Workplace Moving to another state (Orlando to Los Angeles) - advice? agencies?

[Schrodinger]

Hey ladies and gents!
I appreciate the help I've gained over the years with this wonderful forum - so I'm hoping you're able to help me out with my stressful situation.

I'm currently still in the greater Orlando area and I would like to move out to the Los Angeles area whenever I am able to (ASAP). At the moment, I am trying to apply to jobs while I am out-of-state. I have not received any responses yet and it's been disappointing. I feel that corporations and / or recruiters do not take you seriously because you are still out-of-state and it would be wasteful to spend time on a candidate who is not even there (does this make sense?)

I'm working with a wonderful top-tier fashion house and would LOVE to transfer. Unfortunately, there is no open availability for the position I am currently over there. So I'm sort of back at square one.

Is there anyone that lives out in Los Angeles that could recommend me a genuine job agency? Or possibly, is there anyone that applied while out-of-state? What are your success stories?

I will be visiting Los Angeles in mid-October to do some scoping but will continue with what I'm doing already... applying to jobs via online.

Many thanks in advance!

 

[redney]

Are you including your current address on your resume? If so, you're right - recruiters/hiring managers, etc. will likely not take your candidacy seriously if you don't yet reside in the local area. Sorry.

Typically, hiring from afar is for candidates with skills in high demand or those in senior leadership roles for which companies need to broaden their searches geographically and typically provide relocation assistance for successful candidates. Companies are not interested to wait on a cross-country mid-level or junior candidate to figure out plane tickets and lodging for an interview, KWIM? They will rely on their local candidate pools, including referrals from their employees (on that, see below).

Omit your mailing address from your resume and just use your phone and email address. Or, better yet, if you have an LA-based friend or relative, perhaps they will let you use their address on your resume. However, you still may be at a disadvantage if your resume shows you're still employed by your Orlando-based employer.

Lastly, the rate of return for applying online, including via company's own job sites, is very low. They're not nicknamed the "black holes" for nothing.

Your best bets are networking and moving. Networking - find someone in your target companies and get your resume to them. Search LinkedIn for people working at your target companies, see if your college career center has an alumni directory or connections support, and try to find a connection somehow.

Or, find an AirBnb or a friend/relative to crash with for a few weeks and pound the pavement.

Good luck!

 

[pr1nc355]

I don't work in the same industry as you, and I'm a lifelong Angeleno, so I'm not sure you're directing your question toward me, so feel free to gloss over my response, but I think I may be able to give you some useful info.

First of all, LA is a VERY tough job market. The state of California is always near or at the top of the list of highest unemployment rate. LA by itself ranks high if you compare it to other cities and counties, too. Add to that the fact that it's extremely expensive to live here. I was listening to the news a week or so ago, and I heard that LA is the city with the most unaffordable housing costs. NYC and SF have higher actual costs, but LA residents, on average, make less money than the residents of those other cities. In my company, we had 4 new job openings, and though we didn't do huge advertising for them, we heard from 20+ people within a few days, and these jobs require a doctoral degree, professional licensure, and specific skills. I think some people took a pay cut for these jobs, just to be able to have a job in LA. It's not just housing costs that are high. Taxes are, too, which means that you take home less of your pay than you would if you lived in most other American cities. Other things cost more here, too, like gas, car insurance (unless you live AND work in a place like Downtown LA or West Hollywood, you pretty much have to have a car--and Downtown and WeHo have really high rents), and we also have a 9% sales tax. We have a running joke around here that goes, "Nice weather today"...then whoever we're talking to says, "Yeah, and we pay dearly for it!".

Also, not to generalize across the board and I'm not saying this applies to you (since I don't know you), but I've met a lot of young people who move to LA for the stereotypical Hollywood lifestyle. I've never been fully immersed in this lifestyle, but what I know is that it can get self-destructive, and it costs a lot of money. One of my coworkers, who just turned 30, moved to LA from Riverside county. She moved supposedly just for her job, but then found herself wanting to be involved with the lifestyle (when other people from work encouraged her) and is now perpetually broke but refuses to give up her expenses to keep up with her new group of friends. She's working overtime like crazy to pay her expenses from their trip to Coachella (which was in April).

My best advice is to consider what your priorities are. If living in LA is your #1 priority and you can't transfer within your current company, would you be willing to find work with another one? Your skills may work with a job in a related industry or a totally different one. Since I've lived in LA my whole life, I never had the "address out of state" problem here, but I did recently search for a job outside LA. After a couple of years, I ended up getting 3 out of 4 jobs that I applied for and finally found one that is suitable for me and will be moving shortly I don't know for sure if my location was an issue, and I never gave an address except my real one, but what probably helped was that I showed up in person to apply for the jobs and let each employer know that I was eager to relocate and that I had friends and family in the area to visit.