Relocating to a new city can be a fun and exciting adventure. Every spare moment is spent exploring new roads, looking for shortcuts, finding your new favorite coffee shop and your new go-to restaurant for take-out. But moving someplace new can also bring some challenges – especially if you don’t have any employment opportunities lined up. This article from Arnie Fertig of Jobhuntercoach outlines some things to consider that may help make your job search easier when you relocate.
When you find yourself living in a new city without a job, you are likely to encounter an added level of complexity in a job search. Perhaps you’ve moved to be with a spouse or partner whose company relocated him or her. Maybe you exhausted all your opportunities in your previous location, or you were intrigued with the lifestyle a new community offers. Whatever the reason for your move, this can be both an exciting and fearful time in your life.
Here are some things to consider as you get your bearings and begin the search for your next job:
Get the lay of the land. While you aren’t yet working, relish the time to get to know your new surroundings. Figure out first things first, like where to buy your basic groceries. But don’t neglect to learn about your new city or community within it. What cultural, historical and other spots of interest are nearby? What colleges and universities offer programs to the public, like lectures or concerts that would be of interest? Where are great places nearby to just take a walk or hike, ride your bike or get some exercise? Take some time to figure out where to find day care or education for your kids, doctors and dentists, gyms and all the service providers necessary to your lifestyle.
Get salary surveys. As you begin to focus your job search, it is important to figure out what your skills and experience can command in compensation. You can easily get graphs that compare what a job title pays (range and median) in your new location and nationally at Careeronestop.org, sponsored by the US Department of Labor. And you can hone that data more specifically at sites like Salary.com, PayScale, Glassdoor and elsewhere.
Scour the job boards to see what’s out there. Before you rework your resume, check the major job boards (Monster, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn’s main Jobs menu) and job aggregating sites Indeed and SimplyHired. Conduct multiple searches and save results of full text job descriptions. Examine them carefully to identify the sought-after skills and achievements that you can legitimately claim when you are putting your new resume together.
Find job fairs. There are many types and venues for job fairs. Do a Google search for job fairs in your area, and you’ll see everything from career forums to events specialized for veterans, health care, general labor and so on. In particular, it is worth checking with your professional organization to see if it sponsors such events, or provides links to the events on its site.
Network your way into your new community. Essential to any job search campaign, especially in a new community, is getting to know “who’s who,” and getting to be known by them. Use LinkedIn to build connections, and then actually follow up to speak with them.
