Hmm. No bites in TX (Houston, Dallas: lease, headhunter, home)

[mcharas]

Also posted in General Moving Issues forum, but thought you all might have a different perspective, being Texans...

We are certain we want to move to TX from NY. We know it is quite a different culture in most parts and that is a very welcome change. Husband works in IT/MIS and has a ton of great feedback on his resume up here (sent 11 times in 9 months, got calls from 9, interviews from 5, offers- finally took one a couple of weeks ago)... but not one inquiry from TX in the last year. The main goal throughout his career has been to diversify and build his resume (which he has been able to do well), keeping in mind for the last 12 years at least that the goal is to have better luck moving out of state. He hasn't flooded the area with resumes because we don't want it to backfire, so we have been careful where we send it. We are finally ready to pull the trigger, so-to-speak. He has held 4 jobs in his professional career in IT/MIS ranging from education, to healthcare, retail, to R&D platforms.

Best advice for getting a bite on his resume in TX? IT/MIS, we would have assumed, would be an easy-enough job to at least get a phone call about. We have always had one lined up before going to another- moving without a job isn't a risk we want to take with a young family. Is it time to pay a head hunter? (He is UL Mgmt. and doesn't want to take a step back; a lateral move is fine; we are aware that mgt. jobs are outnumbered by non-mgt.). He holds formal education (BS, MC, PMP) and 24 years progressive experience in IT working with companies ranging from 100 - 26,000 employees.

(Additional info: I stay home and we are not looking for me to return to work right now; I own a small business that basically runs itself and do not want to move it with me when we go; I will be applying for grad school in TX within the next couple of years (criminal justice), assuming a degree from TX (even if earned long distance) might help with my job prospects down the road there. Also, looking around the Houston area, but we wouldn't necessarily rule out another city if it means we could make the move.)

Thanks in advance!

[Gentleman Jason]

Some people have said that since you're not already in Texas, it hurts your chances of getting a job there, but then there is the issue of moving to Texas without a job lined up. Other state forums have said something similar.

I sent an e-mail to a couple of HR people letting them know that I am able to pay my own moving expenses and even tried the gambit of writing that "I will be in the Houston area visiting on [Date] if you would care to meet with me in person..." even though I wouldn't have gone unless they wanted to interview me. (I'm within a days drive of Houston, though.)

I plan to keep trying until my lease is up this Summer, then I'm going to go ahead and move to the Houston area, but only because I have a decent 5 figures in my savings account and can then look for a temporary job in retail or something until I can find a job in my field.

[979Texan]

1. People don't move to Houston unless a job is lined up.
2. The exception is if you have plenty (relative term) of savings to get through the job hunt or you are independently wealthy.
3. You husband may have to take a step back in a job so both of your egos should be prepared for that if you're dead set on Houston.
4. A graduate degree in criminal justice is useless unless you are in law enforcement or some sort of social services entity like Child Protective Services. Or adult/Juvenile probation.
5. The Cost of Living is going up, rents are sky rocketing and property taxes are through the roof. Be prepared to shell out money to live.

[TXbywayof]

I would remove your NY address from the resume for the time being or follow Jason's advice above. Do you have any family members here? Maybe you can use that address instead. It is unlikely a company will fly you down for an interview or move you down.

[Oildog]

Don't understand. You have had offers elsewhere but want to move to Texas? Why is that important, just to build a resume? If he has 24 years experience the resume is pretty well built, hes almost 50. You should use a headhunter or Linked In... I don't know what else to say.

[Tcoma11]

Dallas is where IT is.

Houston is Oil and gas.

[Aggiebuttercup]

If he has healthcare experience, there are a lot of IT opportunities at the medical center in Houston.

There are lots of IT jobs, but also lots of people looking, so locals are going to have MUCH better response than non-locals.

I advise you to get a local Houston number through google voice and use that. I would also note on the resume if you do not expect the company to pay relocation. I live on the outskirts of Houston and work an hour south and have a phone number that is an hour south, and I've gotten a lot of hesitation among hiring managers. The very first question I am always emailed is whether their company is too far away from me.

