The First Thing To Do When Job Hunting in Another City
‘89 in london pull the benz up
type it in - google's your friend, bruh
-pusha t + jay-z, drug dealers anonymous
And its not to update your resume.
We live in a time where the world is at our fingertips. A captivating picture of some far off land finds its way into our newsfeed and suddenly we can research, explore and begin to dream of visiting. We may commit to travel there to experience it for ourselves. We select dates, book a flight, research where to stay and identify a few things we’d like to experience. After days, weeks or months of planning, we arrive at our destinations with such a spirit of wonder and well feeling well-prepared for an adventure.
Finding a job in a new city can be a similar experience and there’s benefit to approaching it as an adventure. If you’ve found yourself dreaming of living in another city, or suddenly having to consider it, don’t update your resume first. That’s a rookie mistake. Here’s where to start your career search if you want to make the most effective use of your time: Research.
Updating a resume should never be the first thing you do when job hunting. You have to know what you’re aiming for first.
In the case of job hunting in another city, it pays to begin with an opportunity assessment first.
It’s ideal to move somewhere where you will have professional options. One gateway to determining your options is to get familiar with the industries that drive the economy of the city you’re considering relocating to. If a city thrives in multiple economies, great! Though nothing is guaranteed, a city with a diverse economy is likely to have a more stable job market.
If you work in IT and seek to relocate to Houston, Texas, a city that thrives in healthcare, oil and gas and has a few renowned universities, you may have the flexibility to work as an IT Manager at a local hospital, within the IT department at an oil company or within the IT department of a local university, not to mention independent IT companies that serve these markets. You’d have multiple job sectors to pursue and that’s the goal - options.
Each city has its own eco-system of core sectors that contribute to its economic development. Identify those sectors. Then identify the key companies within those sectors. Local business newspapers, like Crains or bizjournals.com are a great resource for these listings. If you’re relocating to a city abroad, similar resources exist for you, too. For this step, google is your friend.
Once you identify the companies within those sectors that interest you, only then should you update your resume. Start broad, get specific, then update your resume to reflect the values, tone, and needs of your target company.
This is how you job hunt smarter.