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Hi Everyone,
I would like your advice/experience at doing this... I want to move to another state but it will be very difficult if i don't have a job lined up...
Have you ever succeed at applying for a job at another city?
I heard that employers would not look at your resume if your contact/address is from another location. Some people get jobs because they have friends or relatives that help, but I don't have anyone in the city I want to live.
i have been doing this. i haven't gotten any jobs yet, but i have gotten lots of interviews.
just make it very, very clear that you are moving. put it near the beginning of your cover letter and also on your resume, just below the address line. specify when you are moving if you have a date.
it also helps if you can move with not very much notice (hard to do, unfortunately) and without assistance. if there's anything you can throw in there to make it clear that you are serious about moving, do it.
what i say is "I am moving to the ______ area to be closer to my family and I am prepared to relocate with very little notice." sometimes i add "and without assistance" if the employer seems very emphatic about not offering it, to show that i understand. otherwise i leave it off just in case they offer!
you also want to make sure your cover letter and resume are absolutely the best they can be. if you know anyone who is a hiring manager, or is just generally a smart person with good judgment and/or a good writer, have them look your things over and give you advice.
good luck! job hunting is definitely harder when you're not local but it's not impossible to get a job long distance.
i have been doing this. i haven't gotten any jobs yet, but i have gotten lots of interviews.
just make it very, very clear that you are moving. put it near the beginning of your cover letter and also on your resume, just below the address line. specify when you are moving if you have a date.
it also helps if you can move with not very much notice (hard to do, unfortunately) and without assistance. if there's anything you can throw in there to make it clear that you are serious about moving, do it.
what i say is "I am moving to the ______ area to be closer to my family and I am prepared to relocate with very little notice." sometimes i add "and without assistance" if the employer seems very emphatic about not offering it, to show that i understand. otherwise i leave it off just in case they offer!
you also want to make sure your cover letter and resume are absolutely the best they can be. if you know anyone who is a hiring manager, or is just generally a smart person with good judgment and/or a good writer, have them look your things over and give you advice.
good luck! job hunting is definitely harder when you're not local but it's not impossible to get a job long distance.
Hi Groar,
thanks for your advice! I think I should make that clear on my resume, at least let them know that I'm moving for sure... the only thing thing is that my moving date depends on the job I get...
Hi Groar,
thanks for your advice! I think I should make that clear on my resume, at least let them know that I'm moving for sure... the only thing thing is that my moving date depends on the job I get...
my situation is the same right now! i will be moving whether or not i find a job, but not for a while, and i can move sooner. in that case just put "moving to _____________ spring 2013" on your resume and just change it if it gets to be later than that , and put something about being able to move quickly in your cover letter.
in online applications that ask when you can start and demand a date, i just put 2 weeks or so from the date i apply. i am working now and i think employers understand that you have to give notice. likewise, they'd understand that you need some time to move, although you really have to reassure them it will not take a really long time.
Have you ever succeed at applying for a job at another city?
I heard that employers would not look at your resume if your contact/address is from another location.
Some people get jobs because they have friends or relatives that help, but I don't have anyone in the city I want to live.
I lived in Jacksonville and got laid off in 2010. After a few months of local job searching I started sending resumes all over the country. I got a call from a job in Seattle that I found with a google search.
I did drug testing and paperwork locally with the results faxed across the country. My first interview was over the phone the next day... Second was the following day with Skype.
I got the offer a few days after that. It didn't include relocation money but I had nothing holding me to FL anyway... I had sold my house about 8 months prior to the layoff.
I packed up and drove cross country a couple weeks later and started the job. My skilled trade (CNC machining) got me the job offer... Not anyone I knew. I didn't know anyone west of Memphis. All my family and friends were east coast... I had never been west of Memphis prior to moving here.
Sometimes you have to roll the dice.. FL unemployment is horrible. I took the job here and don't regret it. This is a beautiful area and I'm working a job 10 times better than any job I ever had back east.
I tried doing this for years and it was a waste of my time. Generally speaking, unless you have 15+ years of experience in the field or are in a high-demand field such as IT or medical, most employers will not consider out of area applicants. You have to ask yourself: is it likely that the employer can find my skills in their area already? If so, they probably aren't interested in you. Sometimes major corporations such as Boeing will often consider out of state applicants. May or may not offer relocation assistance. They know people are willing to move for those jobs, whereas smaller companies are little more hesitant about the risk involved with someone they haven't met in person.
In my case, I only had a few years of administrative experience out of college. Nothing fancy. I eventually just saved up the money and moved to my destination without a job lined up. It was scary, I was unemployed for 2 months (which is way shorter than many relocaters), and my first job in the new city was a minimum wage retail job. Luckily for me, I eventually got a professional position that pays decent. But I know I wouldn't have gotten this job if I wasn't in the area.
Sometimes major corporations such as Boeing will often consider out of state applicants. May or may not offer relocation assistance. They know people are willing to move for those jobs
I know of several former colleagues who moved to another state in one of two ways:
1/ Tried (some were successful and some were not) to find a job from their current city, and then moved.
2/ Moved to the city of their choice (with about one year in savings) and then found a job, while local. This group of colleagues was more successful in that every one of them eventually found jobs in their fields. (Average job search was about 6 months.)
It does seem that employers do favor the local candidates. Of course, this is not a scientific survey. Good luck with your situation.
I am looking to do this in the future, and it is quite disconcerting that employers would put location before skills of the applicant. But hey, as they said, you gotta roll with it. I think the more important parts are to mention that you are willing to move fairly fast (within 2 weeks to allow time for your notice), and to make it even more attractive, that you may not need relocation assistance. Do let us know how things progress.
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