Do employers tend to hire local applicants to jobs rather than non local applicants?
Phishy1 asked:
I have applied to quite a few jobs that I am well qualified for and have quite a bit of experience. I am looking at relocating in the near future, but have heard nothing from the prospective companies I applied to. I’ve called their HR departments, asking for interviews, but I had much more luck at my present location. Do some employees tend to look more closely at the applications sent from local candidates as opposed to those sent from non-local candidates?
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I have applied to quite a few jobs that I am well qualified for and have quite a bit of experience. I am looking at relocating in the near future, but have heard nothing from the prospective companies I applied to. I’ve called their HR departments, asking for interviews, but I had much more luck at my present location. Do some employees tend to look more closely at the applications sent from local candidates as opposed to those sent from non-local candidates?
Search For Local Jobs - Click Here
Absolutely they do!
It would cost them much less to hire a person already in the locale of work than to go to the expense of relocating someone.
This thinking is altered when speaking of certain jobs, but generally the bottom line is a force behind many decisions.
Yes. They look at your present address and don’t want to make someone move, or they think you’ll want moving expenses.
Try this. Do you have someone you know in that new town that you can use as a mailing address? Change your address on resumes to that. Or you can rent a P.O. Box at that town, and use that.
Employers are always looking for great talent. They are going to go down the path of least resistance - which is a local candidate. Generally it’s one of the reasons a company will open an office/warehouse/research center, etc. in a particular area. Easy access to good talent.
That said, if you are planning to relocate, and have a target time frame, it doesn’t hurt to “preintroduce” yourself to companies you are considering working for, and then go full force into the job search when you make the move.
Also, if you have a set of skills that are unique and hard to find in a particular location, good companies that are staying ahead of their competition won’t be afraid to offer you a package that includes relocation. You just have to sell your skills as superior to what is available locally.