Unemployed and stuck (job offer, employee, debt, 401k)

[bluebelt1234]

I am trying to come up with a solution to a major problem I am having. I relocated to IN from AZ about 2 months ago. I was forced to move in with parents. Well anyway, when I moved I stopped receiving unemployment. I am trying to get that straightened out.

Here is the problem, the area I am living in has like no jobs. It is basically Hickville, USA. The nearest metro area is Indianapolis which is two hours away. I have been on the major web sites: Careerbuilder, Craigslist, Hot jobs, Monster, Indeed, Simply Hired, etc. I have also established a Linkedin profile. I have talked with people at church and told them I was looking for work. I have even walked around asking for a job and went to some agencies. All this and I have not gotten a single interview in this area and many rejection letters. I have only found three jobs that would actually pay enough for me to move out of the parent's house. Things just are not going well for me.

I am wondering at what point does one withdraw their investments in order to move? If I were to get my unemployment, I would just go ahead and move. I have gotten interviews in other cities and have even gotten second interviews. I have even had places cancel interviews on me because I didn't live in the area. I have also heard the "call me when you get here" a lot. I just hate being unemployed and stuck.

[7 Wishes]

Moving to another state should not have nullified your UI, you should check into that.

As for "cancel interview because you don't live in the area", in the future convince them before they cancel it that upon receiving an offer you can move on a drop of a pin without any expense by or inconvenience to the employer (and if it really happened, rent a motel room for a week or two while you look for a place when off-duty). I have used this to get past that barrier for an out-of-town interview.

Good luck!

[resumestojobs]

Hello,

How big is the city you are in and what type of work are you looking for?

I'll have to say that I recommend to candidates on the recruiting side, I can't help if you are not in the city. Why? Because employers have piles of resumes and if they want to have interviews in the next couple days, there will be people available to interview face to face. Therefore, they don't take the time to phone interview out of town candidates. However, if it is a very technical and niche type of job, they will almost always conduct phone interviews and fly folks in for the interview. It really depends on the role, and the supply of candidates in the local market. Let's say you are an accounting clerk. Probably no chance to slim chance in landing a role in a large metro area if you live outside without your feet on the ground. There will be a line up of candidates available for the role who are probably well qualified.

You mentioned you are on linkedin - how many other people in your profession are in your local area? Sounds like you are in a real difficult situation.

Khan

[kodaka]

I totally hear you. Employers always want someone local. I'm kind of in the same boat. Literally hundreds of applications, only one interview. Occasionally jobs in other cities pop up but I can't afford to fly to interviews all over the country, and I'm a big city dweller without a car, so I really have no way to get to some place like Richmond or Atlanta or Pittsburgh even though they aren't so far away. I'm willing to rent a car for a good lead, but I can't do that for every long-shot.

Last year though, I did move cross country. I sort of faked being local. My sister lives here, so I used her address and sent out resumes while I still lived in Chicago. It wasn't until I had a dozen interviews lined up that I really decided to move. I didn't tell any of the employers that I was still in Chicago when I scheduled the interviews. Then, I put most of my belongings in storage and rented a car one-way and drove out here. I crashed on my sister's sofa and went to interviews and landed a job. I worked for several weeks before I found an apartment of my own and retrieved my belongings.

You could do this too, assuming you have a particular city in mind. If you don't know anyone in that city, use a mail boxes etcetera or something like that so you have an address to put on your resumes. You don't have to have a local phone number. Use the local address to score some interviews, and then if you get a job offer you can stay in a hotel if you have to until you find a place. That might not be the cheapest approach but if it is the only way out of Hicksville, it might be necessary.

As for not getting unemployment benefits after moving from Arizona, have you talked with either state about the Federal Combined-Wage Claim Law? I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that this would allow you access to the unemployment benefits you were entitled to before you moved. Indiana would dispense the money but the funds would be forwarded to them from Arizona, based on the taxes you paid while employed in that state. I'm not entirely sure how all of this works, and I'm trying to pursue this benefit myself.

Best of luck to you.

[subwayfan]

Originally Posted by kodaka

Employers always want someone local.

I always wondered what was the primary benefit. Is it that they don't want to worry about relocation expenses, and possible reimbursement for travel for the interviews?

Suppose a dept. (let's say IT) within a company likes an applicant, but the applicant is really from out of town/out of state (over 150 miles away). Somehow that person managed to get his/her resume passed along and had an interview.

The applicant indicates by word of mouth that relocating is not a problem, and would be handled on his own.

Perhaps the company is afraid, once the ball is rolling (after a formal offer is sent), the applicant speaks to HR, and the applicant will try to push for relocation expenses (and maybe even reimbursement for the travel to the interviews) covered? So as a precautionary step, so that none of the above happens in the first place, the HR uses headhunter agencies (like Robert Half) that pulls in locals only, so the headhunter agency finds local candidates and acts as a filter.

