Moving to Scotland in 3 weeks? Too early to start applying for jobs?

I'm moving to Scotland on the 27th of October on a spouse visa.  I'm watching the job boards and I've found several positions that I qualify for but should I wait until I'm physically there?  Should I just reach out to the local headhunters?  Any help will be greatly appreciated!

You can try sending out e-mails to recruiters. My experience was that no one would pay attention until I was physically in the country and able to interview at a moment's notice. That's in IT, though, where generally people decide they need a new staff member about a month later than they should have, so then they're desperate to get someone in ASAP.

Thanks, that's about what I figured.  I'm in IT as well.  I will probably go ahead and start reaching out to recruiters but I will hold off on applying for anything.

If you contact recruiters, do you even need to mention you're not in the country?  If you know your arrival date, you could just tell them you're available from then.    They can assume you've got another job or other commitments then and if they do ask if you're available for an interview, just tell them you're out of the country.   

Hopefully that wouldn't be lying    and it might get your CV looked at a bit more if they don't know you just  stepped off the boat. 

I would just tell them my availability to interview and/or meet to discuss employment opportunities. 

I think while I'm looking forward to a little down time, (I am working up to the very end) I would go crazy sitting around for any length of time and I would like to have some feedback so that I can walk off the plan and hit the ground running.

Since the job market is still very tough here in Scotland I would start applying to anything you think you'd be qualified for. By the time they start scheduling interviews you'll probably be here anyway. Use your new address and phone number, and mention in the cover letter that you have a settlement visa that legally allows you to work in the UK. That should clear up any questions about why all of your jobs and references are in the US.

Best of luck in your move!

Thanks!  I am ready to go, but overwhelmed at all the crap I've got and how to get rid of it. 

I have started applying to a few positions and I am finalizing my resume and getting ready to upload to several of the job boards and send out to the headhunters.  I figured if nothing else, it will at least get me in the job pool and hopefully, I will be able to land something sooner rather than later!  Thanks for all the input!

I just wanted to reply to this post.  I have already started applying for jobs, and have gotten some positive feedback.  There was one instance where they start interviews next week so I missed out on that job, but it gets your name out there for future opportunities. One of which I'm pursuing now.   

I definitely recommend applying for positions offered by headhunters / placement agencies.  In some cases, I found I couldn't register my CV without first applying for a job.

So, don't be afraid to start your job search before you move.
V.