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I plan on moving this summer, but am not sure on when is the right time to be applying for jobs. My friend told me to start now, but the move is at least 6-7 months away, so I feel it's way too early. I will be making a trip out there, before I actually move. I figure that way I can hopefully get some in person interviews.
But when should one start applying? A month? 2 weeks? Just curious cause this whole moving to a different state, seems kinda confusing in a way...
It would really depend on the economic outlook of your planned relocation, but as far as I'm concerned, it's never too early to start applying.
I'm in the same boat. We're moving in approximately 4-6 months and I'm planning on starting to apply for jobs approximately 6 weeks to a month prior to the earliest we are available to move. We also will not actually make the move until I have a job lined up, as we have children and I'm the primary breadwinner for my family. So I'll just keep applying and flying down for interviews until I get a job offer. Good luck to you!! I hope you and I both get jobs quickly and are able to move without incident!
If you intend to move BY a certain date, I would start applying now as it may take months to land something. You can also be more selective with offers the earlier you apply.
There really is no right answer to this question IMO. Based on experience I would say it has become borderline impossible to land entry-level or high demand jobs from the outside. In this economy there are simply too many qualified and over-qualified local folks applying for those jobs. If you have a special skill/qualification that lowers the applicant pool for a position it is possible.
I've known a few people who had no choice but to move first to their desired locale and then apply for jobs. Of course they had to be pretty stable (financially, family, housing) to do it but it was amazing to see how much of a difference living in the area made. They were recent college grads so keep that in mind.
There really is no right answer to this question IMO. Based on experience I would say it has become borderline impossible to land entry-level or high demand jobs from the outside. In this economy there are simply too many qualified and over-qualified local folks applying for those jobs. If you have a special skill/qualification that lowers the applicant pool for a position it is possible.
I've known a few people who had no choice but to move first to their desired locale and then apply for jobs. Of course they had to be pretty stable (financially, family, housing) to do it but it was amazing to see how much of a difference living in the area made. They were recent college grads so keep that in mind.
^this. If I waited till I had a job, I would have never made any of the moves I made. I just save up enough to survive without a job for X amount of months.
^this. If I waited till I had a job, I would have never made any of the moves I made. I just save up enough to survive without a job for X amount of months.
Yep.
If possible I would suggest this approach. My cousin actually took out student loan money his last semester in college and put it in the bank for afterwards. $8,000. He applied to jobs out of state for a month after graduation in 5 or 6 states. Never touched the loan money, lived with parents and worked part time at a sub shop. Got home each night and fired off the resumes. Nothing. So he finally moved to one of his target locations and all of a sudden the phone started ringing. He took a job as a ticket officer manager at a university. It was a job he had applied for while living with his parents. He went back and edited his profile/resume and updated that he was now local. He asked his boss if he hadn't been local would they have hired him. No, and not even a call.
I think the hardest part for people is saving the money and then...taking the plunge. It's a shame this is what it has come to but I've seen too many examples of this scenario to think an out of state job is attainable for nearly everyone without a specialized skill or big time connections.
Personally, I wouldn't plan to move until after I've already applied for and secured a job in a new place. What if you make plans, but no jobs are available? Most employers understand that if they hire someone from out of state, the potential employees will need time to relocate.
A friend of mine is in the situation where he desperately wants to move, but is having a tough time finding a job in the city of his choice. His lease is up in about 2 months, so he's pretty stressed out with networking and trying to secure interviews. He's been at this since the summer (coming up on 6 months now), with the thought that if he gets a job, he'll be able to pick up and move rather quickly.
6-7 months may seem early, but depending on your industry and the availability of jobs, you may very well have to apply, interview, especially network, etc. starting pretty soon. Good luck!
How does one balance this type of strategy with things like leases? I am looking into a move around next May, because that is when my lease expires. Such a long lead time would result in me either double paying rent, desperately seeking a subletter, paying an expensive buyout, or becoming homeless during my search in another city.
I am seriously concerned because I've never relocated before while having commitments (moving to and from my parents home, mostly) so I want to make sure I know what I am in for.
How does one balance this type of strategy with things like leases?
You don't.
You can hope for an "all tied up neatly with a bow" outcome but they're very rare.
Quote:
Such a long lead time would result in me either double paying rent...
EXPECT to pay at double rent for some period of time regardless.
Quote:
I am seriously concerned because I've never relocated before while having commitments...
It really comes down to the level and/or uniqueness of your job skills.
Ideally you'll be recruited and the new employer takes on all the costs/risks. Is that you?
If not then the burden falls on you to take on the costs/risks... or at least to minimize them.
For most... that means a willingness to take on pretty much any job you can get
in the new town to avoid spending down the savings until you can get the 'better job'
I've had 3 interstate moves. My wife is an RN, I'm an architectural designer for home builders. Because of our professions we have opposite experiences.
My wife starts applying before we move. She travels for as many in person interviews as requested without demanding compensation. She's never interviewed and not received an offer, so we feel the risk of wasting money is minimized. Seeing the hospital in person is VERY important to her, she can tell quickly if the facility is one she can succeed at.
She took one job with only phone interviews from another state. She had regrets when she walked into the hospital the first day. The cost of travel would have been well worth it in hindsight.
For me, it's the opposite. I typically do not get a call back for a job posting in another state. When i moved to Phoenix from Pa I had one phone interview out of 25+ applications. The hiring manager told me they typically do not consider anyone that isn't physically in the city. That job didn't pan out, but my first day in town I was able to schedule 5 interviews for the following business day. I took the first 2, had 2 strong offers and canceled the remaining interviews. I had scheduled them in the order of preference, so I felt it unnecessary to waste my time and a managers time for jobs I wasn't thrilled about.
When talking to the interviewing managers I learned that my field has a lot of dreamers. They had many people from all over the country apply. Most of their phone interviews wound up with people who decided to not move even with an offer.
The way around a career that needs to be in the city and a fear of relocating without a job has varying opinions. You can get a mailbox at a UPS store so you have a street adress and use a service like Google Voice to get a local number. Schedule interviews with enough time to get to the city and book travel immediately. If the hiring manager searches the adress they'll ask why you live at a UPS store. An answer like "i'm in an extended stay hotel until I find a place and I needed to get my mail" might set their mind at ease.
People will argue that starting a job with a lie is poor form. But in all honesty I've only had one job, the one I'm currently in, that was completely honest in the interview process.
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