Dallas Twilight from Flickr via Wylio

© 2009 Robert Hensley, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

Less than 12 hours away from my first day in a new gig – in a new city to boot – and I’m still not sure quite how to write this post. There are so many things I want to say, so I’m reminding myself that I don’t have to say them all at once.

So I’ll start with telling you about the opportunity first. I’m joining the marketing team at ReachLocal out of their Dallas office to help launch a new product. It hasn’t launched yet, so I’m not sure what all I can tell you at this point, but it’s a fantastic technology, and I’m so excited to join the team of phenomenal professionals there and roll up my sleeves to tell you all more about it!

The transition to Dallas is both exciting and overwhelming. Packing, house stuff, farewells, time with family and friends – the last three weeks since have been an absolute blur. I’ve got my first set of bags packed and a bunch of audiobooks ready to keep me company on my weekly commute, and we’re blessed to have great friends who are helping us transition to the area over the next few weeks.

But it’s exciting, and relocating is a great learning process. So, if you’re considering relocating for a job, here’s the advice I have so far:

1) Consider family first.
I guess this may seem a bit counter-intuitive when you’re thinking about relocating for a job, but the job itself is second to the support of your partner and immediate family when you’re thinking of moving to another city. My husband works from home, so relocation was an option for us since just one of us had to find a job. My husband is completely on board with the transition, and our families, though sad we’ll be a little farther away, are excited about the opportunity as well. So, lesson one is to talk to your family about the decision, and make sure you have their support with whatever decision you make.

2) Consider how interesting the work is.
When you’re relocating for a job, it can be tricky determining exactly how to put the decision into words, especially in our situation, since it’s not 100% typical to uproot for the wife’s job. But more on that in a bit.

For me, I have been craving to be more closely involved in what’s next. I’m terribly fascinated with where media and communications are – and where they’re going – and my mind starts churning when I think about all there is still to learn, teach, and apply. I knew from the middle of the interview to all the moments after it I spent thinking, dreaming, planning after I heard about the opportunity that it was the perfect fit. I can’t imagine going through the craziness of the relocation process for any job less than that. So, make sure you are relocating for interesting work.

3) Keep the social graph in mind.
So, with family on board, passion for the work, and a job offer – I faced resigning my job – a job that’s grown significantly throughout the last five years with a team of professionals and friends I admire – and explaining to my dear friends our decision and timeline for the move – all as tactfully and thoughtfully as possible.

Suddenly, Facebook and Twitter become my worst nightmare. See, there are just some people that I don’t want to find out about this colossal move from a Facebook status update or wayward Tweet by a friend already in the know. I quickly set up as many coffee dates as I could in the few hours I had to spare, and I waited for my boss to announce my resignation to the team so I could begin the transition process, but time was not my friend.

Here I am, three weeks later and only hours away from packing up my car and driving off into the sunset until next weekend, and I’m finally at a point where I can write a post about it. Maybe that’s what I should have done to begin with, and there are certainly people who are those who will hear the news first right here, but that’s one of those things I’m learning and adjusting to as I go along.

And that’s probably the fourth lesson of this process. That no matter what you think you know when you make a decision like this, there is always a lot to learn. I’m sure it’s not over yet!

So I’ll keep learning, and sharing, and growing through this adventure.

Next up: A few friends and I are on the panel picker to speak at SXSW next March about women as leaders in the workplace. What we do right, what we do wrong, and all the honest stuff in between. Voting opens tomorrow, so please vote for us and spread the word! I’ll be posting more directly about that next week, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, I’ll be starting my first day on the job bright and early tomorrow morning! Here we go!