If you’re thinking about relocating for a new job, there’s a good chance you may have to cover your own moving costs, even if you’ve got a job offer.
When you search for openings on the major job boards lately, lots of the ads say. "No relocation assistance is provided." For those positions that do offer to pay moving costs, the payments are often capped, sometimes below $10000. With the typical corporate relocation costing about $60000 for homeowners and $18000 for renters, such an expense can cause economic hardship for job seekers. That is, if you’re lucky enough to even get a job offer when applying for jobs in other towns, states or countries.
Some employers aren’t even looking at out-of-town applicants these days because there are so many great candidates right in their own backyards, recruitment experts said. Some don’t want to deal with an employee Who might not be able to sell their home to move, thanks to the dismal (惨淡的) housing market. That’s bad news for job seekers looking to relocate to a region with more job opportunities. "A lot of people are landlocked (内陆的) because companies want to pay less, not more, to bring in new talent," said Nancy Keene, director at recruiting firm Stanton Chase.
When the economy is strong, employers sometimes go to great lengths to find the best talent no matter where they live. Before the recession, that meant lucrative relocation packages that covered moving expenses, househunting trips, and even money toward selling a house or buying a new one. especially for executive-level employees.
But now, such perks (津贴) are being cut just like so many other employee benefits. An October poll conducted by Society for Human Resource Management found that 19 percent of companies had cut employee benefits in the last six months because of the economy. Among those: 17 percent eliminated corporaterelocation programs entirely; 25 percent froze corporate-relocation programs; 58 percent reduced corporate-relocation programs.
And that means more job seekers who want to move to accept a new position are on their own. "We see a huge trend of people moving for jobs but paying for their own relocation," said Kimberly Smith, owner of corporate housing company Avenucwest Corporate Housing. Many of those individuals who are also homeowners are becoming "accidental landlords", she said, because they are forced to rent out their home.
When the economy is strong, employers like to ______.