Move to Raleigh/Charlotte NC
September 12, 2018 10:29 AM Subscribe
Attempting to move to new city to be closer to family. Was looking into Raleigh/Durham or Charlotte. I am a UX designer with 4 years experience and have had a few out of state phone interviews but no bites so far, which I believe are due to being out of state.
If we moved to say, Raleigh and I got in touch with a temp agency, I am thinking I could get something quickly that would at least establish myself and family in the city.
What are your thoughts on how risky this is? My wife is really adamant I get a job first, but I am of the opinion that I could get something in the first month or so of moving to town. I have been trying for about 3 months to get a gig there but have only applied to about 10-12 positions.
Has the job market improved enough to where just moving somewhere somewhat blindly if necessary could work and get settled in? Seems there are tons of applicants for every job and thus not being local is a huge strike against me.
If we moved to say, Raleigh and I got in touch with a temp agency, I am thinking I could get something quickly that would at least establish myself and family in the city.
What are your thoughts on how risky this is? My wife is really adamant I get a job first, but I am of the opinion that I could get something in the first month or so of moving to town. I have been trying for about 3 months to get a gig there but have only applied to about 10-12 positions.
Has the job market improved enough to where just moving somewhere somewhat blindly if necessary could work and get settled in? Seems there are tons of applicants for every job and thus not being local is a huge strike against me.
Best answer: I work in downtown Raleigh and have a couple of designers on my team. They say there's tons of jobs, and UX expertise is in demand, but -- you know this already -- no one's offering relocation stipends or seriously considering remote candidates.
I think everything depends on how well you interview and what your approach to job hunting is. But if you think you're a strong candidate and you're seeing jobs that seem like a good fit, it's not crazy to move first and then start hunting.
posted by katieinshoes at 11:32 AM on September 12, 2018
I think everything depends on how well you interview and what your approach to job hunting is. But if you think you're a strong candidate and you're seeing jobs that seem like a good fit, it's not crazy to move first and then start hunting.
posted by katieinshoes at 11:32 AM on September 12, 2018
Best answer: The job market is pretty good here right now, but 30 days is really optimistic for a UX position IMO. I haven't tried through temp agencies, but I don't know that my company would look to a temp agency for UX.
You might have more luck locally, of course, for those companies who are interested only in people who can sit in the office with a team.
I would add that the real estate market in the Triangle is fairly hot. If you want to live near downtown Raleigh or Durham, might be spendy. Unless you're coming from, say, San Francisco, NYC, Denver... then you'll probably be surprised how affordable it is.
Anyway - to answer the question "has the job market improved enough to where just moving somewhere somewhat blindly if necessary could work and get settled in?"
In the first month? I'm skeptical. Could happen! But I'd assume more like 60-90 days as a more realistic time frame. I'm not in UX and have held more senior roles lately, but even at my current employer and last employer - where I was being recruited by friends who worked at the companies - it took more than 30 days to go start to finish.
Temp work? Maybe. But my brother took that route when moving here and he also took longer than 30 days to get settled - that was not that long ago.
Being local will give you a leg up, but I'm doubtful about a month.
posted by jzb at 11:45 AM on September 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
You might have more luck locally, of course, for those companies who are interested only in people who can sit in the office with a team.
I would add that the real estate market in the Triangle is fairly hot. If you want to live near downtown Raleigh or Durham, might be spendy. Unless you're coming from, say, San Francisco, NYC, Denver... then you'll probably be surprised how affordable it is.
Anyway - to answer the question "has the job market improved enough to where just moving somewhere somewhat blindly if necessary could work and get settled in?"
In the first month? I'm skeptical. Could happen! But I'd assume more like 60-90 days as a more realistic time frame. I'm not in UX and have held more senior roles lately, but even at my current employer and last employer - where I was being recruited by friends who worked at the companies - it took more than 30 days to go start to finish.
Temp work? Maybe. But my brother took that route when moving here and he also took longer than 30 days to get settled - that was not that long ago.
Being local will give you a leg up, but I'm doubtful about a month.
posted by jzb at 11:45 AM on September 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sort of tangential: Would remote work (for a company based anywhere) work for you? Either as a tide-over to support you while you move, or permanently.
posted by supercres at 1:02 PM on September 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by supercres at 1:02 PM on September 12, 2018 [1 favorite]
Can't you just apply now and explain your situation? Do a phone interview and offer to fly in if it sounds promising...
I do think you can just move and are likely to find a job around Durham as a UX person. A month? Maybe. It's definitely possible. I'd give you a 1 in 3 chance.
posted by xammerboy at 2:27 PM on September 12, 2018
I do think you can just move and are likely to find a job around Durham as a UX person. A month? Maybe. It's definitely possible. I'd give you a 1 in 3 chance.
posted by xammerboy at 2:27 PM on September 12, 2018
Do you have a family member who would let you use their address as your address on your resume/cover letter? That was how I applied for jobs when I was trying to move cross country. I had to be able to travel at a moment's notice and I carefully avoided the topic of the need to move (or any whisper of asking for financial assistance), but it meant my resume didn't get automatically screened out for address reasons.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 5:16 PM on September 12, 2018
posted by a fiendish thingy at 5:16 PM on September 12, 2018
What about a Google voice number that's local to the area? Then don't list your address at all on the resume? Of course it might get sticky if they want you to interview the next day.
posted by getawaysticks at 5:41 PM on September 12, 2018
posted by getawaysticks at 5:41 PM on September 12, 2018
« Older How do I get the Teacher's Edition of IMP 3? | What is your "Taco Tuesday" for other days? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by bendybendy at 11:25 AM on September 12, 2018