Cross Country Move

[truboyblue]

So my wife and I are looking to move from the East Coast to the Twin Cities within the next 6 months or so, and I'm hoping to get some handy advice for optimizing the job hunt portion of this transition.  Our reason for relocating is primarily to be closer to family (several members of both sides live in the cities), as none of either side lives less than 10 hrs away right now.  Now that we have a daughter, being proximate to family is that much more important.  My wife and I both have mediocre jobs (in both pay and interest level) and this is a great excuse to leave them.  The current thinking for making this move happen is me landing a job there first (my wife works from home and watches our 2 yr old daughter) and then us selling our house and getting a rental in MSP close to my employer.  I've arranged to stay with my brother during the interim if/when this happens. 

I'm trying to be as smart as possible about the job hunt.  I'd like to get a job at a university as I have some non-specialized administrative management experience, as well as an MFA in creative writing.  I've met with some relatives' local contacts and continue to try to make new networking contacts through my family to this end.  My strategy is to try and snag some informational interviews with these contacts to get a foot hold so as to overcome what I'm assuming is a bias against my current distance (who's motivated to hire someone who's home address is 1K miles away?).  My brother suggested I could use his home address there in the cities, but I'm a bit wary of that as it feels a bit deceptive.  I continue, of course, to apply directly for posted jobs but that always seems like the least efficient route.

Any advice on smart avenues/strategies for pursuing these employment goals and tweaking this transition generally would be greatly appreciated.  Also, anyone reading this from the MSP area feel free to PM me with specific moving/employment leads or tips - I'd be happy to disclose more personal info there ...

[Frankies Girl]

Have you done the research to see if the job market for whatever field you're applying for is good in that area? There may be a glut of people that are there already applying for those same jobs, so that is going to put you at a disadvantage. Are you willing to take jobs in other related fields (advertising copywriter, teacher, etc) so that you could move to the area? Unless you've got some stellar work to show off, I'm not sure that most places would consider hiring someone sight unseen for a university administrative position unless you're a shooting star... most colleges I've been familiar with are a very insulated group and they tend to hire from within their own ranks.

What about your wife's job prospects? Is she going to be able to find something pretty easily?

Have someone knowledgeable vet your resume, and do some networking through sites like LinkedIn.

If it was me, I'd probably save up a good chunk of money and head up there to do a few weeks of pounding the pavement for some actual face time and see if I could squeeze in some interviews. If you were single, I'd say just move up there and stay with your brother (if he is cool with you staying for a few months) and work wherever you could find employment until you landed a job in your field, but with a wife and child also to think of, not sure I'd jump straight to that with that kind of responsibility (but depending on the job market and how much you have for savings, it's still a possible if you're fully committed to moving to that area).