Ask HN: Finding a job across the country?
I recently read the post about moving across the country ( http://paulstamatiou.com/atlanta-to-san-francisco-moving-cross-country )and was wondering, how do you go about getting a job that far away? I've been thinking of moving lately, but it seems like a lot of companies prefer to hire locally. And why not? There must be qualified applicants in their vicinity. What are your experiences with finding a job in a completely different area than where you are now? Do you move first and look for a job once you're there?
Thanks.
Comments
I just moved from New York to Minneapolis. In my experience, people were extremely wary of "relo's" (relocations), the common concern being that they interview me and then I change my mind. Explaining that I had just bought a house and am most certainly moving did not help. Once I moved, it was easy - I quickly landed interviews with several top companies and had a job within a week.
It depends on where you go though. I do open source and Minneapolis is a market where most companies are still on Microsoft stack so there wasn't as much demand for my skillset. Moving into a larger market such as New York or San Francisco could be completely different.
Put a friends address on your resume.
This option only works if you are willing to lie about your location on your resume (hedge this lie in your cover letter, explaining you are in the process of relocating yourself so would need a few days notice for an interview), can get to the interview reasonably quickly, and don't expect relocation assistance.
Your best bet is to plan a few weeks or more to temporarily move to the new location while you search so you are able to quickly get to an interview.
Big companies seem to care less, so are one option. For example, Microsoft hires plenty of people who didn't live in the Seattle area prior to being hired.