Resume tips : Expat moving back: what to put on resume

I' m an expatriate U.S. American who is looking to move back home (the San Francisco Bay Area) with my wife and two children, and I am looking to get a new job there before we actually uproot ourselves.

I' m in the process of preparing my resume, and I can' t decide how to represent the subject of my current location (Germany) and the desire to move, vis à vis relocation.

In other words, given my desire to move back, I might be willing to take a job without a relocation package, provided it is a good fit for me in other respects. The problem is I don' t want to ' scare' away prospective employers who might see my address on the resume and think "We' re not going to relocate this guy and his family from Germany!"

At the same time I don' t want them to rule relocation out if they would normally offer it. I know this last bit may be a "have your cake and eat it" situation, so I' m more interested in the first part.

I' ve gotten suggestions from some friends and family that I should put a local address and/or phone number (my mother who still lives in the area would let me use hers), but I' m not convinced that' s the best way to go.

That leaves somehow communicating this in my Resume and/or cover letter. I' d be grateful for suggestions on how close I should play this to my chest.

I think it' s okay to include both your address in Germany and your mother' s address to show a U.S. presence. You can format something like this:

                                           Name
Current Address:                                    U.S. Address:
(insert Germany Address & phone)   (insert U.S. address & phone)

Employers will then see ties to the U.S. when first glancing at your resume.

It would be helpful if you had a U.S. (preferably CA) phone number or voicemail number so it' s easy to reach you.

I think you will need to make your plans to relocate back to the U.S. clear in the cover letter, and you can deal with the issue of relocation costs later in the hiring process. If you are in a very competitive field, you will probably have an easier job search if you stated your intentions to pay relocation expenses. I' m pasting excerpts below from an article I wrote on offering to pay for relocation expenses. Wishing you and your family good luck with your move back to the U.S.

Some professionals with desirable credentials are aggressively recruited,and some employers are more than willing to pay for relocation, offerspousal relocation assistance and even help find a new house in the newlocation. These professionals can usually negotiate an attractiverelocation package.

Othercandidates face a more competitive job search, going up against localjob seekers who may have comparable qualifications. If so, considerthat more doors could be opened if you are willing to pay relocationcosts. Use this as a selling point in your cover letter with a linesuch as, “Please note that I am very interested in your opportunity andam willing to incur all relocation expenses” or “I will be relocatingto Jacksonville in September at my own expense.”

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Expat moving back: what to put on resume