Wouldn’t it have been great if all the great opportunities for your career existed in the same city? But, unfortunately, it isn’t, even in the biggest metropolitan areas in the world.
You need to move across cities, states and sometimes countries for career or for some reason or other. And one of the biggest turnarounds for this could be finding a job in the new town!
If you landed a job in another city and then relocating, it won’t be as difficult. In fact, some organization also cover your relocating costs. The only thing you’ll have to think about is finding a place to put up in the city, for that as well you’ll have enough time while you’re accommodated in a fancy hotel by your organization.
But this isn’t always the case, recruiters have biases for local candidates and looking for a job, after moving to the city, means staying unemployed as long as you don’t find a good opportunity.
In that case, you’re spending your savings and making it hard to find a job for you with every passing month, ultimately settling for something way less than you deserve.
Packing your life, leaving behind a job, friends or family and moving thousands of miles not knowing how it will turn out to be, isn’t fun anyway! So how to make this transition smooth?
Here are a few tips to ensure a smooth job search, when relocating to another location;
1.Start Early
there can’t be enough emphasis on this, once you know you need to move to another city or need to get a job in a certain location. Start looking for career opportunities.
Job search, in general, takes more time, and you won’t be able to make it for long on your savings. So trying to land a job before getting to the town is indeed a wise decision.
Though it might be challenging to get a job before reaching there but not impossible, you can mention your expected arrival date in your cover letters for recruiter’s consideration.
So once you’ve decided you’re moving to get on the hunt, hit all the job portals you know.
2. Leverage the network
80% of jobs never get published on any job portal and are filled via referral.
If you have any friends or connections in the city you’re moving to, call them! If you’ve already moved to the town, meet them, invite them to coffee, hang-out with their friends.
If you don’t know anyone in the location you’re moving to; search your Facebook friends based on location; it allows you to filter your friends based on your current location and hometown. Even if someone has left the city, they’ll still have enough knowledge and contacts in the city to get you started.
Message your linkedin connects in the location, and they’ll be more than happy to help you.
3. Be informed
Yes, we all have ambitions and dreams. But before you seek out any opportunity, make sure you’re aware of what you’re stepping into.
Know the city, cost of living, what area you’ll dwell into, how you’re going to commute. And plan accordingly, these minutes things can make or break your experience of the new city.
If you’re being offered a good hike in the city, compare it based on the inflation in the cost of living. Sometimes, you’ll find it that the offer wasn’t that great after all.
Begin informed will come handy.
4. Be available | Recruiters don’t like to wait
one problem with finding a job between the chaos of moving from one location to another is being available for the interview.
A lot of people act native before moving to a new location, but it creates significant issues when a recruiter asks you to be there at the earliest for an interview without even covering your costs of traveling because you’re a local of course.
Try avoiding such shrewdness, instead, mention the date of your arrival and tell the recruiters you’d be comfortable coming before that for an interview, in that case, the interviewer will also be considerate about the costs of traveling for an interview, they might cover them for you, or settle for a Skype interview.
5. If work is not your reason to move | Take your job with you
you can ask your current employer to let you work remotely. In that case, you’ll have a way to sustain yourself until you find an opportunity worth settling for.
Moving away from your home is a big task and not an easy one. But taking wise steps can turn it to an exciting experience rather than dreaded one.
