Long-distance job hunting  can be tricky, and let’s face it, it’s not going to work for everybody. Why?

Your skill set or job type may be in low demand. Let’s say you want to move from Tucson to San Francisco. There aren’t many skill sets that a recruiter has to look outside San Francisco to get. So why would they pay to relocate you? Why would they even look at an out-of-town candidate if there are scores of qualified candidates locally?

On the flip side, maybe you’re trying to move in the opposite direction, from San Francisco to Tucson. In that case, your big-city experience might scare off the recruiter because they imagine you have big-city salary expectations.

Also, companies do try to avoid paying relocation costs when they can. Unless they know they need a very specialized skill set, or that there are very few people in the country who would be the right choice, their first plan is not going to be to hire an out-of-towner.

So, how can you can get that long-distance job offer? By eliminating the distance factor and turning the negatives into positives.

Some people recommend using a local address on your cover letter, such as the address of a family member or friend who lives in your target town, but that can be perceived as dishonest. And if the company calls and asks you to come in on short notice for an interview, and you don’t live nearby, how will you explain to them why you can’t get there quickly?

Instead, on your resume, list your contact info like this:

Joe Smith
Relocating in [month, year] to [target company's city]
jsmith@email.com

This tells the recruiter that you already plan to move to their city and don’t expect them to foot the bill.

Find contact information for the right person at your target companies, call directly and tell them you’ll be in town on a given week and would like to meet with them. This lets them know you’re not expecting them to pay your way for an interview. If they don’t have any job openings you’re qualified for, ask them if they can take the time to do an informational interview with you.

Travel to the city where you are seeking a job. In between appointments, look at the places you can afford to live on your current savings. If you truly want or need to move, you may have to relocate to your target city before you get a job offer. Just don’t do it if you can’t afford it!

Make sure that you’re physically ready to move. Without a job offer, you might not have a definite moving date, but you can start to build a possible timeframe in case you get an offer. If employers know you’re not local, they’ll want to know how soon you can start. If you get an offer, then say you need time to sell your house, find a good school for your children, and decide where you want to live, you’ll probably lose out on the opportunity. Get as many of your ducks in a row as possible. Do your research on housing prices and locations and schools in the new city, and make an appointment with a Realtor in your current city. Have the Realtor assess your house and give you a possible selling price, and possibly even get the paperwork set up, so that you are truly ready to make a move when the time comes.

Finding a job in a new city requires a great deal of extra preparation and diligence to get you to the top of the resume heap – and ultimately get you the offer you’ve been waiting for.

Low morale in the workplace can hurt productivity, increase work errors, increase “sick days”, and decrease cooperation between teams and departments, all of which lead to larger problems. As an employer, manager or leader, you must find the source of low employee morale and deal with it before your profits start falling or employees start leaving, or both.

What Causes Low Morale?

The number one cause is almost always poor leadership. Why? First, because a poor manager will ignore the feelings, thoughts and reactions of his or her employees, focusing only on the bottom line. Or, the manager’s style may be abrasive, dismissive, critical, or otherwise negative. Mostly, a lack of morale in the workplace means a leader or manager has not addressed the issue that caused it.

Other Causes:

• Dissatisfied Employees – The monotony of doing the same thing day after day, year after year, can cause a good employee to suffer low morale over time. Most people hope to move up in an organization, whether to make more money, take on more challenging work, or obtain new titles and prestige. Even if they are content with their current jobs, if they feel underutilized or underappreciated, their performance will be underwhelming. Be sure your company takes an active role in employee career development by giving them opportunities to advance themselves. Offer them training, teach them new skills, and make sure they have a defined career path.

• No Expectations – Employees want to know what is expected of them. If managers don’t take the time to give clear expectations of the roles in their departments, employees will become stressed, anxious and frustrated – not the hallmarks of a happy workplace.

• Troublesome Coworkers – This is where the saying “one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel” applies. If one employee is a complainer, difficult to get along with, or an obvious underperformer, negativity can quickly spread among the entire staff. You must deal with problem employees before they have a chance to infect too many other people.

• Unattractive Environment — Believe it or not, the work environment is vital to employee morale. Is your workplace clean? Are the furniture and equipment modern and functional? Are your employees’ surroundings drab and dreary? If you want to improve morale and performance, consider whether you need to upgrade the work environment. What can you do to make it a more pleasant place to be?

When morale is low, employees may not express it, but they expect management to solve the problem. Remember, morale is an emotional issue. Employees need to know their work is appreciated. They want to have the sense that they belong, that they are respected by management and their peers, and that what they are doing is important and will be worth their time.

The key to business success lies in the productivity and output of your employees. If you can identify the signs of low morale, you can focus on improving or eliminating its causes.

Every time you add new employees to your company, you need to formalize the hiring process by having them complete legal and professional paperwork. This will protect your business from unnecessary lawsuits and government inquiries and establish expectations for work relationships. It will also help with employee retention if you make your new employees feel welcomed and informed.

