A local job search via job search websites is probably the best way to start your job search, since employers often prefer employees who live close by, as opposed to a long commute or someone who has to move from out of state.
First, the company doesn’t want to pay for relocation costs and, secondly, they often are looking for someone to start immediately, instead of waiting for them to sell their home and move.
Think of a local job search as your home court advantage. Let the employer know in your cover letter, or over the phone when it is time to set up an interview, that you know the area well and you live close by.
Another advantage is that, depending on how local your search is, you may very well know people who know people who work in the company you are applying for. Contacts are always good and they can mean the difference of one candidate getting the job over another.
If you do know someone who is working at the company for which you are applying, send them an email saying that you are applying for a job in their company, don’t forget to mention what the job position is, and ask them if they have any advice for you.
If you know the person well enough, you can also ask if they could give you some details about the hiring manager.
I wouldn’t recommend asking someone right off the bat if they could put in a good word for you. First of all, it is presumptuous to think that they would want to put their reputation on the line for you and, secondly, the email may feel pressuring to the recipient.
If you are comfortable with the person enough, you may want to go ahead and ask them to drop a good word for you.
But it is more than likely that the recipient of your email will offer to drop a good word for you anyway, without your provoking, or at least let their manager know that a friend or former colleague of theirs is applying for a job.
The manager may even use that person for a reference to the type of employee that you are, so make sure you are on good terms with the person you emailed.
So, that is my advice for this blog and I wish you all good luck with you local job search.
Tags: job search engines, Job search site, job search sites, job web sites, local job search