Relocating with a Purpose

Through my HAPPO post,  Heather Huhman was kind enough to give me all three of her ebooks, for free (but you should buy them because they are all great)

For the purposes of this blog, I am going to review Relocating for an Entry-Level Position – Why You Probably Have to and How to Do It. The 50 or so page book is a quick read with pictures! But my second grade self aside, it is jam packed with helpful tips on how to find where you want to move and get yourself there.

Huhman goes over some the top 15 cities to find jobs as well as information on the types of industries available there. Unfortunately, only one of my cities of choice made the list, DC at #15. But Huhman would not let that stop me, she encourages job seekers to find the top one or 20 companies that you want to work for and commit to finding a job at them.

To my absolute joy, Huhman recommends using Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to find your position (yes, that was a shameless plug for myself). She recommends using Tweetdeck or HootSuite to create columns and groups for experts and hiring managers in your field of choice and area. Creating a personal brand online will engage you and creating an online network. I was able to find Heather last year via Twitter and she introduced me to her fantastic blog and HAPPO. I owe much to her.

Now comes the schmooze factor. I borrowed that line from someone. Set up informational interviews, use your college’s alumni network to find professionals in your area of choice and apply for internships in your area.

So now you have the tools, you have to use them. Its time to take a leap of faith. I have heard this time and time again, hiring managers will put your resume to the bottom of the pile if the address on your resume is not local. Instead, use a friend’s or relative’s address to show your commitment. Huhman advises against this. Instead address your willingness and need to relocate in your cover letter.

The other jump is to move to the city! But don’t jump without looking. Create a plan using relocation calculators, like CNN’s, will let you know how much you should save.

Its a lot to think about. I know reading and rereading the article has given me a new direction to take my job search. Check out Heather’s blog and while you are there check her collection of ebooks. For anyone looking for a job, internship or some interesting Tweets in DC and beyond she has to be your go to girl.

Working the Job Fair 1,000 Miles Away

The dreaded job fair. You wear your best suit to wait in long lines to give your pitch and hand over your resume. The whole game seems to be a lot of hurry up, wait and follow-up.

I am not sure anyone actually looks forward to these awkward hand shakes and business card passing, but looking for a job in a different region of the U.S. did not make me anymore excited to attend one last week. I did go, but not without a plan

The career fair was sponsored by Wisconsin Private Colleges, naturally it was geared to Wisconsin-based jobs and service opportunities. Not too many options for a D.C.-Raleigh-Colorado Springs seeking girl like myself. It took a little more work but here is how I worked the job fair.

1. Research: Any online article on job fairs tells you to research the companies that will be there. Well relocating makes the research that much more important. I picked up the packet of companies earlier in the week, flipped through and first picked out the companies or positions I was interested in. Then, I went online and looked further into the company, the position and also if they had an office in one of dream locations.

2. Whittle it down: After the research I narrowed my list from 15 to four. Many of the companies did not have an office outside of Wisconsin or the position did not exactly fit what I wanted. Sometimes you got to be picky when you can not devote hours to being at the fair.

3. Plan your route: I knew there were two tables that I was particularly interested in, so I planned to do those last. I used the first two as practice to shake off my jitters. Be flexible though, no sense in standing in line for 20 minutes if another one of your tables has no one in line.

4. Be up front about what you want: “Hi, my name is Paige and I am interested in your PR/communications/fundraising position in D.C./Raleigh/Colorado Springs I found on website/affiliate site/etc” repeat four times. I caught a few recruiters off guard with my frankness, mostly because they were not familiar with the position. Letting local recruiters know a job you are looking for nationally will get your name out there in the organization and may open leads that you did not know existed.

5. Follow up: Duh! Take those business cards and thank the recruiters for speaking with you. IMPORTANT reiterate what you are looking for again (see point 4). They talked to 100s of job seekers, make sure you are fresh on their minds.

I had some awkward conversations and hit a few dead ends. But I did have success. One of the organizations that was in my top two has a fundraising position in their D.C. office that I found on their national site, as opposed to their local website which was provided in the info packet. The recruiter had no clue about the position, but his boss recently moved to Milwaukee from the D.C. office. The recruiter passed along his boss’s card and I sent an introduction email. I will let you know how it works out!

HAPPPO (Help A Poor PR Pro Out) Post

If you haven’t heard, HAPPO is the PR topic to be writing/blogging/tweeting/sharing on Friday, February 17. The premise, developed by the PR job search geniuses Valerie Simon and Arik Hanson, is to help out-of-work and beginning PR Pro’s locate jobs in locations across the country. And fortunately for me, DC is one of the locations. Thank you to Mike Schaffer and Heather Huhman for posting this in DC.  Here is my #HAPPO and #HAPPODC pitch.

Hi there, my name is Paige Jorgensen and I am PR student at Marquette University graduating in May. Born and raised in the Midwest, I am ready to leave the below freezing weather behind for DC. I have Hill experience as a press intern for Senator Max Baucus, but I am looking to break into the nonprofit or private sector doing entry-level PR, communications or fundraising. My strengths lie in writing and ability to think on my feet, and I have great interest and  experience in writing fundraising proposals for my school. To find out more information about me or my experiences, please visit my website paigemjorgensen.weebly.com, blog Relocation Remedies paigemichele.wordpress.com or email me at jorgensen.paige@gmail.com. I am completely devoted to any job, even if it means cleaning up after the Senator’s Bischon Frise!