Receiving a job application from someone wanting to join theSkimm Team always feels surreal. It’s amazing to have people reach out from all different backgrounds who want to help us grow.
Being on the receiving end of the job application process has given us a different take on the misery that is job searching/hiring and interviewing. And there is a problem we see many, many times a day:
Applicants who live in a different city, state, and sometimes country, saying they would happily relocate.
We will preface the following with the fact that one of our first employees moved from a different continent to join our team.
That being said…When an employer sees this, two things come to mind:
1. That’s so cool someone wants to move for our company
2. Omg someone wants to move for our company. Headache. $$$. Time. Headache.
In our pre-Skimm lives, both of us experienced the headache of applying to jobs in different cities than where we lived. Both of us got rejected for these jobs because we had not yet made the move. Or got the always so pleasant “Feel free to reach out once you’re settled.” Move needs job, job needs move. Chicken meets egg.
Here is what we learned:
-When you tell a prospective employer you are willing to move or want to move, they think you want them to pay for your move.
-When a new employer sees at the top of your resume you live in a different state (or country), they throw you into a different pile.
Here is what we once did:
-Asked a friend if we could use their address and put it as our resume header, and later explained we are staying with a friend until we find our own place.
Here is what we would recommend:
-99% of the time, startups can’t pay for someone to relocate
-White lies don’t count as actual lies on a resume.
Originally published at blog.theskimm.com.
