Hey, I just wanted to see if anyone here had advice on looking for work in another part of the country. It seems fraught with difficulty- for instance, if they like my resume and such, will they do a phone interview first or want you to head out there? Then if they do want an in-person interview, what the heck do you tell your current employer? "cough, cough. I am sick. and will probably be sick for a few days." or are potential employers generally understanding about you needing time enough to get a vacation scheduled (my office requires a month's notice!) and then after all of that, it takes some time to move if you actually do get it! How does anyone ever manage this without quitting and moving there first?
Well, if you definately have a place identified that you want to go - and if you can afford the cost of moving, getting a place to live, and possibly surviving for a few months while unemployed - then quitting and moving there first is not a bad way to go.
This gives you time to become acclimated to your new location, interview everywhere you can get an interview with no scheduling difficulties, and removes the problem of employers' wariness at hiring anyone without an in-person interview.
But I've done it the other way too, and it's harder but it can be done. Some places will do phone interviews (and others absolutely will not) - but then you should be prepared to send a great deal of portfolio materials to them in advance, do good research on their projects (if any sources of info are available) so that you can be prepared to speak intelligently about it, tell them how your experience relates to their area(s) of expertise, etc. You should also prepare some written notes, questions, etc. to have in front of you during the phone interview, to help you guide your end of the conversation.
I wouldn't recommend accepting a job at a firm you haven't visited in person. That would be a last resort - perhaps for a job overseas or somewhere very far away when you absolutely can't afford (or find time) to travel.
As for the in-person interviews: I guess sick time would be one way to do it, though a little risky. I once got stuck out of state due to weather delays and was gone 36 hours longer than planned, and I don't think my current job believed my "sick" call from out of state.
You may want to target a particular city or region for your interviews, schedule the vacation time to go there now, then tell all the firms that you apply to that you're going to be in their area on specific dates and would love to interview with them while you're there.
As for whether firms will give you time to schedule some vacation: it depends what they're looking for, and how many resumes they have right now. If they are taking their time in finding somebody who is a good fit, expected to stay long-term and rise within the firm, then they'll usually take their time in finding that person - sometimes many months. If they're in the middle of some huge project (not unusual in the summer) and looking for people to add to teams immediately then they won't usually be as interested.
May 6, 06 12:40 pm ·
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Looking for work in other areas
Hey, I just wanted to see if anyone here had advice on looking for work in another part of the country. It seems fraught with difficulty- for instance, if they like my resume and such, will they do a phone interview first or want you to head out there? Then if they do want an in-person interview, what the heck do you tell your current employer? "cough, cough. I am sick. and will probably be sick for a few days." or are potential employers generally understanding about you needing time enough to get a vacation scheduled (my office requires a month's notice!) and then after all of that, it takes some time to move if you actually do get it! How does anyone ever manage this without quitting and moving there first?
Well, if you definately have a place identified that you want to go - and if you can afford the cost of moving, getting a place to live, and possibly surviving for a few months while unemployed - then quitting and moving there first is not a bad way to go.
This gives you time to become acclimated to your new location, interview everywhere you can get an interview with no scheduling difficulties, and removes the problem of employers' wariness at hiring anyone without an in-person interview.
But I've done it the other way too, and it's harder but it can be done. Some places will do phone interviews (and others absolutely will not) - but then you should be prepared to send a great deal of portfolio materials to them in advance, do good research on their projects (if any sources of info are available) so that you can be prepared to speak intelligently about it, tell them how your experience relates to their area(s) of expertise, etc. You should also prepare some written notes, questions, etc. to have in front of you during the phone interview, to help you guide your end of the conversation.
I wouldn't recommend accepting a job at a firm you haven't visited in person. That would be a last resort - perhaps for a job overseas or somewhere very far away when you absolutely can't afford (or find time) to travel.
As for the in-person interviews: I guess sick time would be one way to do it, though a little risky. I once got stuck out of state due to weather delays and was gone 36 hours longer than planned, and I don't think my current job believed my "sick" call from out of state.
You may want to target a particular city or region for your interviews, schedule the vacation time to go there now, then tell all the firms that you apply to that you're going to be in their area on specific dates and would love to interview with them while you're there.
As for whether firms will give you time to schedule some vacation: it depends what they're looking for, and how many resumes they have right now. If they are taking their time in finding somebody who is a good fit, expected to stay long-term and rise within the firm, then they'll usually take their time in finding that person - sometimes many months. If they're in the middle of some huge project (not unusual in the summer) and looking for people to add to teams immediately then they won't usually be as interested.
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