--- title: How to Compete for an Out-of-Town Job description: You can improve your chances of finding a new job by taking your search on the road, but you’ve got to be strategic in selling yourself. authors: - name: Daniel Bortz url: https://money.com/author/daniel-bortz/ at_money_since: 2014 articles: 60 covers: - Career Advice - Business - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/DanielBortz - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-bortz/ former_staff: true published: '2014-12-09T11:00:11.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T04:46:44.000Z' section: Career Advice tags: - Careers - hiring - long-distance job application - out-of-town job - relocating - relocation - work word_count: 409 canonical: https://money.com/how-to-compete-for-an-out-of-town-job/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![illustration of station wagon pulling office desk](https://img.money.com/2014/11/141121_pcr_betterthanlocal1.jpg) Three out of four hiring managers recently surveyed by Challenger Gray & Christmas reported a shortage of local talent. So theo­ret­ically you could have better luck finding the job of your dreams if you’re willing and able to move. Problem is, many companies are hesitant to hire out-of-towners because of concerns over relocation, money, and local knowledge. But you can put hiring managers at ease by preemptively addressing these three issues in your application: **How Willing You Are to Move** Transparency is crucial. “If a recruiter in Pittsburgh sees you’ve been working in L.A. for 10 years, they’ll want to know why you’re applying,” says Marcelle Yeager, president of Career Valet, a professional coaching firm. Don’t skirt these issues or, worse, lie by using a local pal’s address. Instead, write beside your address that you would be eager to relocate to the area for the right career opportunity, recommends Jaime Klein, founder of Inspire Human Resources, a New York HR consulting firm. **What It Will Cost the Company** Hiring costs are top of mind for recruiters when evaluating long-distance applications. So pay your own way for an in-person [interview](https://money.com/worst-job-interview-mistakes/ "5 Ways You’re Sabotaging Yourself in Job Interviews") if you can swing it, says Stefanie Wichansky, CEO at Randolph, N.J., management consulting and staffing firm Professional Resource Partners. A subtle approach: Indicate that you are frequently in the area and can make yourself available at the hiring manager’s convenience. Definitely don’t bring up needing relocation assistance in your cover letter. “That makes your candidacy less attractive, as you’ll be a more expensive hire compared to the local competition,” says Wichansky. Wait to raise the issue until the company has determined that you’re the best candidate. “You’re in a better position to [negotiate](https://money.com/is-it-alright-to-inflate-my-salary-in-a-job-interview/ "Is It Alright to Inflate My Salary in a Job Interview?") once you’ve proven the value you can bring to the organization,” she says. **How Well You Know the Area** Unless you have a skill set that’s unique or in high demand, you’re going to need to convince a hiring manager that you’re not ­hampered—and wouldn’t hamper the company—by your lack of knowledge of the local market, says Yeager. One way to tap into the market from afar, besides following local news and blogs, is to join region-specific industry networking groups on LinkedIn. Start discussions to gain an insider’s perspective, then demonstrate this knowledge in your cover letter. An out-of-towner looking for work in commercial real estate, for example, might study neighborhoods and establish relationships with local developers to show he can hit the ground running. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/how-to-compete-for-an-out-of-town-job/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Career Advice", "item": "https://money.com/career-advice/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Job Search Sites", "item": "https://money.com/job-search-sites/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How to Compete for an Out-of-Town Job" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/how-to-compete-for-an-out-of-town-job/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/how-to-compete-for-an-out-of-town-job/", "name": "How to Compete for an Out-of-Town Job", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2014-12-09T11:00:11.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/how-to-compete-for-an-out-of-town-job/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/how-to-compete-for-an-out-of-town-job/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-16T04:46:44.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "How to Compete for an Out-of-Town Job", "articleSection": "Career Advice", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2014/11/141121_pcr_betterthanlocal1.jpg", "width": 2520, "height": 720, "caption": "141121_PCR_BetterthanLocal" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Bortz", "url": "https://money.com/author/daniel-bortz/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/daniel-bortz/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/05/Daniel-Bortz.png?w=226&h=247&crop=1", "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/DanielBortz", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-bortz/" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2014-12-09T11:00:11.000Z", "description": "You can improve your chances of finding a new job by taking your search on the road, but you’ve got to be strategic in selling yourself.", "abstract": "You can improve your chances of finding a new job by taking your search on the road, but you’ve got to be strategic in selling yourself.", "@id": "https://money.com/how-to-compete-for-an-out-of-town-job/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-04-16T04:46:44.000Z", "wordCount": 409, "keywords": [ "Careers", "hiring", "long-distance job application", "out-of-town job", "relocating", "relocation", "work" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Career counseling", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Career_counseling" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "List of employment websites", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_employment_websites" ] } ] } ] } ```