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Gretchen Stanford has been marketing products and service for the past 12 years in corporate and agency environments.  Specially, Gretchen has worked as a Manager of Promotions & Events for Best Buy, a Senior Marketing Manager for Brand Buzz, a subsidiary of Young and Rubicam, as well as a Regional Marketing manager for United Health Group.  For the past several years, Gretchen has been working at Aquent, a global marketing, creative and interactive staffing company, where she now specializes in placing experienced marketing talent with top employers in Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley.

Question: I’m currently employed in a company in California for the past nine years but am looking to relocate to Oregon.  Prior to relocation and in the current economic conditions, my preferred option is to secure other employment before leaving California.  Have you any tips on how to approach this?

Answer: Finding employment in a market where you are not currently living and working is a challenging endeavor.  Employers are well aware of the number of highly qualified job seekers currently on the marketing and believe they don’t have to look hard to find the right talent.
 
One way to overcome such a situation is to have an in market phone number or address.  You also could limit your contact information to an in-market phone number and your emails address.  Once you do have a chance to speak to an HR representative for a pre-screening or a manager for an in person interview, be honest about your current situation and let them know that you are willing to relocate yourself for the position, as most employers are not willing to pay relocation costs unless it’s a specialized position and the candidate pool is small.
 
You also will need to assure them that you are able to participate in the interview process as other candidates and won’t need special considerations based on your current out of market location.
 
If you are not finding that this approach is working, you may have to figure out how you can relocate yourself to the market for a more aggressive job search.  If you currently have a fulltime position in another marketing, you may need to reevaluate your reasons or need to relocate, as finding a job in a down economy can prove to be challenging and time consuming.