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Well, I am NOT moving with no job lined up. I don't have mountains of cash to be able to do something like that. So I have to be cautious about it.
Also, I have applied to jobs at certain places that I have never even really been to. Some of them, I've only driven through or stopped by to eat lunch or get gas, but that's about it.
Oh well, I guess I'll be stuck in Connecticut for my entire life then. All 80 years. Gotta love the "freedom" we have in this damn country.
You wanted to know reasons why so I gave them to you. Instead of whining about it use that as knowledge and make sure you kill the interview. All things being equal they are going to hire the local candidate nearly 99 times out of 100, but if you wow them enough then the relocation part can be overlooked. I just hired a guy from Nebraska a few months ago because he was far and away better than any local candidates we looked for.
What also would concern me is you say you want to find a place to settle down for the long-term but you are willing to move somewhere you've never been? That just seems nuts to me. You've got to have *some* idea of what kind of area you would like, right? Hot/cold weather, outdoor activities or not, etc.
Cost of living may be similar but there is a huge difference in culture between places like Bozeman (Montana), Macon (Georgia) and Buffalo (NY.) I suggest you pinpoint a handful of areas that you would like to live in and really target those areas instead of just casting such a wide net on anywhere that has a decent cost of living. You could live great in Gary, Indiana but that place is a hellhole and no matter how much money you made you'd probably hate it.
You wanted to know reasons why so I gave them to you. Instead of whining about it use that as knowledge and make sure you kill the interview. All things being equal they are going to hire the local candidate nearly 99 times out of 100, but if you wow them enough then the relocation part can be overlooked. I just hired a guy from Nebraska a few months ago because he was far and away better than any local candidates we looked for.
What also would concern me is you say you want to find a place to settle down for the long-term but you are willing to move somewhere you've never been? That just seems nuts to me. You've got to have *some* idea of what kind of area you would like, right? Hot/cold weather, outdoor activities or not, etc.
Cost of living may be similar but there is a huge difference in culture between places like Bozeman (Montana), Macon (Georgia) and Buffalo (NY.) I suggest you pinpoint a handful of areas that you would like to live in and really target those areas instead of just casting such a wide net on anywhere that has a decent cost of living. You could live great in Gary, Indiana but that place is a hellhole and no matter how much money you made you'd probably hate it.
The hardest part for me is having the time off to be able to travel for interviews. It's just hard, while already being employed. I basically have to try to take PTO days after a company decides to interview me. Now, with January through April being "blackout" months (months in which is very hard to take days off), it's almost pointless to keep looking for a job. We're basically not encouraged to take days off during those first 4 months of the year, because we're so busy with year-end tax/accounting responsibilities. At best, maybe I can take off 1 day per month during those 4 months. And my month-to-month lease ends on May 31. After that, I'd probably have to sign a 12-month lease contract, which really makes it pointless to look for a job long distance.
I agree with your comments regarding moving somewhere that I've never really visited or spent time at. I try to avoid it as much as possible. For example, two years ago, I quit my job with no job lined up (here in CT) so that I could move out to Denver, having never visited there before. So I packed up and drove out there and within 24 hours, I couldn't stand the place. It was just way too brown, congested and there was this hippie/weed/snooty culture going on, that I didn't like. So I immediately came back to CT.
My next best option is to stay here for 3 more years, build job tenure and cash savings, then at the age of 33, quit my job with no job lined up and move anywhere I want (as long as it's a place with plenty of jobs in my field). I would have around $100K in cash saved up to do this, by then.
I agree with your comments regarding moving somewhere that I've never really visited or spent time at. I try to avoid it as much as possible. For example, two years ago, I quit my job with no job lined up (here in CT) so that I could move out to Denver, having never visited there before. So I packed up and drove out there and within 24 hours, I couldn't stand the place. It was just way too brown, congested and there was this hippie/weed/snooty culture going on, that I didn't like. So I immediately came back to CT.
I'm going to admit that I've not followed these thread so I've probably some pertinent facts. But the fact that you quit a job, moved halfway across the country and decided to go back home within 24 hours raises huge red flags for me.
After spending 24 hours in Denver, how could you possibly know whether you liked it or not? You must spend more time in a place to determine whether it's a good fit for you or not.
Frankly, it sounds to me like you're a "grass is greener" person and won't be happy anywhere so you're probably better off staying where you are. You have a job. Presumably your family is close and you've got friends. You know where things are, etc. etc. etc.
If I were you, I'd do some serious thinking about what happened in Denver before heading off on another adventure.
I'll bet good money that if you don't do that kind of soul searching, if you do land a job in the "perfect" place, you'll find something to hate about the new place and head home again.
ETA, I see you've had 4 jobs in 8 years which consistent with a "grass if greener" personality. And you say that recruiters haven't said anything to you about but I can guarantee you that employers note it. Especially because you are relocating to a place with no personal connection. And don't take solace in the fact that you've been contacted directly by employers/recruiters. It is the job of recruiters to find multiple candidates but only one gets the job. Being contacted by the recruiter means only that they think you *might* work. It does not mean that there is nothing in your background that concerns them.
If I saw your resume and you admitted you did not have a personal reason for moving here, I wouldn't take the chance on you. With a background of job hopping (nothing wrong with that but know that employers will hold it against you), you need to look stable. As someone who has hired people and gone through a recent job search, I can say that employers are very conservative these days about hiring. Before 2008, they took chances on people. Now they are willing to do without someone in the position if they don't find the perfect candidate. The worst job hire is someone who flakes out in the first year because you waste time training them and the other people you interviewed have already moved on so you must start all over again. No rational employer is taking the chance on someone who they think won't make it through at least 2 years.
Just tell them you are re-locating in order to be closer to some family you have in the area. How would they even know anyway?
