By Lauryn Franzoni

In the workplace, you chart your own course. But one day, you may be considering a new job involving a move across town or across the country. It's enough to rock anybody's boat.

But a relocation decision doesn't have to make you seasick. One way to make the experience less unsettling is to make the relocation decision before securing a job offer, rather than the other way around. That involves deciding where you want to move first. Here are some tips for implementing this strategy.

Targeting a Geographic Area--The Personal Side

How you target a geographic area is based on your personal situation and values. For many people, it's a matter of family and home. "Quality of life and family are becoming much more important to managers," says my colleague Rick Taylor of search firm Ratliff & Taylor, Inc.

Many managers target areas where they would like to retire. Warmer climates for sailing or places where you can ski for half the year become more attractive as we inch toward retirement.

You may already be familiar with the target area, especially if you're from the area, went to school, worked or have family there. If you don't know the area, you'll need to check it out. There are many ways to vet an unfamiliar region. One of the most pleasant is to plan a family vacation in the area.

Targeting a Geographic Area--The Professional Side

You also have to do some due diligence on the local job market when targeting an area for relocation. Career counselor Linsey Levine recommends starting this effort at least six months before considering an actual move. "Start with research, which is easy to do online, through local news publications, regional magazines, business journals, etc, and learn as much as you can so you can ask intelligent questions."

Executive coach Beth Hand recommends becoming actively involved with the local media. "If you have a long lead time, write articles that fulfill the business journal's need and present your expertise."

Some Locations to Consider

Many managers decide to relocate because they want a change of scenery. Then they decide where to go. If you don't have a specific locale in mind, a recent American City Business Journals' (ACBJ) analysis is a good source of information on the state of the job market in various locations around the country.

ACBJ found that Phoenix was the major market that created the most jobs in a year--41,200 or nearly 800 per week. The hottest job markets, according to ACBJ:

• Las Vegas, NV;
• Dover, DE;
• Laredo, TX; and
• Green Bay, WI.

The coldest:

• Saginaw, MI;
• Enid, OK;
• Cape Cod, MA; and
• Salinas, CA.

Other cities that received high scores: St. Louis; Glen Falls, NY; Washington/Baltimore; Charleston, SC; McAllen, TX; Bryan, TX; Daytona Beach, FL; Jacksonville, FL; Dubuque, IA; Waterloo, IA; Casper, WY; and Reno, NV.

Small Business: ABCJ listed Portland, ME as the large market leader for small businesses among the 91 U.S. metro areas it analyzed over the last year. Medium market Bend, OR and small market Bozeman, MT were also recognized for their support of companies with fewer than 100 employees.

Unemployment Rates: The U.S. Department of Labor found that Yuma, AZ led the nation in unemployment in October 2004 at 20 percent. Six California cities rounded out the top 10 for the highest unemployment rates.

Bryan/College Station, TX boasted the lowest rate of unemployment during October 2004, measuring just 1.7 percent, followed by Fargo, ND/Moorehead, MN and Gainesville, FL at 2 percent each.

Next week I'll have more tips on finding the best location for your career move.

Wishing you career success!

Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet
www.execunet.com.

MARKET VIEW

The Industrial Hygienists' Perspective

Last week, we cited the results of an Industrial Safety and Hygiene News White Paper, entitled "EHS Nation '05," surveying safety professionals on job satisfaction, staffing and other matters. Let's now look at how industrial hygienists responded. ISHN spoke to 42 industrial hygienists with full-time jobs. If you want to see the entire report, go to www.ishn.com.

What's your current salary?

Average: $75,807

Which factors drive EHS spending?

• Compliance: 63%
• EHS business benefits: 40%
• Organizational values: 38%
• Workers' comp: 38%

Do you plan to increase or decrease staffing in the coming year?

• Increase: 15%
• Decrease: 15%
• Keep the same: 71%

Do you plan to increase or decrease budgets in the coming year?

• Increase: 21%
• Decrease: 18%
• Keep the same: 62%

What's your toughest sales job?

• Incentives: 39%
• Ergonomics: 33%

Which of your job responsibilities is expanding the most?

• Industrial hygiene: 52%
• Emergency preparedness/response: 38%

How would you describe your company's health & safety culture?

• Complacent: 18%
• In need of improvement: 23%
• Average: 17%
• World class: 10%

Where does your company's culture most need improvement?

• Accountability: 51%
• Management leadership: 46%
• Operating procedures: 33%

How do you feel about your career?

• Satisfied with my job: 26%
• Worried about job security: 11%
• Hit a career advancement wall: 29%

Which programs do you deem most critical to reduce injuries?

• Use of PPE: 78%
• OSHA compliance: 68%
• Ergonomics: 53%
• Delegating EHS tasks to workers: 53%

Source: Industrial Safety & Health News, EHS Nation '05

Story Tools:  Email This Post  Print This Post Top