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Old 06-15-2019, 10:18 PM
 
Location: PHX -> ATL
6,311 posts, read 6,723,279 times
Reputation: 7167

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I'm in the process of job hunting for jobs out of my area. The main reason being is A) I will hate myself if I never try living outside of Arizona and B) There are no job opportunities in my dream field here. I'm currently in an "adjacent" field (meaning my current job applies somewhat), and I have older work experience and volunteer work in my dream field, but despite all of this I am still petrified of editing my resume and writing a cover letter (which I have not had to do before). I obsess over these two things, to the point of hours gone, trying to pick the nitty gritty and see things from a hiring manager's perspective, despite this much effort it doesn't cure the application jitters or to the point I'm so nervous about wasted time I don't even apply at all.

Many career advice websites mention cover letters targeting key cities for a relocation for say a family reason or a partner acquiring a job, but really I am open to living anywhere even Timbuktu (not scared of an international job, in fact I'd welcome such an experience). I don't want to lie on my cover letter and say it's because of my partner (don't have one) or family (my close family all relocated to Florida in the past couple of years, and I'm not trying to move there, though if the opportunity arose I'd take it). While I can identify a certain few cities I think I'd really enjoy living in, I have never traveled to them, and I don't want to say I have always wanted to live in X City either. I can fund my own relocation, but I just need that written job offer before I do it.

I am finding many jobs all across the US almost all of which I would love to have and I am qualified for. I just don't know how to sell myself as good candidate worth interviewing when I am hundreds and hundreds of miles away.

For those of you who have had experience in this realm, either in hiring an out of state applicant or been one yourself, what tips do you recommend in regards to the resume and cover letter?
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Old 06-15-2019, 10:32 PM
 
5,317 posts, read 3,183,185 times
Reputation: 8239
Employers discriminate against those who are out of their commuting area. They don't want to pay relocation costs, even if they advertise it.

You have to move first to the area where your dream job exists, update your resume with the new address, and then apply.

Yes, this is a huge financial risk.
Yes, landlords demand you pay 6 months rent in advance since you don't have a job.
Yes, you can't keep your job in AZ to make this happen.

But that's how to get around the geographic discrimination.

Does this sound like totally unreasonable? I agree. Too many employers are just entitled.
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Old 06-15-2019, 10:52 PM
 
Location: PHX -> ATL
6,311 posts, read 6,723,279 times
Reputation: 7167
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobsell View Post
Employers discriminate against those who are out of their commuting area. They don't want to pay relocation costs, even if they advertise it.

You have to move first to the area where your dream job exists, update your resume with the new address, and then apply.

Yes, this is a huge financial risk.
Yes, landlords demand you pay 6 months rent in advance since you don't have a job.
Yes, you can't keep your job in AZ to make this happen.

But that's how to get around the geographic discrimination.

Does this sound like totally unreasonable? I agree. Too many employers are just entitled.
This doesn't help me at all though, and is just more being a Debbie downer on my thread. I'm asking for tips on cover letter and resume for being in this type of position. If you don't have any advice about this then don't bother commenting, I really would rather not hear negativity about this. People are still doing it the "fair" way in the 21st century, I know people who have done this, and I want to do that too. No doubt that it is an uphill battle, but I'm willing to do it. I'm not unemployed, so it's ok if it takes a while. I don't like my job, but I don't go home crying after every work day.

This is a small, niche field almost 95%+ of which is in the public sector and I'm currently a public sector employee somewhere else in a semi-related field. Even if I knew what city I'd want to live in permanently, there would be 2 job postings for it at best in a major city at any given time. There are two cities I see right now with three positions, which is pretty rare. I see hundreds of others, but again, one position per city. Government can also take almost half a year from applying to hiring (my job took 4 months) so to go that long without income is a deal breaker for a single individual with only 2 years of professional work experience. I'm not going to do it the way you say, that would be financially irresponsible of me and public sector jobs do not pay well enough for that high of a risk.

Again if you don't have any tips, please don't waste your time commenting. That's not what this thread is for. This is for helpful advice, not being pessimistic.
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Old 06-15-2019, 11:42 PM
 
5,609 posts, read 4,155,408 times
Reputation: 11408
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prickly Pear View Post
I'm in the process of job hunting for jobs out of my area. The main reason being is A) I will hate myself if I never try living outside of Arizona and B) There are no job opportunities in my dream field here. I'm currently in an "adjacent" field (meaning my current job applies somewhat), and I have older work experience and volunteer work in my dream field, but despite all of this I am still petrified of editing my resume and writing a cover letter (which I have not had to do before). I obsess over these two things, to the point of hours gone, trying to pick the nitty gritty and see things from a hiring manager's perspective, despite this much effort it doesn't cure the application jitters or to the point I'm so nervous about wasted time I don't even apply at all.