Some common items included in new hire packets:

1. Offer Letter

The offer letter should outline the employee’s position, salary and benefit package; and additional compensation arrangements such as signing bonuses or stock options. The letter should also include the date, time and location of the employee’s first day of work.

2. New Hire Agreement

This is a legally binding contract that protects the business and its employees from misunderstandings about terms of employment, ownership of work and acceptable standards of behavior. The agreement should state that employment with your company is “at will,” meaning that your business can terminate the employee at any time without cause, and that the employee may leave the position at any time.

3. Legal Forms

The IRS requires all employees to fill out an Employee Withholding Allowance form, otherwise known as a W-4. This document confirms an employee’s marital status and allowable exemptions. You’ll keep this form on file and use it to calculate the taxes to be withheld from employee paychecks.

Use IRS form W-9, request for Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and certification, in place of a W-4 when hiring independent contractors.

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service requires both citizens and non-citizens to fill out an I-9 form, also known as an Employment Eligibility Verification form.

4. Employee Information Sheet

This sheet is simply a record of information you may need in the event of an emergency. It should include the names and phone numbers of two people who are emergency contacts, the employee’s home address, phone number, date of birth and social security number.

5. Insurance, Payroll and Benefit Information

Provide detailed information about insurance, payroll and other benefits. Include a copy of basic insurance rates for different individual and family plans. Give instructions on using the time tracking system, a list of payroll dates and information about where to direct questions about payroll. Include a comprehensive directory of all the benefits available to new hires with important benefit deadlines.

6. Sexual Harassment Policy

The contents of this policy statement should include: a definition of sexual harassment; the process for filing a complaint; and the action that will be taken should anyone in your company be accused of sexually harassing an employee or client. Ask new employees to sign the last page of this statement to acknowledge that they have read it and understand it, then file the statement with the employee’s other paperwork.

7. Employee Policy Handbook

Ask employees to sign and return an acceptance form stating that the handbook was received and that the employee has read and understands the policies within it.

In addition to all of the legal and professional forms, the first page in the packet should be a welcome letter to the new employee. This letter should be written on company letterhead and addressed to the new employee by name. Take a moment to give some brief background information about the company and where the company is headed in the near future.

You can also provide a checklist, so the employee will know that she has completed all of the necessary forms and taken all of the necessary steps to begin her employment officially.

Once you’ve completed the interview process and identified your top candidate, and the candidate has verbally accepted the position, it makes sense to provide the applicant with a written offer of employment. Write and send the letter after you’ve finished salary negotiations and made sure all details have been ironed out.

Depending on the timing of the letter, you may be making a conditional offer — subject to the employer’s background check and medical examination process — or you may be writing to confirm the offer after the candidate has met all requirements.

You’ll want to include the following basic information in the letter:

• Open with your intention to hire the candidate
• Clearly state the name of your company and the title of the position you’re offering the person
• Spell out the pay rate (more on that later)
• Note the expected report date and include the time, any specific location in the building, and who they are expected to report to
• Conclude with a space for the person to sign. You’ll want the candidate to sign the job offer letter and return it to you for HR’s files.

However, there are a few things that you need to avoid or word carefully.

The salary offer is one of them. Some employers have inadvertently committed themselves to a year of employment by offering an annual salary without disclaimers as to length of employment. Don’t describe the employee’s pay only as an annual rate. Use references to a weekly, biweekly, or monthly rate and also include the phrase “equivalent to $XX on an annual basis.”

Also be sure to include an “at-will statement,” language that informs prospective employees that no particular period of employment is guaranteed, and that the nature of the job is potentially subject to change. Don’t include any statements creating an expectation that employment is for a specific period of time or that termination will be only for specific reasons. For example, using the term “probationary period” to describe the first few months of employment or discussing bonuses the employee “will” receive at the end of the year can form the basis that the employee has a contract to work for a specific period. Similarly, references to job security or to specific disciplinary procedures can be interpreted to mean the employee can only be terminated in limited circumstances.

Avoid offering too much information in a job offer letter, or it may read or sound too much like an employment contract. Rather than going into too much detail about benefits, paperwork and vacation policies, tell the candidate to stop by your HR department on a specified day to complete needed pre-employment paperwork and any screening. HR can then distribute any handbooks, forms or other additional information.

Use phrases such as “generally” and “typically” when referring to terms and conditions of employment, such as benefits and company policies. These generalized descriptions are less likely to be misinterpreted as binding promises.

As a final precaution, have your legal counsel or an employment law attorney review the standard wording you use in offer letters for any statements that may jeopardize the at-will employment relationship. Laws vary widely from state to state in some areas of employee relations, so make sure that the language of your letters meets your needs, but also complies with your state’s law.

A clear, detailed offer letter should ensure that both parties understand the conditions of the offer and help to avoid confusion – or lawsuits — later.