How should I address relocation?
Question:
How should I address relocation?
Answer:
It depends on your situation. Are you willing to relocate? If so, when? Will you require relocation assistance? It’s important you answer these questions before applying for a job because addressing relocation head-on is the best way to ensure your current location doesn’t harm your chances of landing the role.
Explanation:
When you apply for a job outside your current geographic area that is not listed as remote, it’s going to bring up some questions in your prospective employer’s mind. Employers may be concerned that you’re planning to try and negotiate making the role remote. And if they’re dead-set against that, then they’re not going to waste their time interviewing you. Even if you’re willing to relocate, they may worry that you’ll ask for relocation assistance (which may not be in their budget) or that you’ll need extra time before or after your start date to make it happen. Either way, there’s added friction compared to a local candidate, so it’s important to address the issue of relocation head-on, both with yourself and with your prospective employer.
Before you even apply, you need to think about these questions and make the decision. Are you planning to try and get them to accept a remote candidate? If so, then you also need to make the same decision the employer is making—is it worth your time to interview if the employer is dead-set against a remote role? If your answer is no, then you should address it directly in your cover letter by saying something like: “Even though the role isn’t listed as remote, I was extremely excited to read that a [Title] position had opened up with [Company] and decided to apply anyway to see if you were open to remote candidates.” If you’re willing to potentially waste your time interviewing, then there’s not much you can do beyond applying. The recruiter will likely address it with you on your initial call and it is important to be honest. If there is truly no (within the realm of possible) salary that would make you move, then you should say so upfront.
What if you are willing to relocate? Well, now you need to think about the terms of relocation. Will you require relocation assistance? Will you need extra time before your start date? Will you want to work remote until you’ve moved after your start date? If so, what’s your timeline? You should know that most employers do not offer relocation assistance below director or even C-suite level roles. And, while many employers will be willing to wait an extra week or two for the right candidate, if the role is not hybrid, they will want you in the office from Day One. But let’s talk about how to address each scenario.
If you’re willing to relocate under any terms, then you should remove your location from your resume and cover letter. This signals right away that you don’t consider yourself tied to a specific location. In place of your location on your resume, you might even consider adding Open to Relocation instead, which is even clearer. If you’re willing to relocate ASAP upon an offer without any assistance, add something like this to your cover letter: “You may have noticed that I am currently located in [City], but I am extremely excited about the prospect of living in [City] and I would be happy to relocate in time to start a new role with [Company].”
Relocation assistance is something you are likely going to have to negotiate at the offer stage. I wouldn’t address it in your cover letter, but I would imply that you’ll either need relocation assistance, a signing bonus, or a competitive offer when you speak with the recruiter for the first time. For example, when the recruiter asks if you’re willing to relocate, say something like: “Absolutely. If the right role came along, with the right offer, I’d be happy to relocate.”
If you’ll need extra time before you start (for example, you’ll need to start four weeks after you accept the offer, instead of the standard two weeks), then I recommend waiting and addressing this at the offer stage. Many people need to push back start dates for many reasons: non-compete or extended notice clauses with their current employer, a previously scheduled vacation or leave, etc. It’s just not uncommon enough to make it worth mentioning beforehand. UNLESS you’re asked. If, during the interview stage, you’re asked about start date, then you’ll need to be upfront and let them know the amount of time you anticipate needing.
If you’ll need extra time after you start (and you’ll want to work remotely until you can move), this is a little harder for employers to stomach if they don’t want a remote employee. The ideal time for this to come up is after they’ve already decided they really like you as a candidate, but before the offer stage. Unlike asking for a couple of extra weeks before starting, this likely is something that would cause an employer to pull back an offer if they are really against remote work. If it doesn’t come up organically during your final interviews, then I would make a point to have a direct conversation with the recruiter. After your last interview, ask for just a few minutes of their time to discuss relocation.
The most common situation people have is needing to sell their house before they can afford a new place. This is really tricky, because how fast your house will sell depends on the real estate market in your area. Another scenario is that some people just don’t feel comfortable picking up their entire life on the mere promise of a new job, even if the new employer assures them the offer is solid. That one is a little easier for companies to understand, but moving is stressful and you may need time off, so it’s still likely to be an inconvenience to them.
Whatever your reason, be upfront about it and be honest about the timeframe you anticipate. Be clear that what you’re asking for is to work remotely and be willing to compromise and set a hard-and-fast end date to your remote work. Also be ready for this to become a point of negotiation and think about what you’d be willing to do. If your issue is that you’re worried the offer will fall through, they may offer you a signing bonus to show they’re serious. If the issue is that you’d have to break your current lease and that would cost you several thousand dollars, they may offer you relocation assistance. If the issue is that you can’t afford your old mortgage payment on top of rent in a new location, they may increase their salary offer. Or, they may decide it’s too much headache and go with another candidate. This is unfortunate, but if they really weren’t willing to work with you and you really weren’t willing to relocate on their timeline, then it was never going to work out anyway.
The most important piece of this entire puzzle is thinking about all of this carefully during the application stage of your job search (or even before!) so that you know where you’re willing to compromise and where your line in the sand is. This will make the entire process more efficient and less painful.
Because we all know how efficient and painless job searching usually is, right?
