Welcome back, everyone, to Cracking the Career Code with Matt and Kierra, where we provide candidates the keys to success in their job search. It’s been a while. Kierra and I took a little bit of a hiatus, but we’re finally back. So happy to have you here. Yeah, we’re back and ready to go. Some big life events happened.
I got married. Matt was at the wedding. It was a lot of fun. Yep. So now that the planning is over, we are back and ready to continue the series. Matt, what are we going to be talking about today? Sure. Sure. Well, today we’re going to be talking about what to consider when you’re relocating for a job.
We’ve definitely seen an uptick in companies and clients of ours that are open to bringing people in from different locations. So just wanted to chat through how to plan for relocation. And Kierra has recently relocated as well from Colorado to Texas. Of course, we’re fully remote. So, there’s different considerations there. But yeah, we just wanted to chat through how to approach relocation for a job.
Yeah. And when relocating, if you are open to a job, there is a tab that you can check that shows open to relocation. So if that is something you’re considering or looking to do, definitely have that checked on your job search for you’re open to work. You can select specific locations that you’re open to onsite for.
Yep. Yep. So there’s a lot to consider. First, where are you currently located? And if it is one of those things where you’re open or you’d like to stay in your current area, there’s a lot of things to consider. So could you see yourself living in certain areas? I think if you are open to relocation, consider
where those locations could be. We hire oftentimes for relocation for a lot of the roles that we have and have had a lot of people either relocate to a different state or different part of the state, just depending on the opportunity. So it’s all about what’s important to you and if you could see yourself living there. I definitely consider doing your research and making sure it’s an area that you could really see yourself fitting into because you don’t want to move somewhere that you’re not 100 percent about.
Yeah. And we even see some people that end up relocating within the same city that they’re in make their commute better. Always easier if you’re renting and you’re near an end of a lease rather than owning or at the beginning of a lease where you have to break it But we’ve seen that.
Maybe move to the suburbs. I know if you’re in like the North suburbs of Chicago and you have to commute down to the South suburbs or vice versa, like sometimes those commutes within one city can be two hours. I know we’ve got some clients in Atlanta as well. They’re known for their terrible traffic. So sometimes what seems like a quick commute,
10 miles could take an hour. So you could even consider relocating within your same city. And it’s always good to do your research, but also think about the culture of the area. Are you going to go from a big city to a small town? Or even a smaller city? What do you like to do outside of work time?
Are you going to be okay with going from more of a fast paced lifestyle to something more slow where there’s less restaurants and bars to go out to? And I’ll also think about just like the geographical region and you know, is it going to be altitude? How’s your body going to react to that?
What’s the weather or the climate? Are you going to be able to handle a Chicago winter or you know, are you going to be able to handle the heat of the desert? Right. So all things to consider that’s definitely spanned beyond just the job or the company that you’re considering relocating for.
Yeah, we’ve also seen a lot more companies go back into office, either a hybrid schedule or on site. A lot more companies want to use their office space. And if you were fully remote and you don’t live where they’re headquartered, that could be a big change as well. I’ve seen a lot of people on the market because of that.
But there’s a lot to consider with that. And there’s a lot that can go along with a move. So new hobbies and making new friends, there’s a lot of great things that could be a part of that. I know there’s a lot of different groups, like running groups and Facebook groups that you can be a part of to really build a community there.
There’s also a lot to consider as far as cost of living, depending on what the pay range is, is that going to be feasible for where you’re moving to? Some companies will give you a relocation, a stipend. So that’s helpful. Something to consider and ask about if you are considering a move. And then also things to consider like are you going to rent or own a place?
The taxes that go into it. I know some states have really high taxes on housing. That’s something to consider. Day to day expenses. So food, everything like that. Depending on where you live, that could change drastically. And that’s something that you’re going to want to factor in based on what you’re being offered, comp wise.
So thinking long term. Yeah. I mean, if you think like a 100k in Chicago versus a 100k in like New York or San Francisco, very different cost of living, but all three of those places are big, big cities. Chicago probably being- definitely the most affordable of the three.
You did mention something about remote work and I know you’ve done this, you’ve relocated while working remote. Definitely also something you need to consider because certain companies are only set up to do business in certain states. So if you join a company as a hundred percent remote employee, but you’re planning to move to a different state, you should probably be up front and open with that company to make sure there’s not going to be any issues with that. I know even some companies don’t allow you to work remotely from certain states like while you’re traveling. So you know, definitely make sure that they’re flexible with that and that’s in alignment with their company policy. Usually has to do with taxes and where the company operates.
Yeah. And sometimes those could be added. I think it takes a while now. So I would give them a six months heads up if you’re going to do that or go that route, just so that they can see if that’s a possibility if you aren’t on that list for what state you’re moving to. But yeah, there’s a lot to think of long term as well.
Are there going to be additional opportunities for advancement in the company? That’s something you’re going to want to consider if you are relocating for this job or opportunity. Is it going to be a place you can be long term? And then is there other businesses in that industry there? So are you able to find another opportunity within that area?
And then will you have to relocate again if this is an opportunity that you’re relocating for once? Are you going to have to do that again? I know I’ve talked to folks where they’ve already relocated once with their entire family and they were asked to relocate again and that’s just something that they didn’t want to do because when you have kids involved and a spouse, that’s something that really affects everybody.
So I know that those are all things you’re going to want to really dive into when considering those moves. Yeah. And we’ve been working with a lot of like industrial and manufacturing clients recently. And, you know, a lot of those manufacturing sites are in rural areas, not big cities. So if you’re relocating to one of those rural areas, and then the job doesn’t turn out like you expected it to, are you going to have to relocate back to another big city?
Are you going to have to relocate to another rural area? You got to think about all those logistics from a long term perspective. And like I said, we’ve had an uptick in our clients being open to relocation, but saw an interesting poll on LinkedIn recently. It was actually from like the LinkedIn news team, and I was a bit surprised that Millennials are actually the most likely to relocate for their careers.
I thought it definitely would have been some older generations. I thought that was more of the norms. I was surprised to see that Millennials, which I’m a part of, are actually the most likely to relocate for their career. Yeah, that’s interesting, interesting poll. But I think that makes sense.
A little bit more willing to take risks. Yeah, that’s true. Yeah. And then as far as just where you’re moving to, if you see somebody in that area that you’re going to be considering, or if you’ve seen someone do a move, just ask them how they got acclimated, what did they do to make those adjustments and find groups of people that they were able to connect with. I know work might be a great opportunity for that initial meeting, see friends and people if you’re going to be in office. But there are so many different groups and just different opportunities for clubs to join. Like I said, there is a running club in Dallas. I know there’s a bunch of different networking events and just different things that you can attend.
So it’s a great way to meet people too. Yeah. Well, thank you everyone for joining us today on Cracking the Career Code. Go check out talentinsights.hirewell.com for more content and follow us on LinkedIn if you aren’t already. Thanks.
