Finding a job before moving (Phoenix, Scottsdale: mortgages, headhunters, find a job) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

SportsGuy81 · 03-02-2011, 11:34 AM

I'm seriously considering moving out to Scottsdale/Tempe areas sometime this year I have heard from others that I should secure a job BEFORE moving and have also heard from others that they moved out without a job and found one rather quickly. My situation is I'm currently living in Michigan and I do not know anybody at all in AZ that I could live with and currently I'm working part time so financially I don't have a lot of money saved up. I wanted to get people advice on what I should do. How did people find a job before moving out there? It seems rather difficult to find a job being over 2,000 miles away from where I want to move to. I look forward to people advice/opinions/experiences

Down · 03-02-2011, 12:48 PM

Of course the best plan is to secure a job before moving but it's much easier said than done. Whether you can will depend upon your area(s) of expertise, your tenacity and largely, luck. My wife and I moved out here from KC last summer and worked hard to secure a job before our move date. We applied for positions, spoke with headhunters and even flew out here for a few interviews several months prior to the move. We had absolutely zero luck and I can understand why, with so many qualified local candidates, why would you chance it with someone who SAYS they'll be moving out here?

We were fairly dejected but rolled the dice and moved out here anyway, sans employment. Within 2 weeks I had a job and within 3 weeks my wife had 2 offers, one of which she took. In the end, we were barely out of work long enough to unpack and landed good enough jobs that our household income has went up $40k since right before our move. A fantastic(ally lucky) story.

With that said, I sure wouldn't move out here without employment and/or a decent savings to keep you going for several months. I also don't know what industry you're in, your experience may be drastically different from ours. We're both in IT (Business Analysts) which has a decent amount of openings in the metro if you're experienced (both of us have 10+ yrs in the field) and can sell yourself.

Good luck.

SportsGuy81 · 03-02-2011, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Down

Of course the best plan is to secure a job before moving but it's much easier said than done. Whether you can will depend upon your area(s) of expertise, your tenacity and largely, luck. My wife and I moved out here from KC last summer and worked hard to secure a job before our move date. We applied for positions, spoke with headhunters and even flew out here for a few interviews several months prior to the move. We had absolutely zero luck and I can understand why, with so many qualified local candidates, why would you chance it with someone who SAYS they'll be moving out here?

We were fairly dejected but rolled the dice and moved out here anyway, sans employment. Within 2 weeks I had a job and within 3 weeks my wife had 2 offers, one of which she took. In the end, we were barely out of work long enough to unpack and landed good enough jobs that our household income has went up $40k since right before our move. A fantastic(ally lucky) story.

With that said, I sure wouldn't move out here without employment and/or a decent savings to keep you going for several months. I also don't know what industry you're in, your experience may be drastically different from ours. We're both in IT (Business Analysts) which has a decent amount of openings in the metro if you're experienced (both of us have 10+ yrs in the field) and can sell yourself.

Good luck.

I graduated from college 3 years ago and been working at a small business handling the day to day operations I graduated with a bachelors degree in business admin./entrepreneurship

need_some_sun · 03-02-2011, 06:42 PM

Try career builder and indeed.com. I got a job, but I am in mortgages. We are from Minneapolis. Also, spruce up your resume. So are you an operations manager?

dreamer1q · 03-03-2011, 06:03 AM

I am moving from Grand Rapids on the 13th of March to Phoenix. I was able to find work by searching for companies that do what I do in Michigan. Then I selected the best three, designed a resume for that specific job and sent them via snail mail with my actual handwriting on them to the companies. I was hired less than a month later. I dont neccessarily want to do what I am doing again, but it got me a job and got me to the valley. Once I get there I can work on finding something else if I want to change jobs. Good luck!

SportsGuy81 · 03-03-2011, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamer1q

I am moving from Grand Rapids on the 13th of March to Phoenix. I was able to find work by searching for companies that do what I do in Michigan. Then I selected the best three, designed a resume for that specific job and sent them via snail mail with my actual handwriting on them to the companies. I was hired less than a month later. I dont neccessarily want to do what I am doing again, but it got me a job and got me to the valley. Once I get there I can work on finding something else if I want to change jobs. Good luck!

What kind of job did you land?

SportsGuy81 · 03-03-2011, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by need_some_sun

Try career builder and indeed.com. I got a job, but I am in mortgages. We are from Minneapolis. Also, spruce up your resume. So are you an operations manager?

No i'm not operations manager.

Bondurant · 03-03-2011, 08:49 PM

There's plenty of work in Phoenix metro. The problem is lack of jobs that pay well and jobs people want. If you're serious about the move and willing to do what it takes then you should be fine. That's what I did. I'm poor but I have a roof over my head and food in my stomach and I didn't have to lift a shovel once this winter.