Do potential employers in central FL view being two hours away just as bad as being several states away? (Jacksonville: extended stay, sales)

[JustinsMama]

As far as potential interviews? I'm trying to be creative with trying to find jobs down there before we actually move. One scenario I've come up with is sending my husband down to live with his mom in Jacksonville while job hunting in the Orlando area (that way we don't have to pay for two places to live) and then hopefully he can find a job, we can then move down there and everything will be hunky dory. I figured being able to get to the area in roughly 2 hours for an interview is better than a 9 1/2 hour drive from where we are now in NC.

My second idea is just save enough money by next summer to move down and just go for it with no jobs but some decent savings. However, I keep hearing that even if you have plenty in savings it's hard to find somewhere to rent without a job. (Unless apartment complexes or the like would take say 6 months rent upfront).

Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions?

[annerk]

Two hours or two states, either way they aren't within commuting distance, so they aren't considered local. Where I work they don't consider anyone with over a ~45 minute commute.

[JustinsMama]

bummer...

[BuenoQueHacemohAhora]

Originally Posted by JustinsMama

As far as potential interviews? I'm trying to be creative with trying to find jobs down there before we actually move. One scenario I've come up with is sending my husband down to live with his mom in Jacksonville while job hunting in the Orlando area (that way we don't have to pay for two places to live) and then hopefully he can find a job, we can then move down there and everything will be hunky dory. I figured being able to get to the area in roughly 2 hours for an interview is better than a 9 1/2 hour drive from where we are now in NC.

My second idea is just save enough money by next summer to move down and just go for it with no jobs but some decent savings. However, I keep hearing that even if you have plenty in savings it's hard to find somewhere to rent without a job. (Unless apartment complexes or the like would take say 6 months rent upfront).

Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions?

My guess....it depends on what kind of job and skills. I would not expect a company to give you preference over a local (everything else being the same) if you are looking for a retail, clerical, labor, or entry level professional.

On the other side of the coin, my company flew a person from the mid west after a phone interview, and eventually hired her for a specific type of engineering, with over 10 years of experience. There were local applicants, but this person had almost everything, the only drawback was being a little overqualified.

On my partner's last job hunting period there was 1st round of phone interview, so as to make it a level playing field for an out of town applicant. They ended up hiring my partner though as a local but better qualified.

[JustinsMama]

His field is kind of specific. He is an installation technician (installer, servicing, troubleshooting, etc.) for nurse-call systems in hospitals, medical centers, etc. (with about 10 years experience). As a matter of fact the main product supplier for his company here in NC is located in Altamonte Springs (where I believe they have service techs and sales - though he claims to be stronger in installs than servicing but hey if he wants to move bad enough, right?). I'm assuming his job could possibly carry over to other areas as well (not in the medical field).

He was really hoping to get in with the new V.A. center opening up (he's also a Vet) or possibly something to do with the medical city at Lake Nona. It's just hard to job search for that area from NC as I'm sure everyone is well aware.

Thanks for your input.

[Infinite loop]

One way people get jobs in new cities is to work for a corporation that has many locations then after a while request a transfer or apply for another job at the same corporation in another city. Good luck.

[JustinsMama]

That might be a thought if we were going to take a few years to move down there, but we were hoping to be there by summer of 2011. I can't see giving up our decent jobs here to job hop to a company also here in the hopes of getting transferred down there but I guess some people have had success that route. I would basically have to find a job at a law firm here that also was in the Orlando area (I've searched before for that and didn't come up with anything). My husband may feel out his employer here to see what contacts they have with the supply company they use in Altamonte Springs.

At any rate, thanks for your input...I'm starting to think the "save like we've never saved before" route is looking the best way to go.

[norrodh]

Have you applied for any jobs yet? Because we are also in NC outside of Charlotte and we plan on moving in with the inlaws this summer and we started applying for jobs (my husband is a Maintenance Mechanic) and I pretty much got a job with Disney driving a bus and he is starting to get calls and we just started applying for him. Disney also knows I'm not living there yet and are willing to wait until the kids get out of school for me. We put my inlaws address down since we figured we would already be living there by the time they started calling but everything is happening faster than we thought. So don't get discouraged! Its working out for us - Good luck to you!

Noreen

[norrodh]

Sorry about the run on sentences, i guess I should take a breath - lol!

[beckycat]

JM,
I think it's possible. If I were your DH, I would use the FL address even though it's still in Jacksonville. He could also say that he's staying at an Extended Stay until he finds employment. The reason being is b/c he can say he wants to find a place near work. It's worth it to take a shot. My friend lives here in Orlando and just secured a job in Tampa. You never know.