airfare and hotel and in the end they always hired the local candidate. Once I eventually just moved to NYC and had a local address and phone the phone rang off the hook and I was interviewed multiple times and got a job relatively quickly. (Pre recession, now I am jobless and broke)

If you want a job in a new town just move there and start looking as a local. You will only luck into a job as an out of state candidate if you have unique skills.

[Bremsstrahlung]

I live in Arkansas and I'm trying to find work in a very specialized field which virtually guarantees that I have to relocate. I applied to a job in NYC and the first thing they said when they called for a phone screening is that they don't offer relocation benefits, and they asked if that was okay with me. Of course I said yes.

When I got to the real phone interview, they said they would need to see me in person, and at first I suggested a Skype interview. I thought about it, and told them I'd be willing to travel to see them in person when I wrote my follow-up letter following the phone interview. They ended up inviting me to interview in person.

I'm still waiting to hear their decision. They were supposed to make a decision early this week.

I guess my point is that you can put your real address on your resume and you can still get an interview, but expect it to be harder for you than it would be if you lived in NYC. If you put a fake address or get a PO Box in the city, and they invite you for an in-person interview, you're still going to have to make that magic happen. It's very expensive if you have to fly and get a hotel.

[Millenia98]

Companies don't pay for your travel costs for an interview these days. Like others have suggested, try and find a local address somehow - and the P.O. Box was a great idea. You'll need that on your resume. If you have a local address, you won't need to get into the logistics about your move until the actual interview.

I've always been asked where I live in an interview. I guess that's just the way it goes so that they're sure you'll make it to work timely every day. Usually, you want to sound firm on your plans for moving here, or even wait until you arrive. This will allow it to be more likely for you to score the position.