Recently I recruited a candidate for a Security position with a large company in the SE USA. This candidate was a cold called recruit as most of my candidates are. He lived in the NE part of the country. I presented the opportunity to him and he was very interested in talking in detail about his skills and the job.
During my interview of the candidate, which lasted well over an hour, we discussed his skills, goals and of course his personal situation since the position requires relocation . By personal situation, I mean such items as;
*Homeowner or Renter
* Married or Single
*Does he have children at home
*If children at home, how old
* Would relo to this town be OK for him
* More importantly, how would his wife & children react to a relocation
After a full interview he said he had no problem with the location and he would discuss with his wife. Children were young so that was not the issue.
He called me back the next day and let me know that his wife had not really thought about relocation, but said if it was a great opportunity for him then of course he should pursue the opportunity.
At that point I discussed the candidate with the hiring manger and we schedule a phone interview for the candidate about 10 days later. The interview last 2 hours and went great. The candidate loved what he heard and the hiring manager wanted to schedule a 2nd interview with another person on his staff before committing to fly the candidate down for an in house interview. That interview was set up also during the next 10 days and also went well.
At this point the client wanted to fly the candidate AND his wife down to see the area and interview for the job. The client however wanted to be sure the candidate and his family were OK with a move if the interview went well and they liked the area. Candidate assured me he wanted to go since it was a great opportunity and his wife was open to seeing the area also.
The client even sent a full detailed email they put together themselves about the area and it benefits. It included where others that worked for the company had come from and there likes and dislikes of the area.
Unfortunately it took several weeks for the candidate and client to come up with some mutual dates they could meet.
When we finally got a date that would work I called the candidate to confirm.
As you can probably guess at this pint he started to waiver. Appears that his wife now has second thoughts. He said that she had no problem with him interviewing for a position out of the area because she never thought it would go anywhere. When it was time to fly down, she thought if she kept stalling on the dates it would be dropped. The candidate informed me that his wife would fly down to the new city, but regardless how how nice the city was, or housing, or better cost of living she had already made up her mind that she would hate the city. He also stated that his wife would move, BUT she would be miserable everyday she was there and she would make sure he knew it.
Well, after some real digging on my part the truth came out. The candidate admitted that he had suspected all along that his wife really was going to be an issue but he never really sat down with her and talked it out fully with her. He simply felt that she “would come around” to the idea. He was wrong.
Relocation for some people is not an issue,, but for others it is not. That’s why I spend so much time talking to candidates about the personal side of a relocation /job change.
As a candidate, if a new job opportunity comes along that requires relocation it is very important that you sit down and talk to the family about the relocation in the beginning. Once the interview with the client begins relocation is a real possibility. If your spouse or children or partner, etc are resistant that must be dealt with prior to interviewing.
If it can’t be resolved then this position is not a match for you at the present time. Let it go.
If the candidate above had done what I asked in the beginning and was 100% honest then we could have found out why the resistance and perhaps solved the issue before he wasted my time and the client time.
Wils Bell
Bell@SecurityHeadhunter.com
SecurityHeadhunter.com
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