You Can’t Look for a Job from a Remote Location

Re:You Can’t Look for a Job from a Remote Location – It Does... by dennmart on Friday May 28, 2010 @01:17PM (#1387019)

I disagree with this, since I was able to land a job in cities hundreds of miles away not once, but twice. I was able to land a job in New York City while living in Puerto Rico. I do admit, however, this was partially due to some plain ol' luck - One of the startup's co-founders was actually travelling to Puerto Rico on vacation, so I was able to meet him personally and have an impromptu interview at the San Juan airport.

Two years later, I got laid off due to economic factors. This led to getting a job in the Bay Area. I had multiple phone interviews and a short programming test before getting the job, but I didn't have to fly over to California once.

The author does raise some good points, though. While I obviously don't have any proof, I have always suspected that some job offers were passed over me due to my location at the time, especially while in Puerto Rico (two prospective employers strongly suggested that I get a visa to work in the U.S. - ignoring the fact that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, making me a U.S. citizen). So while I would say it's a bit more difficult to go job-hunting in remote locations, it's definitely not impossible.

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Re:You Can’t Look for a Job from a Remote Location – It Does... by ajg1977 on Friday May 28, 2010 @01:42PM (#1387095)

Ditto. Unless you're looking for bar work, or something where job seeking involves actively canvassing locations, then even if you did move to city XYZ your job seeking would largely still be performed online.

It would also be foolish to move to somewhere like the Bay area or Los Angeles where the location of your new job could result in a 90 minute commute both way. (e.g. you move to North Beach and land a job in Palo Alto). Moving sucks. Moving twice sucks more :)

What you must be prepared to do however is fly to city XYZ at a few days notice, and potentially on your own dime, for one or more interviews. And if you do land that job, be prepared to start the next week.

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Re:You Can’t Look for a Job from a Remote Location – It Does... by bitwize on Friday May 28, 2010 @06:19PM (#1387829)

And if you do land that job, be prepared to start the next week.

Yeah, crap, I made the mistake of not being prepared for that when I moved out here (Cambridge area, MA). I interviewed, they wanted me right away, so I had to literally pack my things and get my ass out there before I could do basic stuff like look for a place to live. I had my laptop and a suitcase full of clothes and other stuff and that was it.

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Re:You Can’t Look for a Job from a Remote Location – It Does... by dannyr on Friday May 28, 2010 @02:06PM (#1387180)

"Two years later, I got laid off due to economic factors. This led to getting a job in the Bay Area. I had multiple phone interviews and a short programming test before getting the job, but I didn't have to fly over to California once."

Personally, I'd be wary of a company wanting to hire me without having to meet me in person. Inversely, if I'm running a company, I won't hire somebody I haven't even met.

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Re:You Can’t Look for a Job from a Remote Location – It Does... by dennmart on Friday May 28, 2010 @02:50PM (#1387309)

Granted, it can be a crap shoot, as the author of this article pointed out on his site. But I suppose this need has diminished a bit recently, with so much information - both work and non-work related - about people and companies available out there now. As soon as my current employers showed interest in me, I went through the Internet to grab any piece of information about the company I could find. I wasn't going to move 2500+ miles away without getting a good idea what I was getting myself into. The company had been recently well-funded, seemed stable and was heading in a good direction that interested me. Three months in, it seems I was correct.

I asked one of the higher-ups this same question after being hired, and they said that they scouted my blog, Twitter and Github accounts, among others, and with what they heard over the phone, they felt I was a really good fit in their company. Had I not taken the time to build my online persona, I doubt I would've had been hired. This doesn't just apply to job-hunting in remote locations, but nowadays it should be a big part of it.

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Re:You Can’t Look for a Job from a Remote Location – It Does... by PonyGumbo on Friday May 28, 2010 @03:14PM (#1387362)

Why?

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Re:You Can’t Look for a Job from a Remote Location – It Does... by keefe on Friday May 28, 2010 @03:45PM (#1387447)

I'm with you and I find the idea of "move there THEN find a job" rather foolish. Most people can't afford to do this, but most middle+ class workers can afford to fly somewhere and interview. Then if you get the job you just take it, stay in a long term hotel for a while and then get yourself settled. I've gotten most of my jobs doing this in my rather nomadic life.

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