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I live in the southwest and have been unemployed a long time. Since I'm single and have no children, I have nobody or nothing to tie me down.
A lot of job openings I'm finding seem to be in either suburban Washington, D.C. or greater Boston. I'm thinking about moving to northern New Jersey (and find a roommate so I can keep my costs down.) The reason I have northern New Jersey in mind is because it is equidistant from both Boston and Washington, D.C.
In your opinion, do you think Human Resource or hiring managers in either Boston or Washington, D.C. would be willing to interview somebody living in northern New Jersey? A lot of the job openings I'm finding specifically state that the company is only interested in local candidates. We all know somebody living in northern New Jersey isn't local to Boston or Washington, D.C.; however, do you think they'd consider me? Since Boston and Washington D.C. are only a three hour drive from northern New Jersey, driving there, interviewing, and coming back isn't a problem. Neither is relocating.
What do you guys think? I want to avoid making a costly mistake.
Local usually means within the city or it's suburbs at most the county. Depending on the company many contracts companies bid on are governmnet and they are stipulated in the bidding process or if a government position it is a requirement.
Three hour drive in Boston and Washington D.C. area can be complicated because the weather and traffic in these areas is awful.
Definitely emphasis you would relocate within xyz period of time if you were selected for the position.
But would an employer automatically weed me out if they see I don't live in or near the city where the job is located? If I lived in Chicago (for example), I can see why I'd automatically get weeded out; however, northern New Jersey is much, much closer to Boston and Washington, D.C.
I'm taking this very seriously. I really want to work.
I live in the southwest and have been unemployed a long time. Since I'm single and have no children, I have nobody or nothing to tie me down.
A lot of job openings I'm finding seem to be in either suburban Washington, D.C. or greater Boston. I'm thinking about moving to northern New Jersey (and find a roommate so I can keep my costs down.) The reason I have northern New Jersey in mind is because it is equidistant from both Boston and Washington, D.C.
In your opinion, do you think Human Resource or hiring managers in either Boston or Washington, D.C. would be willing to interview somebody living in northern New Jersey? A lot of the job openings I'm finding specifically state that the company is only interested in local candidates. We all know somebody living in northern New Jersey isn't local to Boston or Washington, D.C.; however, do you think they'd consider me? Since Boston and Washington D.C. are only a three hour drive from northern New Jersey, driving there, interviewing, and coming back isn't a problem. Neither is relocating.
What do you guys think? I want to avoid making a costly mistake.
Thank you.
That's tough, somtimes it's tempting to lie and apply with a local address if you have someone in the area. I had a buddy who did this but this bring on another problem. If someone calls you and wants an interview the next day you can't say "you know I'm across the country gonna need a few more days, you gotta act local and get yourself there. I had a buddy in Illinois trying to get a job in texas and it involved driving and or flying back and forth alot. One time they even rescheduled the interview after he drove 3 days to get to west texas, he had to stay in a scummy hotel for a week waiting for the rescheduled interview.
On the other hand if you let people knw your out of state your resume often gets trashed. People dont have anything against out of state people but there's so much chance of things falling through. You dont have the money to go thrugh with the move, last minute decide not to move across country, probably more stress for you having to sort with a move and start a new job and they know you will be distracted
I've had employers in Baltimore say that they won't consider DC residents because it is too far, even though thousands of people make that commute every day! Most employers aren't quite that strict, but an hour, or 90 minutes tops, is generally what an employer will consider 'local'. With commute times in DC, maybe you could get away with two hours.
But I would just be safe--figure out a parking lot address somewhere and use that address on your resume. Then if you land an interview you are still close enough to travel on short notice, and if you land the job you could endure a long commute until you can relocate permanently. And the employer is none the wiser.
I would rather not mislead potential employers by putting a Boston or Washington, D.C. address on my resume. If I was intent on doing that, I'd take a train to Boston and Washington, D.C., go to the nearest post office, and get a P.O. Box. Employers are going to find out. And if you mislead them about that, they're going to wonder what else you're misleading them on.
In a perfect world, I could find somebody subletting a room (in Northern New Jersey) that would let me stay on a month-to-month basis. If a potential employer were to call me and ask me if I'm aware the job is in Boston (or Washington, D.C.), I'd tell them the truth: Yes, I'm aware that it's not within commuting distance; however, if I'm offered the job, I would relocate at my own expense and could start in two weeks. I may have to pay double rent but it wouldn't for more than one month. That's a small price to pay for a job.
Again, the biggest obstacle I'm facing is that employers are only considering local candidates. And if they see a New Jersey address on my resume, my concern is they might toss it in the wastepaper basket without even knowing that interviewing and relocating would be so easy for me that I may as well be local.
I would rather not mislead potential employers by putting a Boston or Washington, D.C. address on my resume. If I was intent on doing that, I'd take a train to Boston and Washington, D.C., go to the nearest post office, and get a P.O. Box. Employers are going to find out. And if you mislead them about that, they're going to wonder what else you're misleading them on.
In a perfect world, I could find somebody subletting a room (in Northern New Jersey) that would let me stay on a month-to-month basis. If a potential employer were to call me and ask me if I'm aware the job is in Boston (or Washington, D.C.), I'd tell them the truth: Yes, I'm aware that it's not within commuting distance; however, if I'm offered the job, I would relocate at my own expense and could start in two weeks. I may have to pay double rent but it wouldn't for more than one month. That's a small price to pay for a job.
Again, the biggest obstacle I'm facing is that employers are only considering local candidates. And if they see a New Jersey address on my resume, my concern is they might toss it in the wastepaper basket without even knowing that interviewing and relocating would be so easy for me that I may as well be local.
Well if you're not looking for advice on how to overcome the obstacle, then it sounds like you're just looking for an affirmation of what it seems like you already know: New Jersey is too far away to be local.
And most employers won't take the time to call you and ask if you are aware that the job is in DC. They will simply bin your resume and move on to the hundreds of other resumes they've received.
But would an employer automatically weed me out if they see I don't live in or near the city where the job is located? If I lived in Chicago (for example), I can see why I'd automatically get weeded out; however, northern New Jersey is much, much closer to Boston and Washington, D.C.
I'm taking this very seriously. I really want to work.
It's closer but not close enough. You're still a several hours away by car.
Do you have relatives in northern NJ, why not consider NYC or Philadelphia?
I worked in DC and then brought my house 2 hours each way from my job. I told my employers before hand and they were fine with it. I got my house and 2 weeks later, they let me go because I lived too far from DC.
So don't live over 2 hours from DC and you'll be ok. When I first got the job, I was an hour away and it was fine. So if you could live in MD or VA, you should be fine.
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