Seeking work across the country? Do some recon and be prepared to absorb the costs

Q: Companies are not flying people long distances for interviews in this economy. You want to work in a city across the country. How do you apply for jobs from so far away and manage interviews?

Nick's reply: Companies that prefer local candidates to avoid travel and relocation costs are not likely to make exceptions unless you are related to someone important in the company. So don't waste your time trying to convince anyone to adopt you.

While you might have skills that are so desirable to a company that it will fly you out anyway, you're not likely to pull this off with enough companies to achieve your goal to relocate. Deal with this head-on.

Cut the distance down. Don't actually move -- that could be risky and costly. But go to the city where you want to work. Make it easy for companies to interview you. Select a handful of employers in the target city; companies you would love to work for. (Do not use want ads to do this.) Select, don't settle.

Research them in depth. Find out who's in charge of the department you'd want to work in. Learn about each company's problems and the challenges they face. Talk to their vendors. Talk to their customers. (Call their sales reps. Sales people love to talk.) Talk to the associations they belong to. Find and study the pertinent industry journals. Learn enough so that you can describe exactly how you could contribute to a company's bottom line -- and be ready to tell it to the boss.

This isn't easy -- but what good job is? Effective job hunting is not very different from tackling a major project at work, so use the same common sense and business skills you use every day. Take control and talk directly with the right people.

Once you've identified a manager (or other inside person) and have prepared something to discuss, call her. Explain that you're going to be in the city on business (you will be, if you use this approach), that you just read about the company in a business publication, and that you'd like to stop by briefly to learn more about the operation because you may be considering a job change soon. Don't go empty-handed. Offer something: Explain that you have ideas about how to (fill in the blank with a challenge the company is facing). Make yourself worth meeting while you are in town.

Ask for advice: Who else in the city would she recommend that you talk to? Remember, you're discussing this with your prospective boss (or co-worker), except she doesn't know that yet. Managers are often intrigued by people in their field who work in other parts of the country. Meeting you while you are in town is a way for them to enhance their knowledge of their industry.

If you can schedule three or more such casual visits, consider making the investment in the trip. The resulting meetings can yield introductions to other insiders at each company and in the local industry. Do not ask any of these companies if they'd pick up your travel expenses. Don't ask for relocation costs. That will turn them off because then HR has to be dragged into the picture and your proposed meetings are likely to get canceled. The point is to go around the system.

This is a little risky because it will cost you money. But if you prepare properly, it can pay off handsomely. Remember: You must pursue companies you have selected carefully and with purpose. Make sure they are worth your investment. Before calling a manager, know her business. Finally, have something valuable to offer in your meetings.

Job hunting from 3,000 miles away isn't easy. It requires what's actually necessary in any job search: the personal approach. Resumes and ads won't cut it. You must talk to the people you want to work for, and get close to them geographically and in terms of your knowledge about their business. Finally, be ready to absorb some costs.

Copyright 2009. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate

Nick Corcodilos is author of "Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job" and the host of www.asktheheadhunter.com. He can be reached by e-mail at seattle@asktheheadhunter.com or at North Bridge Group, P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Sorry, no personal replies.