Looking to move to California. Any advice? (Los Angeles, San Diego: extended stay, apartment)

[phxgreenfire]

Hi all,
Here's the situation:

I lost my job early in March 2010 and live in Phoenix now. I have an MA in English (works for Communications, Journalism, etc.) and have been looking for a different job (unsuccessfully) in the Phoenix area since December 2008. However, I decided to look out of state for work a few weeks ago and I'm looking to expedite getting hired. Major reasons I don't want to stay in Arizona are that:

1)Phoenix has become Rio without the glamor or beach
2)I didn't spend all that time/money in grad school to work customer service or in a call center, both of which are prevalent in this state
3)Just Google any newsworthy item about Arizona the past few months (and think what you will about the immigration bill... I have my opinion and I'm not really interested in debating anything related to that)

In any case, my partner has agreed to moving out of state. However, he works at an airline as part of a Phoenix-based crew and needs to get to Phoenix relatively easily for work (and commuting is a fairly simple option). But because he has to stay somewhat close and showed me a map of an ideal distance from Phoenix, we decided that California is the best bet, particularly the Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego areas because of multiple airports and/or number of flights.

I know that was a bit of a novel, but thank you for reading. In sum, I was wondering if anyone has any tips on getting a job in those California cities. My job search has shown more opportunities in LA and the Bay Area in particular in proofreading, editing, copywriting, writing, etc., but I feel there's more I could be doing. I've been looking at Indeed.com, but was wondering if there's a source more locals use: e.g. in Phoenix, a lot of people use Jobing.com as a tool; they operate in other states but it's very popular here. Does anyone know if an out-of-state address will hurt my chances? Is there any advice anyone can provide?

Thank you in advance.

[Charles]

One slight advantage you might have is for your partner and you to move to one of those cities without you yet having a job (because he does have one) and you could then search for jobs as a local as opposed to you trying to find a job in CA as a resident of PHX. If you two could move to CA on his salary alone (living cheaper for awhile) you probably will increase the likelihood of finding a job.

[phxgreenfire]

Originally Posted by Charles

One slight advantage you might have is for your partner and you to move to one of those cities without you yet having a job (because he does have one) and you could then search for jobs as a local as opposed to you trying to find a job in CA as a resident of PHX. If you two could move to CA on his salary alone (living cheaper for awhile) you probably will increase the likelihood of finding a job.

Oh, thank you. I know Phoenix isn't that far from LA and San Diego, so I could get there fairly easy for an interview. Plus, we have an apartment and wouldn't have to work on getting a house ready for the market and sold. Do you know if the Phoenix address will hurt my chances?

[BRinSM]

Originally Posted by phxgreenfire

Do you know if the Phoenix address will hurt my chances?

i would say yes. there are so many unemployed people in CA right now that employers have tons of options without having to consider out of state resumes (unless of course you have a very niche skill).

[phxgreenfire]

Well that really sucks. I would up and move to California tonight if it were feasible, but my partner can't support both of us there and I don't make enough off unemployment to help either. I just can't stand living in Phoenix anymore as it's just gone the wrong direction for too long. Maybe I'll need to find a way to get a local address.

[seain dublin]

Even if you used a local address you're still in Phoenix. If you get called for an interview, it is a 6 hour drive to LA.

That could get expensive and stressful trying to make an interview.

CA is really hurting right now. IMO your better off staying in AZ until the economy shows signs of improvement. Many Californians are unemployed right now.

Unless you have a job lined up not a good idea to relocate.

[phxgreenfire]

Oh I could make it as long as it weren't that day. I just worry that using a local address could create a web of lies. The problem is that I've been looking for work in Phoenix since December 2008 (I was looking while employed because I absolutely loathed my job) but I've only had my third interview since then just today... though that was just a written interview.

I know California is hurting right now, but Arizona really isn't much better. I wish I had the freedom to look on the East Coast, but my partner can't make that commute work because his airline won't allow base transfers

Phoenix/Arizona have done absolutely terrible jobs in attracting high-paying and diverse companies. Maricopa County had the proportionately worst decline in employment of jobs lost to residents. And to make matters worse, business leaders have been begging the state to change laws and act quickly to attract businesses, even putting together some event, but the governor literally just said, "that was nice."

In any case, California is the most attractive place we can look outside of Arizona, but realistically we could also move to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque or El Paso... though admittedly neither one of us has considered any of those cities. I just feel that Arizona has a dark future and we need to "vote with our feet" and let it continue its decline without us.

[uptown_urbanist]

Not having a local address will hurt, but I agree that using a fake local address could make things worse. Make clear in your cover letter that you can move to LA immediately and on your own dime, and can be in CA on short notice for an interview. I'm assuming that you'll have a slight edge in that in your field people are more likely to actually read the cover letter, since writing is what they'll be hiring you to do.

[phxgreenfire]

Yeah... I put that in there. Most of that anyway. I put something like: Though I reside in Arizona, I am willing to relocate to ___ for this opportunity.

I've actually thought including something along the lines of: I will be relocating to ___ at my own expense. I haven't yet in the event they could cover relocation expenses. I really doubt they would because I'm not an employee already.

That might be a good thing to include. Thank you.

[gypsystar]

This may sound shady, but I used an Extended Stay hotel address (one we were planning on staying in for while) right before my arrival in L.A. I put it on my resume and when called for an interview, I said I was out of town. That way, I was able to set up a few interviews for when I arrived in town. When I tried to use my real address, I didn't even get one call. With the L.A. address my phone was ringing off the hook (this was in 2005 when the economy was much better). I moved here from across the country and had a public relations job interview set up for the day after I arrived! You could totally do that since you just need a day or two notice. Then, if you get the job, you can just move right away. You can tell them that you just moved to L.A. (since you won't have any L.A. experience on your resume) and that you briefly went home (or wherever) to visit. You gotta get crafty to make it sometimes!