I am currently under a contract position till June 2016 and am planning to move from the west coast of the US to the east coast. I work in software industry.
I know that there is no set answer to this but how should I time applying to jobs so that I complete my current contract position? Can you share your experiences for such cross country move for career and family?
Thanks.
Start applying now, and give your projected timeframes to the prospective employers. Jobs usually aren't that easy to get that you can safely leave it until the last minute.
I've moved countries more than once, this is what worked for me. Even if you don't get the job you apply for due to the timeframe, you will have a contact at that company for future reference. I've only once made the move without getting a job first, and I don't recommend it unless you have plenty of money. And not a great idea if you're supporting a family.
It depends on how marketable your skills are and the amount of experience you have. You have not mentioned in which industry is that you want to work ( financial/telecom etc ). Also depends on your visa situation.
If you are a 7 out of 10 in the latest technologies and have us citizenship , you should bee able to land a job in a month or two .
It also depends if you want to be full time or a contractor.
Relocation packages are offered only to full time employees usually. Keep that in mind. If you move without relocation package , you can still write off moving expenses in tax filings.
Can you resign your position any time and start work in 2-3 weeks ? If that is the case , you can interview any time. Most organizations expect you to join within 2-3 weeks and that is a factor in hiring.
Please consider all above factors.
I have done the same thing, just on the reverse direction as I did not like the east coast as much as the other side :)
The first thing employers are going to look, is your availability for a face to face interview and you being on the west coast is not going to make things easy. Close second is the relocation time and expenses. They will assume that you will need/as them to foot the relocation bill (if your will be applying for permanent positions) and if you are not at a senior enough level in your job (i.e. easily replaceable) they will not want to do that. In addition, if they hire you they will know that your relocation will take some time out of your life. As you can imagine, relocation is not only putting your stuff in a truck and unloading them on the other side. Getting used to the new lifestyle, getting to know your surroundings and things like that contribute to a great deal of productivity loss. Take it from the horse's mouth, I relocated to SoCal From Georgia in early 2004 and finally feeling home took me till the end of the 2006. Iam not saying it was harsh all the time, but you know, knowing where to get your car fixed to where you get the best haircut all take time.
Advice ? Well, if you have a close relative or a friend where you want to be on the East coast, ask their permission if you can use their address as your address on your resumes and profiles. Don't forget to add your resume that you are doing a contract on the west coast and will be available by this and this date. Also, make yourself available for face to face interviews, if necessary at your own expense, for companies that you really want to work for on the right coast. Get a local number (Can you spell Google Voice?) on the locality that you will be, and forward it to your cell phone. All in all, show them you are committed to your new locality, not just a job browser to see what's going around. People tend to hire locally.
Since you are int he same line f business as I am, look for big companies with operations on both coasts. Offer to start on the west and tell them if they like you, you prefer to work on the east coast and can relocate at your own expense. If they really like you, it will be a no brainer. I have a colleague, who just did that and came from NY to LA in the same position last month.
And last but not the least, if you really are certain that you want to live on the east coast, when your contract is over, job or no job, pack your stuff and move there and start looking for jobs locally. You will have a better chance to land something.
Good luck.
