Austin, Texas has a thriving environment of innovation and was named the city with the hottest job market by the Wall Street Journal in 2020, prompting many people to consider moving to the Texas capital. Of course, even ample opportunity doesn’t always mean success.
If you decide to buy a home or move into one of the houses for rent in Austin, TX, you’ll still have to understand how to navigate the market to find the right position in the right location in order to land a job. By following these tips you’ll increase your odds of getting an offer for the one you want.
Tailor Your Cover Letter
If you’re hoping to move to Austin, it’s a good idea to mention why you want to relocate to the city as part of what makes you the ideal candidate.
Either way, each cover letter should be tailored to the job, demonstrating your value with examples while being employer-focused, short, and direct.
Join Industry-Related MeetUps
If you haven’t signed up for an account on MeetUp.com, do so now. It’s a great place to find meetups in Austin related to the industry you want to work in, providing the perfect way to meet new people and discover new opportunities.
For example, tech is big here, so you’ll find groups like the Austin Health Technology Forum if you’re hoping to break into the booming healthcare tech scene, with regular panels by entrepreneurs and experts on various subject matters within the health tech space.
The Austin Forum on Technology and Society hosts monthly events for tech professionals, while Austin TechBreakfast also meets monthly, providing attendees free breakfast while various entrepreneurs and startups discuss their latest and greatest projects.
Attend Job Fairs
Attending job fairs is a great way to get face-to-face with those who are hiring, and there are many held throughout the year in Austin. Austin Startup Week is a week-long annual event that’s been taking place since 2011, featuring fantastic speakers, engaging sessions and workshops, special events, and more.
You can go from startup to startup to talk with employees, and possibly hiring managers, while learning about each company and the city’s startup scene.
If you’re an UT alumnus or student take advantage of the University of Texas Career Fairs that are offered throughout each semester. The City of Austin Career Expo is held annually, with recent years featuring over 100 employers and more than 4,000 job openings.
For local companies in need of talent in the digital space, the Austin Digital Jobs Fair is a mixer held several times a year and includes many companies that do interviews on the spot.
Always Keep Ethics and Integrity In Mind
Businesses in Austin and the city government keep ethics and integrity at the forefront. If you get your foot in the door and are invited in for an interview, be honest.
It’s always better to be upfront about any limitations you might have while asserting why you would still be the best choice for the job. If you fib about your skills, the company is eventually going to find out.
While it might seem like a good idea to inflate yourself artificially to show you’re the optimal candidate, in the long run it could result in a serious blow to your reputation.
Know the Culture
The Austin job market is all about culture. For every company you land an interview with you’ll want to learn what its team culture is like and what its core values are in order to ensure you can fit in.
Check the news for any product developments, big recent hires, financial issues that could result in layoffs, and more so that you can not only talk intelligently about the organization, but know what you might be walking into.
