applying-out-of-state ($$$ and other advice)

[danah]

i was wondering who has applied to departments out-of-state from their home. any advice you can give me.

i ask because i live in california but am thinking about applying to bigger departments around like dallas and others. i realized that it will sure cost a lot to do multiple trips to multiple departments for testing. is there any suggestions on how i can cut cost during this hiring phase? does being out-of-state have any positive or negative affects on the hiring process?

any help is appreciated. and while i have the chance, happy thanksgiving (for tomorrow anyway).

thanks.

[rdp]

Some depts will condense testing for out of state applicants......

They had ours at 1 day, but I think it went to two now. The idea was one trip for all the testing and one for the background review phase, poly, and psych.

[knucklehead]

I was recently in North Carolina and was applying to a department in California....I probably spent at least $1500 in plane tickets over the six month process and they worked with me as much as they could....some things I just had to suffer through...I think it went along way in showing them how much I really wanted the position though....

Oh, and when I am in the academy in January I can sit back and think...that was $1500 well spent...you have to do what is best for you though..

[Charlie]

As rdp noted, a lot of departments do condense the testing/hiring process into a short period of time for out-of-state applicants but getting there is an expense many applicants must absorb on their own. Obviously, this can add up to a significant expense to an applicant who applies to several out-of-state agencies!

To my knowledge, being an out-of-state applicant does not give you an edge over anyone else. I am not aware of any departments who give someone extra points or anything like that simply because of this issue.

I would only suggest that you carefully choose and select the departments you want to work for out of state. And, I would select a limited number of departments you apply too (Unless you're independently wealthy!). It can likely be very expensive to fly/drive to just even one out-of-state department.
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Charlie