Submitted by Alex_W on
in
Forums
As an American who has lived overseas many years actively pursuing roles in states other than my home state, there are many daunting aspects for my return.
My target locations are those areas where the job markets are strong: TX, NC, FL. I have a long and solid background in the Financial Services industry, most recently as a Senior Project Manager, so not C-suite nor junior.
I am currently interviewing at a company I recently worked for in my current country, where I was a contractor*, and this would be for a permanent role in the US in one of these states.
Also, I am working with HR who has interpreted point slightly differently than they were actually discussed, such as salary (which they misinterpreted a guideline range as specific request) and relocation (which they misinterpreted as "not needed").
I have politely said that would seek the right level for my experience, capability, and seniority. I am unfamiliar with salaries in the US, and this state in particular.
Anticipating that as probably the only candidate located overseas, I did not want to jeopardize my changes for this role, which is attractive, by bringing added complications from my current location. Relocation however is non-trivial in terms of logistics to get out and get settled in, cost, and time from hire to door-to-door.
I accepted that relocation will not be provided, however I am hoping, if selected among the other candidates, to secure some sort of temporary housing for a few weeks until we are settled in. HR has not responded to the distinction between full relocation and the much lesser ask of temporary housing in a corporate facility.
Having been relocated twice before I am familiar with what is usually provided: flights, packing / shipping / unpacking, 1 month of temporary housing, at the minimum. I do not expect nor have requested this.
I welcome any constructive insight, perspective, and local knowledge.
*contractors here are not well-compensated as they are in the US or UK
Clarification
Hey Alex,
Congrats on being an effective contractor; it seems they liked your work.
As Wendii is "eschelons above reality" to me, I'm not sure I can give the help you seek. Still, I saw no replies and I thought I'd try to give a little insight. I didn't see any specific questions in your message, so I'm assuming you just want guidance on handling this interview process and (possible) relocation.
If you have not received an offer yet, I'm not sure I would bring up anything related to relocation reimbursement. Get the offer first, as you might get a much larger signing bonus from them than another job offer. If this one gives a lump sum of cash which is greater than moving and housing costs for one month, asking about relocation at this point wouldn't help.
Regarding the job market here in the states, I see more about cities than entire states when it comes to job markets and growth. For example, Oklahoma City, OK and Columbus, OH are two cities experiencing growth, but neither state is on your short list. I'm not in Financial Services, but I would think you could help a lot of families plan as they transition.
I hope I haven't completely misunderstood your request, and wish you luck!
David
As a hiring manager myself
As a hiring manager myself who just relocated, I have a hard time believing others themselves are going to relocate without a package. I am hiring an AVP, two managers and a number of individual contributors. VP roles at my company get relocation, but it is not offered at layers below.
One of the Ind. Cont. just backed out after we gave the the offer. One thing we were wondering is if she would really move to our state. In this case, the answer was, "no."
Something that would put me at ease is if the candidate has a compeling reason to relocate aside from the job. Examples might be that a spouse has a new job in our locale, or there are medical or family reasons to move. I recently talked with an AVP candidate who is out of work. I outlined all the costs for moving, including moving a house's contents @ 13,500 lbs across the county, real estate commisions, temp housing @4600 month funished with pets allowed, costs needed to prepare one's house for sale including carpet replacement, staging, etc. I gave her two days to think before I would decided to call her in. Two days later she relied that she could not make the numbers work, which is what I figured. I have other candidates out of state, in states where compensation is higher.
A state-to-state relocation package costs about $60-70K with moving van, home sale commission, etc. It sounds like you may have different costs. I also suppose it depends on what specific skillset you provide and whether that skillset or specific experience is not common.
Put yourself in the hiring manager's shoes. He or she may make assumption about your expecations that may be more than you are looking for. Consider a one-page plan that you can pass on to help assist with questions related to the "how".