In the current economy, some folks are looking far and wide for jobs, including out of state.

But there are plenty of obstacles to relocating, right?

Not exactly. Most obstacles to a long-distance job search are in your mind, not the employer’s.

That’s according to David E. Perry, co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 (Wiley; 2009).

Perry, a working recruiter with more than 24 years of experience, offers the following tips if you’re thinking of relocating to find a job …

“Here’s the simple solution: Don’t tell employers where you live. Period. The best way to do that is to have no address information on your resume but your name and phone number,” says Perry.

To camouflage your area code, consider getting a toll-free phone number.

Try a service like www.eVoice.com or www.my1voice.com to get a new number for a few bucks a month. Put that on any resumes you send to out-of-state employers. When they call, they’ll get your voicemail and leave a message, which is delivered via e-mail. You then call the employer back.

“The most difficult thing about getting a job is starting a conversation with the employer. When you’re out of city, out of state, or out of the country, you’re on the bottom of the pile, if you even make the pile,” says Perry.

Want to take this a step further?

“Leave city names off your resume. Include only the name of the company you worked for, and the years, of course,” says Perry.

If you’re afraid employers will balk at city names missing from your resume, ask yourself, what are they hiring you for? Answer: For the results you’ve produced.

“I’ve been inside large corporations and I’ve seen someone say, ‘Well, he saved this company $1 million or $28 million, but he’s in Pittsburgh instead of Philadelphia. We don’t want to pay $10,000 to relocate him.’ That’s how middle management thinks. But, if you told the CEO you made that decision, he’d kick you out the door,” says Perry.

So don’t give small-minded readers of your resume a reason to eliminate you, based on location.

Here’s the sneaky psychology behind leaving city names off your out-of-town resume: If you can make an emotional connection with the reader, by the time they learn that you’re not local, they already want you, and they’ll start rationalizing why it’s a good idea to fly you in for an interview and relocate you.

Now.

Once it arises in a phone interview, how do you handle the delicate fact that you live 500 miles away?

“If you get confronted with that on a telephone interview, stop, take a deep breath, and ask them a very specific question. That question is: ‘What’s the most important thing about this job?’ Then let them answer. It won’t be where you live!” says Perry.

In response to the employer, say, “Do you know what? I agree with you, and it really doesn’t matter where I live. So, let’s take this to a conclusion, and make sure I’m right for you and you’re right for me. Then we’ll have this whole discussion on how I get there. I’m sure we can work that out, and it’s not going to cost you any money,” says Perry, who has negotiated more than $150 million in compensation himself.

How can relocation not cost the employer any money?

“You negotiate that into the compensation package. You can do that in a one-time signing bonus or a forgivable loan, to name two examples,” says Perry.

Moving is more an issue in your mind than the employer’s. “You have to realize that any corporation bigger than 100 people has a budget of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 for moving someone. And it pales in comparison to the value they’re getting by hiring the right person,” according to Perry.

Now, go out and make your own luck — even if it involves an out-of-town position.

Resource: Resume not working? Ready to try something different in your job search? You can learn about Guerrilla Resumes.  Just click here.