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Relocation to Boston
Pattie Hunt Sinacole offers advice on job hunting afar
Q: This fall I am moving to the Boston area. I am beginning to job search here and there. The reason that I have to move is to be closer to my parents, who are aging. Thankfully I lived in Massachusetts for years, so I know most of the cities and towns. I feel like my story is complicated and I don’t want to share anything about my parents. I feel like that is private information and I don’t want an employer to think I will be absent a lot because of the care that my parents might need. I have one brother and one sister who will also help with the care. I will move into my sister’s house until I find a house or an apartment.
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How does one job search from afar?
Conducting a job search from a distance is a challenge but it can be done. A few tips are below. Most of these tips would also apply to other cities across the US. We want to avoid a prospective hiring manager or employer assuming that your move will take weeks or months, and that the employer will be expected to pay for your moving expenses. Here are some tips that may improve your search:
- Build a profile on Linkedin if you haven’t already. Connect with as many professional contacts as you can, especially in the Boston area. Also join groups that are appropriate for your career and Boston-based professional associations. For example if you are in the field of Human Resources, consider the Northeast Human Resources Association, or NEHRA. Their website is www.NEHRA.com.
- If you attended college in the Boston area, re-connect with your college or university. Educate yourself about what your alumni association offers.
- Use your sister’s address on your resume. You can change it once you get settled in a house or an apartment. This will signal that you are committed to the Boston area, and can easily relocate if an offer is extended.
- Consider obtaining a Massachusetts cell phone number before you make the move.
- Be clear in any communication that you have roots in Boston. A candidate who is returning to the Boston area, reduces the worries of a hiring professional. Returning to the Boston area is more appealing than relocating to Boston.
- While email is one tool, use all online tools to their fullest. LinkedIn, NEHRA, Indeed, Glassdoor are all sites worth bookmarking.
- If feasible, consider returning to Boston for a few days during the workweek. Try to schedule coffee meetings, lunches and quick sandwiches during that period of time. Make sure that you are gracious to all who fit you into their schedules. Send a thank you note to all who meet with you whther it leads to an interview or job offer.
- Pick up the phone. Call your contacts. Schedule virtual meetings to pick the brains of former colleagues and colleagues.
- If you attended college in Boston, attend networking events that they sponsor. It might be a Red Sox game, an afterwork gathering in the Seaport, or a Boston Harbor cruise but consider them all.
- Check boston.com daily for who is hiring and who is not.
Job hunting from afar is more challenging than in your own backyard. However, you can be successful.
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Additionally, I agree with you about mentioning your parents. I think you can address that topic more broadly. Instead of offering specifics, I think you can explain that you are returning to Boston to be closer to your family, and it is your hometown.
You should also mention that you have assumed that you will be paying for relocation expenses associated with the move. Some employers will offer you compensation, but you likely will be eliminating some opportunities if you expect them to pay this additional expense.
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