relocation

Should I Relocate For A Job?

iStock | James Rice

Every job process varies, and job offers are not created equal. If you get a job down the street from where you live, it’s easy to assess the offer against your living expenses, commute, transportation costs, family life, lifestyle, and long-term goals. If you are offered a job that’s 1,000 miles away, even if it’s a dream job, you may want to take the time to do a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis to determine if it’s the right move. 

There are several factors to consider:

  • Factor #1 – Cost of relocation. Naturally, your first question is how much money, if any, your new potential employer will give you to relocate. Every company has a different policy. Some may cover actual expenses. Many will have a cap. Are they leaving the details up to you? Or do they require you to use vendors they’ve partnered with for every new hire who agrees to relocation? If your offer includes a relocation budget don’t assume it’s enough. Do the leg work to determine the true cost of moving, and to be sure, moving just yourself is less expensive than moving a whole family. If a company does offer relocation money, it may be based on your individual circumstances and carry exclusions. If you have to shoulder the entire relocation cost, you should measure it against the overall compensation package.

  • Factor #2 – Cost of living. Everybody knows it costs more money to live in New York City, NY, Florida, and California than it does in Monowi, Nebraska.  However, there are many more job opportunities in the big cities and chances are your dream job doesn’t exist in a place like Monowi. This is the time to get into the details. You know your current budget. Determine what your cost of living, income, and budget will be in your new hometown – rent/mortgage, property taxes, state and local sales tax rates, transportation, car insurance, home insurance, natural disaster insurance (if applicable and available), childcare, etc.

  • Factor #3 – Your new company’s compensation package. You may get a job offer that covers your relocation costs but not a cost-of-living increase. Since you did your homework, you should know whether you’ll be paying your employer to work or the other way around. However, your job offer may cover an average cost-of-living increase, but not your individual cost-of-living increase due to incurred expenses resulting from a move, such as your desire to enroll your kids in private school, a penchant for sports cars, or the fact you’re paying the health care costs of elderly parents. When you’re finalizing your relocation assessment, keep in mind this formula: relocation costs + cost-of-living increase + your cost-of-living increase. Determining those numbers requires diligence, time, and effort but once you have them the good news is that it’s basic addition and subtraction.

  • Factor #4 – Personal support structure. Now we’ve reached the part of the assessment that isn’t dollars and cents. No math is required, which means there is no simple undisputed answer. It’s time to weigh your new job opportunity against your overall life circumstances. For example, you may want to live close to your family and close friends. Perhaps you have a significant other who doesn’t want to go anywhere. Moving means leaving them. Are you prepared to leave your human safety net behind to go somewhere you don’t know one person?

  • Factor #4 – Are you going to like it there? Not every place is created equal. Do you want to live in a large city that never sleeps (e.g., New York City) or a small city that never sleeps (e.g., Las Vegas)? Do you want to live where everybody knows your name or where you’re anonymous to everyone but your closest friends? Maybe you love the beach and your new job opportunity is five states away from the nearest sand, or you love to ski but there isn’t a snow-covered mountain anywhere in sight. Are you looking for culture, Michelin-star restaurants, endless nightlife, or a big private backyard you can retreat to where nobody bothers you?

  • Factor #5What about your family? If you’re on your own, big life decisions like relocating for a job only impact you. What if you’re married and your spouse works? Or do you have children who are very happy where they are? Is your spouse willing to leave their job and are there opportunities for them wherever you're going? If you’re a two-income family, your new job doesn’t mean a thing if you lose the second income that’s part of the foundation of your financial life. Then there are the schools. A school isn’t just where your children go every day. It’s the springboard to their entire future. This is not just a relocation expense. It may be the most important expense to consider.

  • Factor #6 – Impact to your professional future? If you’re assessing a job offer, your decision to take or leave may be about your immediate future, but it’s your long-term future. Certain industries have well-worn pathways and geographic roots that mean relocating to far-flung places like Hong Kong or Tukwila, Washington to “pay your dues.” Long-term opportunities will likely be more limited there but could pay off in the long run.


Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Looking To Relocate? 5 Effective Strategies For Pursuing Work In A Different City

iStockphoto.com ( Satenik_Guzhanina )

iStockphoto.com ( Satenik_Guzhanina )

 

Are you looking for a job in another city?

When it comes to hiring, time is of the essence, and employers may prefer to focus on finding local talent so that they don't have to deal with the time and cost associated with interviewing, hiring, and relocating out-of-town candidates.

If you'd like to continue your career in another city, here are 5 strategies you can use to accelerate your search and increase your chances of snagging the job of your dreams.

  1. Localize your resume. One of the very first things an employer does when looking through resumes in their applicant tracking system is filter the results by geography  in order to zero in on candidates who already live in the area (in the United States, this is usually done by Zip codes). If you're targeting a move to, say, Chicago, ask a relative who lives there if you can use their address on your resume; alternatively, you can rent a local mailbox from the UPS Store or another mailbox service provider. Also, secure a phone number with your target city's area code by using a free service such as Google Voice, which will route calls to your cell phone.
     
  2. Localize your LinkedIn. If feasible, change your address in LinkedIn as well. Recruiters comb the system to find talent. This way you'll increase your chances of appearing in their searches.
     
  3. Schedule a visit. If you have the time to do so, plan a trip to target destination with the goal of securing interviews. If employers have reached out to you and have demonstrated hesitancy to schedule an interview because you're not local, reach out to then and let them know you'll be in town and would love to meet them. Be proactive – identify recruiters and hiring managers at your target companies (LinkedIn is a great tool for this), introduce yourself, and (graciously) request a meeting for during your trip.
     
