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Cost of living certainly has to be a factor in moving.
Having said this though it reminds me of a boss I had that did relocate. The company did pay for salary managers to relocate, infact they paid for I think all the moving expenses (housing related retailer so maybe not so much now). My boss moved to near Phoenix.
Things went well until he wanted to move back. Um no. They'll pay to move there's no issue there but that's for opportunity. If for any reason you don't like it then you can pay for your own ticket back.
I think there is a generational aspect in terms of moving that older generations might not get. The era of settling down roots and somehow buying a 30 year mortgage frankly isn't nearly as common. There was a time when a phone was linked to an address. Cell phones tossed that out the window long ago. Emails replaced mail so again the idea of location being a factor keeps shrinking. Driving around and getting lost? much harder with a GPS or smartphone.
I'm honestly confused as to why this is necessary.
I've had to job-hunt in a different state from where I lived twice in my life. Each time, I used my current home address but explained the situation in my cover letter. I got plenty of phone interviews, then took a trip to the new state for in-person interviews. Each time, I've had a job before I officially became a resident of the new state.
Some places make it very clear that you must be a resident of a certain city by your start date, but I think most places just want to find the right person for the job who can start promptly. "Local candidates only" could also be another way of saying that they're not willing to pay for relocation -- and again, I made it clear in my cover letter both times that this wasn't necessary or expected. Are you writing cover letters and including this information?
Maybe your applications are being filtered out because of your address, but I highly doubt that every company you've applied to is doing this. It could just be that there's something else about your resume/cover letter that is turning off potential employers -- or that you're not standing out enough?
Paying relocation costs is common for a move within the same company -- for example, my husband was transferred to another office last year, so the company paid for our move. It's also pretty common in higher level, upper-management, positions. Other than that? I don't hear of it much, and I would certainly not find it hard to believe that a local candidate (or a distant candidate who didn't need relocation costs paid) is more appealing candidate than someone who is needing/expecting relo costs (assuming all else is relatively equal).
The other thing to consider is frankly companies are located all over the place so if a company outsources anything should that be disclosed by them?
I know of a business that says they are in Boston when in reality they aren't. When clients come in they rent space in a building and get their employees to go there for the day only. In reality they are located outside of the city where the costs of real estate are much less. Do they lie to clients by saying they are Boston when they aren't? Well they are still in the metro area. Likewise if a business is in say the Brooklyn when they say Manhattan I doubt it's that much of a big deal.
Recently Google Mobile started making their Moto X at a plant owned by Flextronics. So is that listed as a business of Google or Flextronics both or something else?
The only other thing I can think of would be if a job required travel. You better have a car and potentially be near airports or rail.
I'm honestly confused as to why this is necessary.
I've had to job-hunt in a different state from where I lived twice in my life. Each time, I used my current home address but explained the situation in my cover letter. I got plenty of phone interviews, then took a trip to the new state for in-person interviews. Each time, I've had a job before I officially became a resident of the new state.
Some places make it very clear that you must be a resident of a certain city by your start date, but I think most places just want to find the right person for the job who can start promptly. "Local candidates only" could also be another way of saying that they're not willing to pay for relocation -- and again, I made it clear in my cover letter both times that this wasn't necessary or expected. Are you writing cover letters and including this information?
Maybe your applications are being filtered out because of your address, but I highly doubt that every company you've applied to is doing this. It could just be that there's something else about your resume/cover letter that is turning off potential employers -- or that you're not standing out enough?
Paying relocation costs is common for a move within the same company -- for example, my husband was transferred to another office last year, so the company paid for our move. It's also pretty common in higher level, upper-management, positions. Other than that? I don't hear of it much, and I would certainly not find it hard to believe that a local candidate (or a distant candidate who didn't need relocation costs paid) is more appealing candidate than someone who is needing/expecting relo costs (assuming all else is relatively equal).
As I've explained for the third time, it's not something I'm doing wrong, because I am getting interviews locally and when I put down a local address. Also as has been explained, this usually isn't an issue if your very experienced or in a niche job. [mod]snip[/mod]
Last edited by 7G9C4J2; 11-18-2013 at 07:17 PM..
Reason: Removed unnecessary remark
As I've explained for the third time, it's not something I'm doing wrong, because I am getting interviews locally and when I put down a local address. Also as has been explained, this usually isn't an issue if your very experienced or in a niche job. We could save a lot of time if people read previous posts.
While I don't think anything in my post called for that defensive tone, I'll ignore it.
Okay, so let's say that it is because of your location. You still didn't answer my questions about including this information (willingness and ability to immediately relocate at your own expense) in a cover letter. Are you doing that?
What kind of jobs are you applying for?
Also -- background checks absolutely can and do provide addresses. I was an underwriter for years and routinely ran background checks that showed all addresses for the applicant, including the years lived at said address. Same with credit reports, if your job requires one of those to be run.
To answer your question again, there's a chance that the company wouldn't do anything to you if they later found out you lied about your address. However, there's also a chance they'll fire you. It does happen. And if it does, what then? You'll be freshly fired and unemployed in a city 3 hours away, over something that probably could've been cleared up in a cover letter.
Something sounds weird to me too, you said "but decided not to because they wanted someone to start in 2 weeks (WHICH I COULD HAVE STARTED ANYWAYS. They just assumed I couldn't because I lived 3 hours away"
Here in Austin I can't imagine someone not hiring someone because they are only 3 hours away. Maybe cause Texas is so big that 3 hours away is nothing. Many would hire someone that far/close. So maybe it was for another reason and they just said that.
While I don't think anything in my post called for that defensive tone, I'll ignore it.
Okay, so let's say that it is because of your location. You still didn't answer my questions about including this information (willingness and ability to immediately relocate at your own expense) in a cover letter. Are you doing that?
What kind of jobs are you applying for?
Also -- background checks absolutely can and do provide addresses. I was an underwriter for years and routinely ran background checks that showed all addresses for the applicant, including the years lived at said address. Same with credit reports, if your job requires one of those to be run.
To answer your question again, there's a chance that the company wouldn't do anything to you if they later found out you lied about your address. However, there's also a chance they'll fire you. It does happen. And if it does, what then? You'll be freshly fired and unemployed in a city 3 hours away, over something that probably could've been cleared up in a cover letter.
I'm not worried about them later finding out, I'm worried about them finding out during the hiring process. And whats it matter if it shows up in a background check anyways? I would just say I was living with a friend or something like other posters said. Or say I just moved back this month, which is what I am doing. The cover letter idea might work sometimes, but most online submittals are filtered out before they even get there.
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