Many career advice websites mention cover letters targeting key cities for a relocation for say a family reason or a partner acquiring a job, but really I am open to living anywhere even Timbuktu (not scared of an international job, in fact I'd welcome such an experience). I don't want to lie on my cover letter and say it's because of my partner (don't have one) or family (my close family all relocated to Florida in the past couple of years, and I'm not trying to move there, though if the opportunity arose I'd take it). While I can identify a certain few cities I think I'd really enjoy living in, I have never traveled to them, and I don't want to say I have always wanted to live in X City either. I can fund my own relocation, but I just need that written job offer before I do it.

I am finding many jobs all across the US almost all of which I would love to have and I am qualified for. I just don't know how to sell myself as good candidate worth interviewing when I am hundreds and hundreds of miles away.

For those of you who have had experience in this realm, either in hiring an out of state applicant or been one yourself, what tips do you recommend in regards to the resume and cover letter?
People move for work all the time. I'm not sure its really something to even worry about. You want the job and are willing to move there. Whats not to like? If you are as qualified or more qualified than local candidates you should get a shot. To increase your odds of being more qualified, you might choose to focus on locations that you like but aren't that desirable to many others. I've been offered jobs across the country multiple times.
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Old 06-16-2019, 12:48 AM
 
3,882 posts, read 2,336,611 times
Reputation: 7440
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobsell View Post
Employers discriminate against those who are out of their commuting area. They don't want to pay relocation costs, even if they advertise it.

You have to move first to the area where your dream job exists, update your resume with the new address, and then apply.

Yes, this is a huge financial risk.
Yes, landlords demand you pay 6 months rent in advance since you don't have a job.
Yes, you can't keep your job in AZ to make this happen.

But that's how to get around the geographic discrimination.

Does this sound like totally unreasonable? I agree. Too many employers are just entitled.
I've moved several times to different states and they always paid relocation, otherwise I wouldn't have taken the job. Relocation costs are nothing compared to the head hunting fee companies pay, and like those fees, relocation is a one-time cost and much lower than the head hunting fees.

No, don't move there first. Then you are unemployed and any respectable employer is going to see you have poor judgement that you would quit your job and moved elsewhere with nothing to do to. Sounds romantic, but that isn't impressive.

Landlords always demand you have a JOB before renting to you.

There is no geographic discrimination where they won't pay relocation for the right person for a job that needs those office skills.

Very bad advice here.
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Old 06-16-2019, 12:58 AM
 
3,882 posts, read 2,336,611 times
Reputation: 7440
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prickly Pear View Post
I'm in the process of job hunting for jobs out of my area. The main reason being is A) I will hate myself if I never try living outside of Arizona and B) There are no job opportunities in my dream field here. I'm currently in an "adjacent" field (meaning my current job applies somewhat), and I have older work experience and volunteer work in my dream field, but despite all of this I am still petrified of editing my resume and writing a cover letter (which I have not had to do before). I obsess over these two things, to the point of hours gone, trying to pick the nitty gritty and see things from a hiring manager's perspective, despite this much effort it doesn't cure the application jitters or to the point I'm so nervous about wasted time I don't even apply at all.

Many career advice websites mention cover letters targeting key cities for a relocation for say a family reason or a partner acquiring a job, but really I am open to living anywhere even Timbuktu (not scared of an international job, in fact I'd welcome such an experience). I don't want to lie on my cover letter and say it's because of my partner (don't have one) or family (my close family all relocated to Florida in the past couple of years, and I'm not trying to move there, though if the opportunity arose I'd take it). While I can identify a certain few cities I think I'd really enjoy living in, I have never traveled to them, and I don't want to say I have always wanted to live in X City either. I can fund my own relocation, but I just need that written job offer before I do it.

I am finding many jobs all across the US almost all of which I would love to have and I am qualified for. I just don't know how to sell myself as good candidate worth interviewing when I am hundreds and hundreds of miles away.

For those of you who have had experience in this realm, either in hiring an out of state applicant or been one yourself, what tips do you recommend in regards to the resume and cover letter?
I never wrote a cover letter that said "Hey, I'm out of state..." they can see that by my address on the resume. I didn't see any point to bringing attention to their attention. The cover letter should be about your experience and how you can be an asset to them. As I've mentioned, relocation isn't a big deal cost for them considering it is a one time cost and they pay more than that for headhunting fees to hire people. Which is also a one-time cost.

My advise to you, is not to put up roadblocks about things which may not even exist. Do you home work of what industry, company and job you want, and then go after it.

