Out-of-State Job Hunting

Long-distance job-hunting is a bit more difficult and requires a bit more planning, but should not be much more difficult than job-hunting locally — especially if you use the right tools for your job search.

Your first step is to devise an overall strategy for relocating, including job-search methods, timing, a relocation budget, and planning for any scouting trips in advance of your move.

Your job-search methods should include identifying key employers in your new locale. Develop a targeted list of hiring managers and mail off cover letters and resumes. Contact your college’s alumni office and get a list of alumni who live in your new locale and contact them and ask for assistance. Contact your college’s career services office and see if they have reciprocal agreements with any colleges located in your new locale; if so, contact those colleges. Use your current network to see if any of them have connections to your new locale. Contact the local chapter of any professional organizations that you belong to and use those resources to build your network and job-hunt. Consider contacting headhunters/recruiters in your new locale. Use geographic-specific job sites for your new locale. Start a subscription or start reading online the new locale’s newspaper(s).

Once you have a number of job leads, plan a scouting trip to meet with potential employers and to conduct more networking and researching.

For more help with a long-distance job-search, please read this article published on Quintessential Careers: New City, New Job: How to Conduct a Long-Distance Job Search. And for some quick tips, read: Long-Distance Job Search Do’s and Don’ts.