In a job seeker’s market like the one we currently find ourselves in, recruiting can be tough. When job seekers have their veritable pick of the litter, recruiters have their work cut out for them convincing candidates that their company is the best option. And when a candidate is located far from where the job is, that becomes an even harder sell.
But don’t get discouraged — recruiting a long-distant candidate is far from a lost cause. All it takes is a little extra finesse to source, vet and hire great out-of-state job seekers. Here are some of our top tips for helping bring in great talent outside of your metro area.
1. Know Which Jobs You Can Hire Locally
Recruiting long-distance candidates can be time-consuming, costly and complex to coordinate, so it’s no surprise that many recruiters prefer to hire locally when they can. But certain roles lend themselves to local hiring better than others, Glassdoor Chief Economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain discovered in his latest econ report: Metro Movers: Where Are Americans Moving for Jobs, And Is It Worth It?
Lower-skilled positions like bartender, receptionist, bank teller, customer service representative and office assistant are all most likely to stay local — good news for employers who don’t want to shell out high interview and relocation costs for those positions.
“Employers for these roles are widely dispersed throughout the U.S. and are not clustered in just a few metros like many specialized tech and engineering jobs. Applicants looking for bartender roles, for example, need not move to find an open position — many are available close to home,” Chamberlain explains.
Many candidates in technical and specialized fields, though, are open to moving. Some of the job titles most likely to relocate include Chemical Engineer, Salesforce Developer, Data Scientist, Actuarial Analyst and Research Scientist. This is partly “due to labor demand: employers for these roles are often concentrated in a few big metros and actively hire talent from across the U.S. It’s also due to labor supply: many candidates for tech and engineering roles are relatively young, highly educated and more willing to pick up and move cross country for their career,” Chamberlain says.
[Related: How To Speed Up Hiring For Sought-After Skills]
2. Make It Worth Their While
Only about 28.5 percent of job applications are intended for a different metropolitan area than the one an applicant currently resides in. Whether it’s because of family and friends in the area, a lower cost of living or simply not wanting to deal with the headache of moving, most candidates simply prefer to stay local. With that in mind, it’s up to your company to make them an irresistible offer.
Salary, of course, plays a part in this — but only a small one. Chamberlain found that “an extra $10,000 higher base salary predicts candidates are about a half percentage point (0.41 percentage points) more likely to be a metro mover.” Even more important is a company’s company culture: “Having a 1-star higher overall Glassdoor rating predicts candidates will be 2.5 percentage points more likely to move metros for a job. That’s statistically significant, and roughly six times larger than the impact of offering $10,000 higher pay.” If your company is on the fence about investing in company culture, keep in mind that it has a direct impact on your talent acquisition efforts. And of course, a competitive benefits package is important as well, with nearly 80 percent of candidates saying they would prefer more perks or benefits to a pay raise.
Bottom line? Take a holistic look at what you’re offering, and make sure that it’s competitive enough to attract a candidate away from their given location. This is especially important if your company wants to hire more experienced or diverse candidates, both of whom are less likely to move for a job, Glassdoor research found.
3. Good Video Conference Capabilities Are a Must
When a candidate is far away from your office, in-person interviews become a challenge. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should get rid of them entirely, but keeping them to a minimum is usually a good idea, especially in the early rounds.
“Conduct initial interviews long-distance when possible, using telecommunication. [You] save time, money and resources for both sides,” says Nate Masterson, HR Manager for Maple Holistics.
“You can save a lot of time and money by using free/cheap video interviewing… I use Zoom for video interviews,” adds Paul Freed, Managing Partner at executive search firm Herd Freed Hartz. “This gives you 80 percent of the ‘presence’ of being in-person to evaluate someone and will help in telling the company’s unique story to see if the candidate is inspired to make the move.”
Once you’ve narrowed down the pool to a few finalists, you can bring them in if you choose.
“If you end up with a small group of candidates, and are interested in a second round of interviews, consider paying or splitting the costs of travel,” Masterson says. “This also has some meaning for the relocation itself, should it work out. Many candidates don’t want to pay their relocation expenses. If you are serious about bringing this person on board, you need to decide how much money you willing to spend on actually bringing them to the team.”
4. Look for Commitment
The last thing you want is to spend your time and resources courting a candidate, only for them to reject an offer or even quit shortly after they start. Because of this, candidates’ passion and interest in the opportunity at every stage of the interview process become more important than ever.
“If you can find a candidate that is confident and convinces you that they ready to move for the role, rather than the other way around with the business trying to convince the candidate, then it's a sign you've found great talent. When interviewing for out-of-state candidates and conducting Skype interviews, keep an eye out for those that show off their personality and act natural and enthusiastic," says Dana Case, Director of Operations at MyCorporation.com.
Keep in mind, though, that this requires transparency on your part. If a candidate is enthusiastic about an opportunity that you’ve heavily sugarcoated, you can’t be surprised if they become frustrated and disengaged or leave entirely.
“We want candidate[s] to be ‘all in,’ thus we believe in giving the good and bad about relocation as well as our company. We feel if we lay out all the facts, the right candidate will make the best decision, and if that is to relocate, it will work out for the best. We never want to have to talk someone into moving — that will not work out long-term,” says Chris Jemo, VP of Talent Acquisition at The Connor Group.
[Related: 4 Signs You’ve Found an Informed Candidate]
5. Help Them Transition
Even after a candidate has signed on the dotted line, your work isn’t done. To ensure that they start out on the right foot, do your best to provide ongoing support for their transition.
For instance, if a candidate will be relocating with children, “make it easier on them and help with the job/school search,” Masterson suggests. You may even want to allow the candidate to work remotely for a bit to allow them to transition. “This way, the candidate will be working for you already, with the understanding that a relocation will occur in the future,” Masterson adds.
You can also share with them what your city has to offer to get them excited.
“Include links about the city, schools, restaurants/culture [and] recreation,” Freed suggests. “This mitigates risk and you will help guide a candidate to the talking points you want about what life would look like in that city.”
Recruiting a long-distance candidate may require a little bit more effort than recruiting local candidates, but when you find the right fit, it’s well worth the effort.
“An out-of-state candidate can bring with [them] a fresh outlook,” Masterson says. “The extra time and money will be worth it when you actually manage to secure real talent, someone who is bound to enrich your company’s resources and increase profit to a great degree.”
