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17 tips for finding a job in a different city

be strategic in your job search, landing a job in a different city, improving your job search,
Take these steps to land a job in a
different city.
Several people have asked me how to land a job in a different city. Some had given up on finding work in their community. Others wanted to pursue a new adventure or find a position that pays better elsewhere. Many just wanted to expand their job search to a wider area.

Regardless of their reason, I gave them the same advice: Establish yourself as a local, even if you don’t yet live in your target city. Why? Many companies prefer to hire locally to avoid transportation and relocation expenses and the risks involved in hiring someone who may decide not to move after all.


To compete successfully against locals for out-of-town jobs, follow these steps:

1) Research target cities and select the one that best fits your lifestyle, career aspirations, comfort level, and income. Be sure to target a city that has lower unemployment in your field than your current community. You can conduct such research online, through your local library and by speaking with current or former residents of the target city.

2) Firm up your relocation plans including your move time frame, strategy, and budget.

3) Learn about companies in the target area through sites like Hoovers and Dun and Bradstreet. Research nonprofits through Charity Navigator or Charity Watch.

4) Sign up for geographic-specific job sites Quintessential Careers has an extensive list. You can also receive job alerts for openings in your target city through well known national job sites such as Monster and Indeed.

5) Establish a local address to use on application materials. Use a friend’s or family member’s address (with their permission) or rent a mail box at a local Fed Ex Kinkos, or similar company. If you opt not to establish a local address, make it clear on your application materials when you will be moving to the city.

6) Sign up to receive local news (such as a local newspaper's daily e-news blasts and the local Business Journal) to learn what’s going on in the community and about target companies. Also read the news sections of target company web sites.

7) Join locally-focused LinkedIn groups, particularly job seeking and networking groups and groups related to your field. Participate in discussions and establish mutually beneficial relationships with members.

8) Look through your LinkedIn connections’ connections to find people who live in your target city and ask your connection to introduce you to them through a LinkedIn introduction. Learn about the city and the best places to live, work, etc.) A simple way to perform this tip is to type the city name in the “Search people” box. All of your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree connections in that city should appear in the results.

9) Use the LinkedIn "Follow companies" feature to follow companies in your target city so you can learn about their new job postings and recent hires and departures. Simply type the city name into the Search Companies box, then check the “follow” button for each company in which you have an interest. Information about companies you elect to follow will appear in your LinkedIn Network Updates.

10) Seek phone interviews to establish rapport with target companies. If they become well acquainted with you, they will be much more likely to arrange an in-person interview with you.

11) Visit your target city to make sure it is right for you. Set up informational interviews in advance. Include in your cover letter that you would like to arrange and interview and specify when you will be in town. Stay long enough to accommodate second interviews, but make sure your target companies know time is of the essence.

12) Take a class at a local college and make it clear on your application materials that you are doing so, even if it is through distance learning. By being enrolled, you can access the school’s career center resources. It also helps you sound more local.

13) Consider using a recruiter. Select someone who specializes in your field and your target city.

14) Join local associations and organizations. Assist them with projects even if from a distance. For example, you could help them write articles for their web site or assist them in creating their membership directory by selling ads by phone or handling the design of the directory. Get to know members through LinkedIn groups, phone calls, etc. Particularly try to network with people within your target companies. Let everyone you interact with know you are seeking work in their city.

15) Let it be known if you are not seeking interview transportation and relocation expenses. Some interested companies may willingly cover such expenses for highly qualified candidates in sought after positions, but most companies prefer to hire less costly local candidates.

16) Consider temping while looking for work in your new city, but resist taking a lower level position or a job that is not related to your field, lest you get pigeon holed into long-term work you don’t want.

17) Most importantly, make it clear to hiring companies that you are:
- The most qualified for the job
- Committed to making the move
- Worth the risk and expense over local candidates


Prepare well to seek jobs in other cities … after all; it can help you land a job or get a better one!

What tips or comments do you have about job seeking in another city?
Share them! Thanks, Kathy

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