May 20, 2002, 12:00 AM — Searching for a new job is complicated; searching for a new job
long-distance adds a whole new layer of complexity. Last week's IT
Career Advisor discussed three steps for choosing a new hometown for
your next IT career move (see "Location, Location, Location" at INSERT
ARCHIVE URL HERE, PLEASE). Concurrent with your research on your target
markets you should start evaluating the long-term IT opportunities in
that market. And as you narrow down your list of potential towns, you
should start your job hunt in earnest.
Kill Two Birds With One Stone
In addition to researching a new town's economy, demographics and
quality-of-life factors, start reading the local papers. With the online
editions, you can keep tabs on the local news, for insight into the
town's character, and scan the Sunday classifieds, for a look at the
local job market. The classifieds will help you determine the overall
vitality of market and will be a viable resource as you start looking
for your new position.
The library at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro maintains
an online list of local newspapers worldwide
(http://library.uncg.edu/news/). Use it to find the local papers in your
target area. Another great resource for finding local classified ads is
a special section of the job search portal Job-Hunt.org
(http://www.job-hunt.org/classified.shtml). Here you'll find links to a
wealth of employment ads from newspapers all over the world.
Work the IT Job Search Sites
Searching for a job online can often be as time-consuming and exhausting
as the old-fashioned pounding the pavement. But, for a long-distance job
search, the IT-specific job search sites can be a powerful, timesaving
ally.
While nearly all of these sites allow you to narrow your search by
location, a number are actually organized by geographic markets. Among
these are ComputerJobs.com, Techies.com and ComputerWork.com. Dice.com
is another IT-specific site that offers localized browsing. (See the
Resources section at the end of this newsletter for more details on
these sites.)
Keep in mind that one drawback to using the IT job search sites is that
many of the positions are posted by recruiters and staffing agencies,
not by the actual employers themselves. Unfortunately, that means that
some of the jobs listed are redundant, since two or three different
agencies may be trying to fill the same position. So, screen ads
carefully before responding to avoid being submitted as a candidate to
the same employer by more than one recruiter.
Also, think twice about responding to an ad from a recruiter that only
allows an online response. Recruiters who don't list their contact
information may only be trying to amass a database of resumes.
Align Yourself With a Reputable Local Recruiter
The best way to find a recruiter is through word-of-mouth. Try to
leverage your network of personal contacts to garner personal
recommendations. If you can't secure a personal referral, you can always
rely on the Web. Two sites to try include Top Echelon Network's
Recommended Recruiter
(http://www.topechelon.com/jobseekers/findrecr.asp) and the Recruiters
Online Network (http://www.recruitersonline.com/jobs2/far_seek.phtml).
While a one-on-one relationship with one or two choice recruiters can
help streamline your long-distance job search, it's important to
remember that a recruiter is not necessarily like an agent. That is,
notes Dave Opton, founder and president of career management firm
ExecuNet (http://www.execunet.com), Norwalk, Conn., the recruiter's aim
is not to represent you, but to find the employer the best possible
candidate for the position: "Their job is to screen you out, not to
screen you in," Opton explains.
That said, it's useful to understand how recruiters are paid. Some work
on retainer: The employer pays an upfront fee (the industry standard is
33% of the first-year's compensation for the position to be filled) to
the recruiting agency, which in turn is dedicated to filling that
position with the best possible candidate. Other recruiters work on a
contingency basis: The employer pays the recruiting agency only if the
recruiter places a candidate in the open position (the going rate is 20%
to 25% of the first year's salary).
With this in mind, you can reasonably expect that a recruiter working on
a contingency basis may be more proactive about helping to screen you
into a position. "They may get more personal with you because they want
to win that placement," Opton says. "On the other hand, some contingency
firms may be just sending your resume to [and employer] they don't even
have a relationship with.
