New CareerBuilder.com and Apartments.com Study Reveals More Opportunities Opening for Workers Willing to Relocate

If you’re not finding the job you want in your hometown, you might want to consider looking in a different city or state for more opportunities. According to a new study from CareerBuilder.com and Apartments.com, conducted by Harris Interactive, one-third of employers say they have paid to relocate an employee from another area to their company’s location in the last two years.

When asked how much they’d be willing to spend to relocate an employee, 40 percent say more than $1,000 with one-third willing to spend more than $2,500 and one-in-ten willing to spend more than $10,000.

“Given the shortage of qualified workers, 14 percent of the employers we surveyed say they’re more willing to pay to relocate new employees from another area to their company’s location this year compared to last year,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources for CareerBuilder.com. “Therefore, job seekers shouldn’t be afraid to ask about relocation expenses during the interview process. The key to getting the best deal is really showing the hiring manager how much of an asset you’ll be to the company during the interview portion so that they view spending money on relocation as an investment rather than an expense.”

From the employees’ experiences, 42 percent say they’ve relocated to another city at least once and 32 percent say they’ve relocated to another state, province or region at least once. Of those workers who have relocated for a job, 31 percent say their employer paid for it.

In terms of workers’ current desires to pack up and go, 59 percent of employees say they’d be willing to relocate to another city for a new job and 44 percent say they’d be willing to relocate to another state, province or region for a new job. The top five states employees say they would like to relocate to are Florida, California, Arizona, North Carolina and Colorado.

Haefner suggests the following tips on how to negotiate a relocation package during a job interview:

• Have research on your side – Get quotes from movers and calculate the difference in the cost of living between your area and the area in which the company is located. Knowing these numbers can help you when you’re negotiating with the employer because it shows them that you’re interested in getting the best deal for both you and the company.
• Wait for the right moment – Wait until the job is offered to negotiate relocation expenses. Ask if the company is willing to consider including relocation expenses in the package and ask for a range of how much they’re willing to spend.
• Express your enthusiasm – Don’t take for granted the importance of expressing how much you want the job and how excited you are at the prospect of joining the team.
When asked about the type of living accommodations workers chose when relocating for a job, 41 percent said they moved into an apartment, 36 percent said a house, 5 percent said hotel, 4 percent said a condo and 16 percent made other arrangements.

For workers who have all ready successfully negotiated relocation expenses into the benefits of your new job, Kevin Doyle, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Apartments.com, explains how the Internet has made it easier for people who are relocating to rent an apartment sight unseen. “Renters can view detailed photos and virtual tours of apartments, check the availability of a specific rental unit, research community information and complete the entire rental process without ever needing to step into a leasing office.”

Doyle recommends the following relocation tips:

• Rent initially –When relocating to a new city or state, it makes sense to rent first because it allows you to learn more about the area you’re relocating to without the commitment of home ownership. It also gives you time to get acquainted with your new job and new city.
• Purge, purge, purge – View moving as an opportunity to de-clutter by donating, recycling or disposing of those things you don’t need or want.
• Stay organized – When moving for a new job, time may not always be on your side. Therefore, you need to plan ahead as much as possible. Create a file that includes a detailed timeline for the moving process, important contact information and any necessary documents.
• Keep records – From your job offer, to specifics about your relocation package, to phone numbers to photographs of your new apartment – keep detailed records of all aspects of your move. Be sure that you keep these records handy – do not include them in the items that will be transferred by the movers.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 2,417 hiring managers and human resource professionals, (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions) and 5,727 US employees, (employed full-time; not self-employed; with no involvement in hiring decisions), ages 18 and over within the United States between June 1 and June 13, 2007. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

With a pure probability sample of 2,417, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-2 percentage points, and with a pure probability sample of 5,727, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-1.3 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About Apartments.com
Apartments.com is the most visited national apartment Internet listing subscription service with more than 50,000 unique addresses representing more than three million rental units from managed properties, newspaper classifieds and for-rent-by-owner properties. With personalized searches, highly visual ads featuring 360-degree virtual tours, professional photography, and comprehensive community listings, Apartments.com makes it possible for renters to access apartment rental inventory from across town or across the country. Leads from highly qualified, ready-to-rent prospects are delivered to Apartments.com customers, increasing closure rates and decreasing the average cost of leasing an apartment. The site's foundation of solid partnerships with the local newspaper and television station Web sites of more than 10,000 newspaper affiliate and strategic partners across the country include Yahoo! Real Estate, the Chicago Tribune (www.chicagotribune.com), The Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) and the Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com). Apartments.com is a division of Chicago-based Classified Ventures, LLC.

About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is the nation’s largest online job site with more than 22 million unique visitors and over 1.5 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 1,100 partners, including 150 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 300,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com’s easy job postings, 23 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. CareerBuilder.com and its subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.

CareerBuilder.com Media Contact:
Jennifer Sullivan
773-527-1164
Jennifer.Sullivan@careerbuilder.com

Apartments.com Media Contact:
Lisa DeVries
312-601-5305
ldevries@apartments.com