Prepare for unexpected if you relocate for new job opportunity
By Anita Bruzzese
While some 5 million people are currently looking for work, one thing adding to the pressure is the decision whether it's worth the gamble to move somewhere else to either look for work or to take a new job.
For someone like Jenny Brooks, relocation turned out to be a gamble that didn't pay off.
Brooks, 32, made the decision in June 2008 to move her family to Birmingham, Ala., from Coos Bay, Ore., to launch a public relations campaign for a new client of her Northern California employer. With her employer offering a $6,000 moving allowance and a promise of six months rent paid in the new location while she tried to sell her Coos Bay home, Brooks, her husband and two young daughters made the move to what they hoped was a great career opportunity in a bigger city with more to offer.
Unfortunately, that dream has come crashing down. A couple of weeks ago, Brooks lost her job when her new client filed for bankruptcy. She can't get her old job back with her Northern California employer, because the economic downturn has also hit that company.
"It was sort of a perfect storm," she says. "It just all happened so fast."
While Brooks' husband was able to transfer within his company to Birmingham, she is now doing freelance public relations work. She says that the home in Coos Bay is "way underwater" — worth less than what the couple paid for it. And, the renters who were occupying a home the couple owns in Phoenix have moved out.
"We took a big risk moving to Birmingham. We gambled and bet this would work out. But it didn't," she says.
Cheryl Palmer, a certified executive career coach and founder of Call to Career in Silver Spring, Md., says that in this rough housing and job market, "there's no straight answer on what to do" when it comes to relocation for a job.
"There are more variables with dire consequences now," Palmer says. "With the economy shrinking, the potential fallout (from relocation) is that much greater. You've really got to weigh some of the factors very carefully."
According to a www.Relocation.com survey, people continue to relocate in the U.S., with the South and West attracting the most people. And while there are jobs in those areas of the country, it doesn't guarantee such a move is right for you and your family, Palmer says.
She recommends anyone considering a relocation should:
Brooks says she and her husband may end up moving to Phoenix, since that's where they not only own a home, but where they have the most professional and personal contacts.
"You still get jobs based on who you know. Anyone can get a job at a fast-food restaurant. But can that really support a family? You've got to think long term," Brooks says. "We really don't have any contacts in Birmingham."
At the same time, you may have to consider footing the bill yourself if you want the job badly enough, Palmer says.
Write to Anita Bruzzese c/o: Gannett ContentOne, 7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22107. For a reply, include a SASE.