  4. If applying internationally, spell out your work authorization status. If you're a Greek citizen applying to a job in Spain, your European Union work authorization enables you to work there without restriction. Spell this out in your resume and cover letter. Consider doing the same if you're following a family member to another country and will be able get work authorization due to their work status and local law.
     
  5. Tell potential employers you're already planning to move. Have you set a move date? Do you have a place to stay? Make this known, and you'll quickly alleviate concerns about  timing and cost.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Q and A - Pinging the HR Guy; Job Search in Another City; Slow Moving Employer Decisions; Interviewing After-Hours; An "Agent" Recruiter

Answers to your Questions

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Thank you everyone who sent your great questions about the intricacies of the hiring process! Below I address some of your submissions. The names of the senders have been omitted, and questions have been edited as lightly as possible for purposes of space and clarity (thank you for understanding).

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Question: As a human resources professional, you put up a post, you get hundreds of responses, candidates want to check status, etc. Candidates search on LinkedIn for an HR person in the target company. How well is this type of query received? Do you guys prefer to not be contacted (I would assume yes), what is the etiquette here?

Answer: You hit upon a key observation - it's typical for a recruiter to get hundreds - if not thousands - of résumés for a job posting. I would advise that you follow up with HR using kid gloves - meaning, limit your followup to a single phone message or email to your HR contact to inquire about your résumé. Whether you reach them or not, be gracious with your inquiry. Have something memorable about yourself in the message ("I am an IT engineer with 10 years supporting CISCO"), thank the contact for their time and consideration, and most of all, make your inquiry brief. An email is nice because it can always be written with a great deal of thought AND can include a fresh copy of your résumé. Remember, calling once is a reminder; calling ten times is a form of stalking.

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Question: I've lived in Houston for over 20 years since graduating from college, and I am now looking to move to Los Angeles in order to be closer to family. Any tips on effectively conducting a search remotely, as there's no way I'm leaving my current job until Ihave one lined up in L.A.?

Answer: Conducting a job hunt from another city is extremely difficult, unless your skill set is in super-hot demand (for example, a CPA can pretty easily find work anywhere right now). But, there are a few strategies I would suggest.  The first action I would take is to make your résumé reinforce your connections to your target area. You can get a Google Voice phone number for any location in the United States, which will forward to your current number; in your situation, I would recommend signing up for a number in the 310 Los Angeles area code (or nearby) - this Southern California number will signal to target companies that you have ties to the area. On your résumé, change your address to reflect simply your Google Voice number and email address. As you apply to positions, you will have increased your chances of getting a response from potential employers. While this is no substitute for living in the new area, it should make your phone ring more often. When you speak with potential employers, indicate you are actively looking to move to L.A., and can make yourself available for an in-person interview at their convenience. Then hop on a plane for an interview when asked to do so.

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Question: Why are potential employees told that a decision will be made within a certain time frame when that is not the case?

Answer: Several, perhaps infinite, possible reasons. Here are some potential reasons I can think of off the top of my head:

  • The hiring team may have decided on a candidate and made an offer in their initial time frame only to have their selected candidate decline the offer.

  • The hiring manager had to take unexpected leave.

  • The company had a reorganization and they need get everybody settled.

  • Somebody on the team quit, now they need to figure out how to reallocate work - the original hiring specifications may not be enough.

  • The hiring manager was recently promoted and is new to the process, and didn't realize it would take so much damn time and effort to hire somebody.

  • A key interviewer is traveling on business.

  • A budget freeze has placed the position on hold.

  • The recruiter is stalling for time because he doesn't know how to break the news to you that you're not the leading candidate.

  • A colony of red ants has taken over the office, and everyone is busy applying Benadryl to the bites.

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Question: Why do potential employers/recruiters not understand that when you are currently employed you cannot always interview in the middle of the day or with almost no notice? Not everyone can call out sick. leave early, come in late or use time without risking their current job.

Answer: I get it, believe me. It's tough to do the disappearing act at work without people noticing. Nobody really enjoys staying late at work for several hours unless they're avoiding going home. So, they're trying to make the best use of their hours during the workday, when it's easiest to get everybody lined up for an interview agenda.

But consider what it says about a company when your interview takes place after work. It could mean that the company is trying hard to accommodate your schedule. It could also mean the company culture dictates a work ethic of getting business done at all hours, work-life balance be damned. As an employer are they being flexible to meet your unique needs, or would expect you to be tethered to your phone all waking hours?

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Question: I'm starting a job hunt. A recruiter with a staffing firm contacted me and asked me to not contact any companies directly. He asked instead that he send to him any job postings I see that I'm interested in & he will contact the companies directly. It sounded kinda flaky to me but I was wondering if there was any legit reason for me to do this?

Answer: This recruiter may know people or be working on jobs at some of your target employers, so he may be able to open some doors for you. But I get the sense this recruiter wants to be your “agent," and keep you all to himself so that if he doesn't place you somewhere, nobody does. His motivation would be to get a fee from whatever company he places you at. The issue is that this may close some doors for you - not every company wants to (or even has the budget to) use a staffing firm to fill a position, and by asking you to work through him, this recruiter is asking you to limit your options in the market. Unless you're a Major League Baseball player or a Hollywood actor, where using an agent to contact employers is the norm, I can't recommend heeding his suggestion.

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Do you have any questions about the hiring process you would like to see answered in this blog? Do you have ideas for future article topics?  If so, I’d love to hear from you! Please feel free to email me your questions and suggestions to scottcsinger@gmail.com. Submissions will be kept anonymous when published.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.