Are you responding to online job posts? If so, you’re one in a million respondents and yes, a far-away address might scare some hiring managers off.
I’d guess that, as usually is the case, you’d be better off identifying those in a hiring position at firms near where you want to work—and then reaching out to them directly. A letter or email with a follow up call would be the way to go. Even if they aren’t hiring immediately, they may be open to your coming in to chat with them about opportunities in the area. Perhaps they’d then be willing to refer you to other local companies as well. You never can tell.
If the WVa area is where you want to be, you’re not employed elsewhere and you already have local property, why don’t you just move there and conduct your search more locally? I can’t imagine you’d find too many other places with a lower cost of living.
Yes, I’ve been concentrating mostly on online job posts. I use aggregators (www.indeed.com) that scrape both the job boards and employers’ sites.
I am currently employed elsewhere. Unfortunately, housing values are still stagnant in our area so we’re a bit underwater on our mortgage still, so I can’t just move without a source of income to at least pay that. I’m already able to afford the property in WV and with the lower cost of living, I can continue to support both properties even at a significantly lower salary, but not so low that an entry level job down there is going to work.
I’ve thought about targetting companies down there, but I personally get sick and tired about getting solicited by people trying to sell me things - and a resume is basically a sales document. I’m not a hiring manager, so maybe it’s less annoying to those who are in that position.