A long-distance job-search is almost always more difficult than a local job-search. It often requires a lot more preparation and organization as well. You should anticipate making one or more trips to the new location before you move if possible.
Here's a quick outline of how you should prepare for a long-distance job-search:
First, learn as much as possible about your new location. Research employers, housing, cost of living, quality of life, school systems, and the like.
Second, devise a relocation strategy. Set aside a relocation fund or develop a budget to begin putting aside funds. You'll want to make at least one trip to conduct interviews, expand your network, and examine neighborhoods and living conditions.
Third, begin developing job leads. Developing leads from a distance is really no different from doing so locally. Here are some possible sources of job leads:
* Current and growing network of contacts
* Major employers in the new location
* Geographic-specific job sites
* Newspaper classified job sites
* Career services offices of local colleges/universities
* Headhunters and recruiters
* Temporary agencies in your new locale
Fourth, plan a strategy for convincing employers to conduct an initial interview with you by phone or other long-distance means. In cover letters to employers, state that you are relocating to the area. Try to bunch several interviews together to make a trip to the new location as cost-efficient as possible.
Fifth, remember to follow-up all job leads and job interviews. Send thank you notes. You'll need to be even more proactive and aggressive with a long-distance job-search than with a local job-search.
Sixth, don't let yourself get too discouraged. If you can afford it, you'll find job-hunting much easier once you move to your new location. While not financially feasible for many job-seekers, job-hunting is always easier to plan and schedule when you are currently living where you are seeking a new job.
by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
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