by Beks
After spending quite a bit of time in Texas, my husband and I decided it’s finally time to leave California. Why? Well, there are a lot of reasons but the biggest is affordability. We could sell our house and pay cash for something in Texas. The thought of being completely debt-free is insanely attractive. The second big reason, without getting too political but still getting political, we don’t like California policies. I’ve never agreed with them and the pandemic made everything so much worse. Third, we’re ready for the next big adventure. Bring it on Texas.
We spent time in small cities, big cities, and everywhere in between. We met so many amazing folks and it just started to feel like home. What city felt most like home? That’s the problem. A lot of them.
Usually, when people move to new cities, it’s because they have a job or family. We don’t have either! Picking a city is REALLY hard! We decided I would apply for work in the general area of northeast Texas and let the cards fall where they may. Ready for problem number 2? Where in heaven’s name do you look for jobs?? I haven’t looked for a job in 4 years and even then, the one I found was by accident. Before that, my last job search was in 2008. I’m way out of the loop at figuring out how to find a job.
I tried Monster but so far, I only received 1 notification that matched my search and it was for a low-rated company. When I search all open jobs in a general area, the only ones available are for IT and mortgage underwriters which are nowhere near my line of work.
The parent company of the one I work at was supposed to have a remote position available this spring but it’s officially on hiring hold due to the pandemic. They think it will be a year or two before it opens and I have zero desire to wait a year or two for a job I’m not positive I’ll get.
Share your secrets with me. Where on earth do you find jobs? Are there any out there?
Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.
Sign up with Indeed and Zip recruiter. I would also suggest creating a profile on LinkedIn.
Oh! Great idea!
If I recall, you are able to work remotely currently? I would not move without jobs once I had kids ever, especially in the current climate. What about selling your house and moving your family and renting a studio/room in CA for you to live weekly if you have to be in person sometimes. We have friends who moved out of state and she commutes from Arizona to California for the week every week while she finishes her current job contract. There are really cheap flights right now and SW flies in Texas in several locations I think.
Yes! I am remote right now but it’s not permanent. I wish it was! I love my job!
I agree, I’m not moving without a job. I’m trying to decide which area to apply for jobs in. Once I get a job, we’ll move.
1. Look for the kinds of companies you want to work for and/or might have opportunities for you in the geographic area you want to work in. You can find them by looking at ALL jobs in the area you want to work in on Indeed, Monster etc. You can also look at Chamber of Commerce, Industrial Associations company listings etc.
2. Haunt the job boards, career pages, open positions of those companies. When you see an opening submit directly thru the company website. This allows you to tailor your resume specifically to a company’s job description to emphasize the experience, education or whatever makes you a good fit. It also takes out the middleman.
Fantastic ideas!
I would start with the book “What Color Is Your Parachute?” and get the most recent version available. It’s the bible of job searching.
Also, Indeed.com is another place that lists jobs. That is where I found my last two jobs.
Thank you for the book reference. I just placed a hold on it at our local library.
I love that you’re moving to TX but not AUSTIN like everyone else, lol. I’d suggest putting up a linked in profile–I did that awhile ago and am still getting tons of emails from recruiters. If you know what city you’d like to focus on maybe research major employers and start there. Although with so much going virtual you could probably google what you do now vs/major corporations and I’d be willing to bet they’ll hire virtual.
Ha ha! Right!?! EVERYONE moves to Austin from California. It’s a tiny California now.
I have a LinkedIn but I haven’t been managing it. I’ll go clean it up!
I actually live in northeast Texas. What kind of work are you looking for? Project management maybe? And how long do you want your commute to be?
This area is growing for sure and since we haven’t been really locked down, businesses appear to still be doing well.
Yes, project management/procurement specializing in FAR. Essentially I’m limited to government jobs or companies who work with (or want to work with) the federal government. I can do lots of other things but most of my career has been spent helping others slog through regulations. Super exciting right?!
Would you consider setting up a temporary email so we can send job leads to you?
LinkedIn’s really taken a lion’s share of the joblisting site market.
I’d also recommend PowertoFly.