Make that move - planning a career change that involves moving to a new community

Black Enterprise, June, 1994 by Dawn M. Baskerville

You've been offered a great job in a new city. Or, you've decided to seek out a better quality of life in a different locale. Whatever the reason, you're uprooting yourself from your old, familiar community and must now find a niche in a foreign one. If the prospect seems a little daunting, rest assured, it's doable. Especially if you put your networking skills into motion.

Before you decide to move, you should get a read on the community you're considering from people who live there. Start with regional members of organizations you belong to. The national membership offices of your fraternity, sorority, trade groups or professional organizations should be able to connect you with members in other locales.

If you are being transferred by your company, ask the human resource director for phone numbers of some colleagues in the office you may be joining. Specifically request that African-Americans be among them.

In scouting for your future home, get your hands on a black resource directory, if there is one available. SuccessGuide: The Networking Guide to Black Resources, for example, lists an average of 6,000 local sources of black businesses, organizations, associations and services established in several major cities.

No such book for your prospective city? No nearby branch of your social or professional group? Then call the local NAACP, Urban League, United Negro College Fund or church. Becoming active in these groups can accelerate your acceptance as a new community member. (Local African-American newspapers and chambers of commerce can help you locate some of these sources.)

Another good bet: Relocation services like Lea O'Neal's Black Atlanta Transplants (404-696-3571) and Imogene Koehler's The Black Relocation Association in Minneapolis (612-623-4362). These firms can provide valuable information on local schools, real estate, entertainment and even the best places to get your hair done. "In a place like the Twin Cities, where the black community is small, there's often the perception that none really exists," says Koehler. "My job is to dispel that myth."

Koehler's efforts made all the difference when Kimberly Hayes Taylor was recently considering a move to Minneapolis. Then a journalist in Hartford, Conn., Taylor was being wooed to join the staff of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "The job opportunity was great, but I was already happy where I was living and had no real designs on moving to Minneapolis," Taylor admits.

Once she met with Koehler, her perspective changed. "Imogene told me things no one else did, like where the black night life was, where I could buy black hair care products, where I could find black bookstores," says Taylor. "I ended my visit feeling comfortable calling the Twin Cities my new home."

Reaching out to total strangers is never easy, and doing so won't make relocating exactly a breeze. But it will enable you to make an informed decision about whether to move and, once you do, your transition will be less lonely and awkward. There may even be a welcome wagon at your door.

NETWORKING NOTEBOOK

Blacks CPA's Recruit Their Own The National Association of Black Accountants isn't leaving the hiring opportunities of its members to chance--not in this market.

About 40% of the association's membership--or 1,000 members--have entered their credentials with the Minority Accountant Recruitment Service (MARS),a database that companies can access for a fee.

Further information on MARS will be available at NABA's annual convention, which is being held June 28 through July 3 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Houston. If you're interested in MARS or the convention, call 301-474-6222.