Besides that scenario, which I just came up on the fly and think is extreme penny pinching, I can't think of what's the big deal if the applicant was from somewhere else but is willing to move. From an applicant/employee perspective, I think moving to a new city while taking on a new job helps in the whole life experience and career advancement as well. If that employee can perform well on the job, I don't think the taking an employee from out of area should be discouraged.

[kodaka]

I always wondered what was the primary benefit. Is it that they don't want to worry about relocation expenses, and possible reimbursement for travel for the interviews?

I don't think its the cost of relocation expenses or interview travel reimbursement. I think most fields don't pay for these at all. I realize in some fields like higher education or forensic science, it is common. But for your accountants and architects and human resource managers and marketing managers and network administration, the employer can find someone local. Even if no local applicant is qualified, it could often be cheaper to train someone local than pay someone else to travel or relocate.

Mostly I think it is just hassle. To arrange interviews, the interviewer has to find a time that they are available that works with the applicant's travel itenerary. And the interviewer is really locked into that time and can't reschedule because a flight has been paid for.

And after an out-of-towner is hired, even if they find temporary lodging right away, the employer expects that that person will be distracted at least for a little while--reading classifieds, touring properties, arranging movers and utility hookups, etc.

Plus someone who already lives in the area is perceived to be more stable and likely to stay. Someone from out of town may arrive and find they don't like it, and decide not to stay.

When they have a choice, it is just smoother to hire someone local.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by kodaka

I totally hear you. Employers always want someone local. I'm kind of in the same boat. Literally hundreds of applications, only one interview. Occasionally jobs in other cities pop up but I can't afford to fly to interviews all over the country, and I'm a big city dweller without a car, so I really have no way to get to some place like Richmond or Atlanta or Pittsburgh even though they aren't so far away. I'm willing to rent a car for a good lead, but I can't do that for every long-shot.

Last year though, I did move cross country. I sort of faked being local. My sister lives here, so I used her address and sent out resumes while I still lived in Chicago. It wasn't until I had a dozen interviews lined up that I really decided to move. I didn't tell any of the employers that I was still in Chicago when I scheduled the interviews. Then, I put most of my belongings in storage and rented a car one-way and drove out here. I crashed on my sister's sofa and went to interviews and landed a job. I worked for several weeks before I found an apartment of my own and retrieved my belongings.

You could do this too, assuming you have a particular city in mind. If you don't know anyone in that city, use a mail boxes etcetera or something like that so you have an address to put on your resumes. You don't have to have a local phone number. Use the local address to score some interviews, and then if you get a job offer you can stay in a hotel if you have to until you find a place. That might not be the cheapest approach but if it is the only way out of Hicksville, it might be necessary.

As for not getting unemployment benefits after moving from Arizona, have you talked with either state about the Federal Combined-Wage Claim Law? I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that this would allow you access to the unemployment benefits you were entitled to before you moved. Indiana would dispense the money but the funds would be forwarded to them from Arizona, based on the taxes you paid while employed in that state. I'm not entirely sure how all of this works, and I'm trying to pursue this benefit myself.

Best of luck to you.

1) True about only needing the local address, not the local phone number. With cell phones and VOIP, lots of people have phone numbers that aren't "local" to them and it's not a big expense for a potential employer to make a long-distance call.

2) Regarding Federal Combined-Wage Law, shouldn't be needed. You should just need to give them your new address (if it's a state that still mails checks out), or change your direct deposit info (if you've changed banks). If you still use the same bank account for direct deposit, you shouldn't have to do anything, the checks should still be coming.

[kodaka]

You should just need to give them your new address (if it's a state that still mails checks out), or change your direct deposit info (if you've changed banks). If you still use the same bank account for direct deposit, you shouldn't have to do anything, the checks should still be coming.

I don't know about that. Illinois requires claimants to provide a verification code that is mailed to them every week, in order to claim benefits. The code arrives via USPS in an envelope clearly labelled DO NOT FORWARD. I suppose if you had a good friend in that state, you could use their address and they could collect the mailings, put them in a new envelope, and mail them on to you.

[sweethearttx]

I don't know...for me, I'm still young (29) and I do have retirement savings. And I will be tapping into it when my savings run out. What other option do you have? I'd rather be penalized and lose my retirement, than go into debt. Hopefully at some point I can build it up again. I think in general it's bad to tap into your 401K but desperate times call for desperate measures. And if you still have some time to recoup your savings once you start working again, then maybe consider it. Especially if it's the difference between getting a job or not. But who knows. I'm no financial expert. I'm just in the same boat as you. And ready to see everything I have disappear. And I WILL be tapping into my retirement in order to at least save my car and my cell phone. Otherwise I can't have any hope to find a job.

[kodaka]

I agree that tapping into your retirement is better than not taking a job. I have just begun withdrawing from my retirement as my other funds dwindle.

My earlier post was simply questioning spending those savings to pick up and move to a place before you've even gotten an interview let alone a job. If at all possible, I'd save the funds until they can be spent on a surer bet--moving after a job offer is in hand.