If I'm from out of town, am I out of luck?

[CO-To-OKC]

As I've posted before, I will be looking at moving to OKC once I graduate college next May. One issue that I hear a lot of people are having is that if they don't live within 200 miles of the city where they are applying for jobs, they are having a hard time landing interviews, and ultimately, landing jobs.

I live about 600 miles away from Oklahoma City, and moving there without having a job lined up won't be an option because of my financial situation. Any advice on how to land a job if you're from out of town?

[dankrutka]

There are a lot of variables there. What type of job are you looking for?

[CO-To-OKC]

My degree is in communications with a minor in business, but I've already given up on finding any type of media-related job anywhere. I'm wanting to get into marketing or web development, but right now, I'm just hoping to get a job that will pay me around $30K to start. I know that there are a lot of major energy corporations in OKC (Sandridge, Devon, Chesapeke), so I'm thinking about trying to do something there, too.

[brianinok]

Well, make no mistake about it. Statistics show that most jobs are obtained through relationships. Do you know anyone who lives here?

As a side note, I know someone who has moved here recently because of the relatively good job market. They have no connections to this area and had just graduated from college. They found a job less than a month later.

[Spartan]

Why don't you try working through your college to see if they have any contacts with OKC companies. Most colleges (I know OU/OSU/OCU do) have hire teams to line up jobs for their new graduates, because your problem is not unique. If your college doesn't have one of these, I don't know what to suggest to you either.

[sroberts24]

I graduated in May from UCO in Communications and I'm having a difficult time finding anything in communications here.

[Kerry]

I graduated in May from UCO in Communications and I'm having a difficult time finding anything in communications here.

Out of curosity (and Yes this is a serious question), what kind of job did you think you would get in OKC with a degree in Communications. Keep in mind that I have a degree in Geography from OU and had to move out-of-state to get a job in my field.

[sroberts24]

There are actually some very good PR firms here in the city as well as a lot of companies/organizations who have in-house comm. departments. I just have to find the right ones, volunteer and continue to work hard at my internship and hopefully something will come around, but I know it will take time and hard work neither one I am afraid of

[Spartan]

There are actually some very good PR firms here in the city as well as a lot of companies/organizations who have in-house comm. departments. I just have to find the right ones, volunteer and continue to work hard at my internship and hopefully something will come around, but I know it will take time and hard work neither one I am afraid of

Well it sounds like you're well-rehearsed for the interview lol

[Kerry]

There are actually some very good PR firms here in the city as well as a lot of companies/organizations who have in-house comm. departments. I just have to find the right ones, volunteer and continue to work hard at my internship and hopefully something will come around, but I know it will take time and hard work neither one I am afraid of

Have you thought about starting your own business? I know money is tight everywhere but here is an idea just off the top of my head that doesn't require much start up.

Bricktown Ghost Tours: You could do weekend walking tours telling ghost stories about Bricktown. You would probably have to make up the stories which will allow you to fine-tune your creative skills plus it will give you good experience in public speaking. You could also develop your own marketing material and make it available in hotel lobbies, the airport, information kyosks, and OKC CVB; thus developing professional relationships and real-world working experience that you can use to land a job. If you so choose you can also get your feet wet with some web design and marketing. Total cost - darn near free to start. And who knows, $10 per person, 40 people, at night 5 nights a week is just over $100,000 per year. It might just become your regular job.

You could start by telling the story of the Skirvin being huanted and that the NY Knicks are afriad to stay there. You can probably get Doug and Steve to give you some background info on scandels and what not.

I paid $18 to walk around Charleston, SC and hear a guy tell ghost stories for 45 minutes. There were about 25 people in my group so you do the math on how much they make.

http://www.ghosttoursofstaugustine.com/
http://www.bulldogtours.com/