Just be like "I have some nieces and nephews and some other extended family in the area and I've been wanting to make a move, so that I can enjoy being closer to family..." etc...
they wanna see u have family so they know you'll stick around and aren't some loner type escaping a divorce and debt n CT or something
I'm going to admit that I've not followed these thread so I've probably some pertinent facts. But the fact that you quit a job, moved halfway across the country and decided to go back home within 24 hours raises huge red flags for me.
After spending 24 hours in Denver, how could you possibly know whether you liked it or not? You must spend more time in a place to determine whether it's a good fit for you or not.
Frankly, it sounds to me like you're a "grass is greener" person and won't be happy anywhere so you're probably better off staying where you are. You have a job. Presumably your family is close and you've got friends. You know where things are, etc. etc. etc.
If I were you, I'd do some serious thinking about what happened in Denver before heading off on another adventure.
I'll bet good money that if you don't do that kind of soul searching, if you do land a job in the "perfect" place, you'll find something to hate about the new place and head home again.
ETA, I see you've had 4 jobs in 8 years which consistent with a "grass if greener" personality. And you say that recruiters haven't said anything to you about but I can guarantee you that employers note it. Especially because you are relocating to a place with no personal connection. And don't take solace in the fact that you've been contacted directly by employers/recruiters. It is the job of recruiters to find multiple candidates but only one gets the job. Being contacted by the recruiter means only that they think you *might* work. It does not mean that there is nothing in your background that concerns them.
If I saw your resume and you admitted you did not have a personal reason for moving here, I wouldn't take the chance on you. With a background of job hopping (nothing wrong with that but know that employers will hold it against you), you need to look stable. As someone who has hired people and gone through a recent job search, I can say that employers are very conservative these days about hiring. Before 2008, they took chances on people. Now they are willing to do without someone in the position if they don't find the perfect candidate. The worst job hire is someone who flakes out in the first year because you waste time training them and the other people you interviewed have already moved on so you must start all over again. No rational employer is taking the chance on someone who they think won't make it through at least 2 years.
I agree with you 100%. I definitely look at the number of jobs a candidate has and the more I see the lesser the chance I am going to hire you. When I do interviews I ask the people why they left every single job on their resume. That speaks volumes to me as you get the idea whether someone is a "grass is greener" habitual job hopper or someone who just needs to find the right job for them.
For the OP: At least you are working hard to save some money. Sounds to me it will be hard (but not impossible) to find a job remotely and worst-case save up the money and move when you are ready. If you have to move cold turkey then take a job at a Walmart or something where you can get some cash to cover some bills, have times during the day open for interviews, and meet some people in the process. (You never know who you might run into that knows someone who has a job open, etc.)
Well that's stupid. I could just as easily tell them that the fact that I have all of my family here in CT doesn't mean that I want to stay here.
I fully sympathize with you. I love my family, but they live in the middle of nowhere where it’s currently freezing. I have no desire to move back, family or not. One should not be dinged just because they were born somewhere that doesn’t have what they need.
It seems beyond odd that family and relationships seem to be just about the only valid reason (other than having a skill that is unavailable in the area) to employers to accept a candidate who wants to move. Unless every single one of the interviewers/employers is Native American, they or their ancestors have moved here in the not too distant past.
I guess it depends if you want to tough it out for a couple more years in CT waiting for a reasonable employer who isn’t going to ding you on stupid assumptions (they ARE out there; I work for one although they did take awhile to find) or do what you need to do to if it will give you a chance of getting out of there sooner.
I would try to add something positive and specific about the actual place you will be moving to. I don't know if having family nearby is a requirement, but having something about the place that draws you there will help them believe you actually want to be there. Saying that the only positive thing about a place is that you'll pay less for your rent not only calls into question your long term commitment to stay there, it also comes off as insulting to a panel of interviewers who all, obviously, are either from that place or chose to live there. In addition, it makes you sound like a pretty dull person.
I agree with this. I’m sure the OP doesn’t mean it this way, but simply saying that someplace has a lower cost of living could be taken as a backhanded compliment. Also, there’s no guarantee that a place will remain affordable for long. If he wants to go that route, he should say something positive and specific...perhaps that one of his goals is to own a house and that he wants to live somewhere where salaries are more in line with housing prices.
You've never expressed any good sentiments when living anywhere. That indicates it is not the location (as the root cause).
I’d be careful with comments like these. Just because he hasn’t had the chance to live somewhere that’s right for him doesn’t mean that character judgements are called for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobtn
It also doesn't mean you would like it, either.
This on the other hand I can agree with. I’d encourage the OP to think about what he wants from a location and why it would be important to him, and then search for employment opportunities in cities that he thinks would be a good fit.
It seems beyond odd that family and relationships seem to be just about the only valid reason (other than having a skill that is unavailable in the area) to employers to accept a candidate who wants to move. Unless every single one of the interviewers/employers is Native American, they or their ancestors have moved here in the not too distant past.
No, it makes perfect sense. No one wants to take the chance of investing in a candidate (let's be clear, it's an investment) unless they have a good reason to believe the person will stick around long enough for the investment to pay off. Someone who moves to a new town and has no connection to the area is more likely to leave than someone who moves to be near family or friends. Look at how the OP turned around and left Denver within 24 hours. That demonstrates exactly what employers fear.
I moved to a city where I didn't know anyone and found a job. But I moved before finding a job. I think that demonstrated to the employer that I was serious about living there. But it was also before the last recession when jobs were easier to find and companies were less picky.
I don't think I would ever hire someone who didn't live here unless they were moving for a really solid reason, like a spouse being transferred. But I wouldn't think twice about someone who lived here (demonstrated by a local address and telephone number) whose last job had been in another city.
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You must spend more time in a place to determine whether it's a good fit for you or not. 
