Patrick Coulson's move across California from Cal Poly Pomona to Cisco Systems in San Jose was an easy one. He packed up the contents of his two-bedroom apartment, and the moving company handled the rest. His friends, who did not have the benefit of a company-sponsored relocation service, moved the usual way: They begged and bribed all of their semiambulatory family members for help, and spent all night cramming their mountain of odd sized boxes into an undersized U-Haul.
Many high-tech companies, like Cisco, use relocation packages as a standard benefit to help new employees make the financial and emotional transition from collegedom to career. If you are seeking a high-tech position, you will likely be in the enviable position of choosing not only among multiple employment offers but also among generous relocation packages.
Regardless of the size of the relocation package, there are serious issues with making any move, from the stratospheric rent of the Silicon Valley to the length of a cross-country journey with all of your possessions in tow. Your company will probably do everything it can to make your transition easier, but in the end, you will have to spend at least the next few years in the Austin heat, Boston snow, or the Silicon Valley traffic.
Before you accept a job offer and negotiate the relocation package, consider the following:
For many job seekers, relocating is not a question of if, but of where. Coulson, who is now Cisco's manager of university relations, estimates that 80 percent of the students recruited by Cisco relocate. Keith Westberg, Seagate's director of global staffing, reports that 90 to 95 percent of the students Seagate recruits make the move.
Nevertheless, before deciding to move, there are both financial and personal issues to consider. Financially, you should estimate how much it will cost you to make your move. At a minimum, your relocation package should cover movers and truck, temporary housing, and airfare. While nearly all relocation packages cover these one-time costs, few address the more difficult issues of cost of living and housing supply.
Differences in cost of living determine the real spending value of your hard- negotiated salary. For example, according to Yahoo!'s Salary Comparison (http://verticals.yahoo.com/cities/salary.html), a salary of $31,081 in Austin, Texas is equivalent to $50,000 in San Jose, Cali-fornia.
If you are headed for an economically growing area with a high cost of living, chances are that housing is in short supply. While $500 per month might get you a three-bedroom home in Wichita, it's a stretch to secure even a studio in San Francisco. Be sure to check the housing market for availability as well as price, and make sure your relocation package gives you enough time to find a decent place.
Personal issues will also shape your decision to relocate. Do you have friends or family in the area? How will the area fit with your lifestyle? What are the prospects for the job market in the future? If you have a significant other, where will he or she be? Just like choosing colleges, you need to consider the quality of life outside of school (or in this case work) when deciding whether or not to relocate.
Relocation packages vary among companies. The standard package includes packing and moving services, referrals to housing services, and a sum of money based on your salary for temporary housing until you find a place. Some companies also include storage, travel expenses, a rental car, and temporary housing for employees.
To help evaluate your relocation package, you'll need to do a little research. Figure out how much, if anything, your move will cost after you take into account the help you'll receive from the company. If you receive an offer from more than one company, compare the two offers. By playing one off the other (similar to what you should have done with your salary), you are likely to get one company to match or beat its competitor's offer.
One of the most important things you can do is research your alternatives to the relocation package. Most companies offer alternatives for employees who would rather receive cash than the luxury moving experience. For example, Hewlett- Packard offers three alternatives.
If all of your worldly possessions fit in a backpack, you are better off taking cash instead of moving services.
Finally, it is important to realize that the relocation package is a one-time benefit. Do not select a job based solely on a company's relocation package. High-tech recruiters stress that students need to look beyond the relocation package and think about their decision in longer terms.
"A lot of companies do the sale (to recruit employees). It's almost like a used car sale. Then when you move, you discover it's not as good as it sounds. Use common sense to not get roused into a job. If it sounds too good to be true, it might be," said Coulson.
Sweat. Strained backs. Heavy lifting. These are the usual accompaniments to moving. Many high-tech companies help employees avoid the suffering by providing moving services. For those who do not have help nearby, this can be a godsend. For others who haven't amassed a truckload worth of goods or who have easily bribed friends or family, they may be better off moving themselves.
"We'll relocate you or you can have X dollars in cash. A lot of students are taking the cash. In general, college recruits are simple. They may take the cash and throw all their stuff in a U-Haul," said Westberg.
Whether the strained back or luxury option is better depends on your individual circumstances. How far is your move? Will your belongings fit in the trunk of a car or in the bed of a big rig? Can you afford the bribes or muster the guilt trip it will take to convince friends and family members that they want to help you move? What is the timeframe for moving your belongings? What will your employer offer you if you move yourself instead of use a moving service? And most importantly, how strong is your back? (Note: Lift with your legs, not your back.)
When Coulson made his move from Southern to Northern California, his employer sent a large moving truck to move belongings that could have fit in one or two cars. Employees in this situation may be better off moving on their own.
If your employer does not provide moving services as part of its relocation package, you can still ask the human resources department for referrals. Speak with other customers who have used the service to make sure they are reliable.
There are several resources on the Internet to help you with your move, whether you do it solo or with professional help. On the Apartments.com web site, you can locate truck rental, moving, furniture rental, and storage companies. AllApartments (http://www.allapartments .com/) offers these services as well as a moving calculator to estimate interstate moving costs and a moving checklist. You can also find tips for moving, packing everything from CDs to big-screen televisions, and links to all of the forms you need to change your address at the Post Office's MoversNet (http://www.usps .gov/moversnet/).
One of the more stressful challenges of relocating can be finding a place to live, especially in high-tech hubs, where vacancies can be elusive and rents can reach cosmic heights. Your company may help reduce your stress by providing temporary housing while you look for a place to live, or by matching you up with an apartment locator service.
Whether or not your company aids you in your apartment hunt, you need to be informed when finding a place to live. "[Job seekers should avoid] making a decision without having all the information they need. We believe an informed renter is an empowered renter. When selecting an apartment, they should find one that best meets their budget, ideal amenities, and location. It's important to understand any lease requirements, such as deposits," said Christian B. Hicks, PR/Communications manager at Apartments.com.
When you are trying to find an apartment, especially when your search is long distance, one of the best sources of information besides your future employer is the Internet. There are millions of apartment rental listings nationwide on web sites such as AllApartments, Rent Net (http://www.rentnet.com/), and Yahoo! Real Estate (http://realestate.yahoo.com/).
On these sites, you can search for apartments by location, rental rates, and basic amenities. They feature descriptions, floor plans, virtual tours, maps, and directions to apartments. You can also contact apartment managers by telephone or e-mail. Yahoo! Real Estate even allows you to instantly receive your credit report online.
"Students who are relocating to a job across the country can have a better idea of which apartments best meet their needs, without ever leaving their computer. It saves them time, money, and stress from traveling to their new community and trying to find an apartment in a very short amount of time," said Hicks.
Overall, the most important factor in relocating is not whether you'll be in snow-friendly Boston or hotter-than-heck Austin, but what you'll be doing when you arrive at your destination. The job, how it fits with your skills and goals, and the company culture are most important in determining a good fit between you and the company.
"If they have a job that matches their skills and interests, the location is secondary," said Dean Richard Coddington, who works in the Engineering Career Services Office at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. "The main advice I give is you need to enjoy your work. You need to be good at it. You need to have personal satisfaction."
Westberg echoed this advice for students: "I think students should look at the quality of their work and their environment besides the bells-and-whistles of relocation packages and stock options. They need to do something they love. They'll always grow into more money and benefits as they go along in their career. They should be concerned about getting a good experience."
While relocation packages can be generous and tempting, keep in mind that they are no substitute for your future job. What will endure after the cash runs out and the moving trucks pull away is the actual job you choose.
DDJ