The only time someone is going to prefer local, is if it is in a major city, like New York City and you never worked there and don't know anything about it. If you are from the US Midwest your whole life where houses costs $100K-$200K, they don't want you coming to NYC and not understanding how expensive it is to live there, not being able to cope and have you quit another a month.

But if you have skills that are in high demand employers will pay for relocation.

And whatever you do, don't put in a local address to make it look like you are local, cause someone might ask you to come in for an interview the next day and then you are scrambling at your own expensive to travel there. And you can't blame the company for this, because you make it appear you were local. So don't do this.
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Old 06-16-2019, 12:53 PM
 
Location: PHX -> ATL
6,311 posts, read 6,723,279 times
Reputation: 7167
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deserterer View Post
People move for work all the time. I'm not sure its really something to even worry about. You want the job and are willing to move there. Whats not to like? If you are as qualified or more qualified than local candidates you should get a shot. To increase your odds of being more qualified, you might choose to focus on locations that you like but aren't that desirable to many others. I've been offered jobs across the country multiple times.
I’m identifying more rural areas for a relo. Though most positions are in bigger cities. I’m just so nervous about putting in garbage applications. I might ask for someone to review both professionally before submitting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rummage View Post
I never wrote a cover letter that said "Hey, I'm out of state..." they can see that by my address on the resume. I didn't see any point to bringing attention to their attention. The cover letter should be about your experience and how you can be an asset to them. As I've mentioned, relocation isn't a big deal cost for them considering it is a one time cost and they pay more than that for headhunting fees to hire people. Which is also a one-time cost.

My advise to you, is not to put up roadblocks about things which may not even exist. Do you home work of what industry, company and job you want, and then go after it.

The only time someone is going to prefer local, is if it is in a major city, like New York City and you never worked there and don't know anything about it. If you are from the US Midwest your whole life where houses costs $100K-$200K, they don't want you coming to NYC and not understanding how expensive it is to live there, not being able to cope and have you quit another a month.

But if you have skills that are in high demand employers will pay for relocation.

And whatever you do, don't put in a local address to make it look like you are local, cause someone might ask you to come in for an interview the next day and then you are scrambling at your own expensive to travel there. And you can't blame the company for this, because you make it appear you were local. So don't do this.
I’m not senior enough for a paid relo. I’m 2 years into my career. Some jobs I see are in NYC, yes very different from Phoenix but NYC is closer to the life I want despite high COL. And what you stated may hurt me, since these are public sector positions. Knowing the area is important in this line of work, but I catch onto that fairly quickly, as I have a high spatial intelligence.

Thank you all for the advice.
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Old 06-16-2019, 01:11 PM
 
5,317 posts, read 3,183,185 times
Reputation: 8239
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prickly Pear View Post
This doesn't help me at all though, and is just more being a Debbie downer on my thread.
Telling the truth is not "debbie downer"

Employers have ridiculous standards.

Quote:
Again if you don't have any tips, please don't waste your time commenting. That's not what this thread is for. This is for helpful advice, not being pessimistic.
If you don't want to deal with the real world, you're welcome not to. You have to get around the geographic discrimination.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rummage View Post

Very bad advice here.
If both of you bothered to read my entire post, you'll see it wasn't intended as advice, but rather as a slam at unrealistic and unreasonable requirements of entitled employers.

Both of your sarcasm detectors are broken and need retuning.
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Old 06-16-2019, 01:32 PM
 
Location: Seattle
3,573 posts, read 2,843,835 times
Reputation: 7265
Some careers heavily recruit outside of their area, many others, like bobsell acknowledges simply don't. It will be tougher if the position your pursuing is not directly related to your current field.



That said, address your willingness to move in the cover letter but also be sure to explain the method and logistics to make that move happen. Also, don't say the reason for the move is you don't want to be in AZ, keep it that you want to work for that company and research has shown that city/town/community fits well with your desired life pursuits.
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Old 06-16-2019, 04:05 PM
 
Location: Mountain girl trapped on the beach
604 posts, read 851,861 times
Reputation: 2124
Quote:
Originally Posted by rummage View Post
I never wrote a cover letter that said "Hey, I'm out of state..." they can see that by my address on the resume.
I'm currently looking for a job in another part of the country and I don't even put my address on my CV; that's a text line I could use to give them more information about my qualifications. Email and phone number are enough.

Using a friend/relative's address is a calculated risk. The higher you are up the food chain the less you need to do it. If you do have someone you can stay with in the new area while you get your feet on the ground, you could put a line in your cover letter that says "I have resources in place to relocate and begin work immediately upon hiring if selected" or something to that effect, especially if it's a popular place to move to like Colorado or Georgia. But don't say it if it's not true.
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