Q. I live in Atlanta and have been looking for PR jobs since graduating last year. Many of the job links from Culpwrit posts are in in DC, Los Angeles and Texas. I really want to stay near home, so should I apply for jobs in other cities or wait for the economy to improve here? -RS
A. YES. Don’t limit your job search to your hometown. I always wanted to live in Chicago, but I moved five times during the first 17 years of my career before ending up in the Windy City.
If your ultimate goal is to end up in your hometown, you need to take whatever path will lead back there. Get experience anywhere, and then return to Atlanta when the economy improves and jobs open on the home front.
What’s interesting is that I’ve seen quite a few job posts for Atlanta – not as many as D.C., of course – but for awhile there, Atlanta was one of my choice job markets, cause I like the city.
Do you think that there’s a point where every city becomes the same? Sometimes when I’m looking at all of these different markets, I get discouraged and think, eh, I’ll just stay at home.
I tell ya, this job stuff is depressing. But it’s raining here too, so that’s probably it. 😛
Ron,
I could not agree with you more. I always tell grads not to limit themselves to their “comfort zones” — where they grew up and where they went to school. Go where the money is!
“But I can’t afford to move.” I say address that once you have a job offer. Applying for jobs in other cities where there are more opportunities shouldn’t be costing you anything, so why not try it?
I don’t think anyone can answer this for you. PR isn’t like television, where you may need to start in a small market. Every city has PR jobs, albeit perhaps fewer right now. Each person has to look at his or her own circumstances and decide what’s best. If you’re going to be homesick or just plain miserable in a strange town, and hate your job for taking you away from your friends, maybe relocating isn’t for you. If you’re unhappy in your new city, it’ll likely reflect in your work. But if you are willing to sacrifice for your career, if you make friends easily, or your friends are all relocating too, etc., then go for it! Only you can answer that question, based on what you value most.
Also, don’t overlook taking a non-PR job at home and taking on volunteer work in PR to build your resume.