[TexasTony]

Originally Posted by Tcoma11

Dallas is where IT is.

Houston is Oil and gas.

IT is everywhere. Just like accountants. For IT relavent jobs O&G is nice to have but not mandatory.

Coming back to the topic of OP, lot of people want to move to TX especially due to the cold winters we had everywhere up north & lack of state tax in TX. The major misconception is that things are cheap here. Not any more. Keep that in mind while negotiating your salary. I was talking to few HR guys in major companies and they all pointed that Houston is very competitve and most of the times HR folks are able to get an out of town resource for lot cheaper because they don't necessary know the existing rates for locals in Houston.

[Schumacher713]

The lack of state taxes is made up with high property and school taxes. Nothing is free in life. You pay the man one way or another. There are plenty of other great places to live. If you get a job in another city I would go there depending on where it is. Houston is not quite the bargain it used to be. As someone else said the rent and property prices have sky rocketed here. Though the suburbs are still reasonable in price the city is getting expensive. Not quite northeast prices, but not as far behind as you would expect. One thing we don't have is a winter! Though you might be in for a bit of a culture shock from the northeast.

[key2thecity]

Originally Posted by mcharas

Also posted in General Moving Issues forum, but thought you all might have a different perspective, being Texans...

We are certain we want to move to TX from NY. We know it is quite a different culture in most parts and that is a very welcome change. Husband works in IT/MIS and has a ton of great feedback on his resume up here (sent 11 times in 9 months, got calls from 9, interviews from 5, offers- finally took one a couple of weeks ago)... but not one inquiry from TX in the last year. The main goal throughout his career has been to diversify and build his resume (which he has been able to do well), keeping in mind for the last 12 years at least that the goal is to have better luck moving out of state. He hasn't flooded the area with resumes because we don't want it to backfire, so we have been careful where we send it. We are finally ready to pull the trigger, so-to-speak. He has held 4 jobs in his professional career in IT/MIS ranging from education, to healthcare, retail, to R&D platforms.

Best advice for getting a bite on his resume in TX? IT/MIS, we would have assumed, would be an easy-enough job to at least get a phone call about. We have always had one lined up before going to another- moving without a job isn't a risk we want to take with a young family. Is it time to pay a head hunter? (He is UL Mgmt. and doesn't want to take a step back; a lateral move is fine; we are aware that mgt. jobs are outnumbered by non-mgt.). He holds formal education (BS, MC, PMP) and 24 years progressive experience in IT working with companies ranging from 100 - 26,000 employees.

(Additional info: I stay home and we are not looking for me to return to work right now; I own a small business that basically runs itself and do not want to move it with me when we go; I will be applying for grad school in TX within the next couple of years (criminal justice), assuming a degree from TX (even if earned long distance) might help with my job prospects down the road there. Also, looking around the Houston area, but we wouldn't necessarily rule out another city if it means we could make the move.)

Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately for your husband, Houston is saturated with IT professionals, even those with plenty of experience that qualify for management positions. However, if he's as great on paper and in interviews as you say, I'm pretty sure the primary issue is his current address. I agree with others that suggest that he remove the NY address from his resume and/or contact info. I also strongly suggest that you utilize a headhunter of some sort. They may be able to negotiate on his behalf regarding the long-distance issue. They could also possibly line up some interviews for him so that he can fly down for a short period of time and get a feel for the city in between interviews. He could get an IT position in a number of different fields here and it would probably be a great move for your family when you consider the cost of living, but please be aware that competition is stiff in IT here. He should also consider applying to jobs in Austin since that city is considered the tech hub here in Texas.

On another note, it seems that people have a belief that Houston is filled with employment opportunities. There are many, but please keep in mind that there are more than 5 million people in the Houston metro area that already live here and are also applying to these jobs. Be realistic and don't move here without a job. I wouldn't dare move across town here without a job.