You live in "X." The job is in "Y." Why did you apply? (applying, interview)

[Serious Conversation]

I got this response today from an employer in Tennessee requesting a response as to why applied for a job in Tennessee, given that I'm in Indiana now. I'm not local, but am from the state, and why should an employer ask why did I apply?

Anyone else run into this?

[groar]

sometimes people mass apply to jobs and truly apply to places nowhere near where they live when they have no intentions to move to that place. or they haven't really thought out moving plans before they start applying.

the employer wants to know that you actually plan to move to tennessee for the job. they may also want to know that you'll be able to start within a reasonable amount of time of being offered the job and aren't likely to back out at the last minute. and depending on what the job is, it may not be the kind of job that people often relocate for so they might wonder why you would do that.

when you're applying long distance, it's generally a good idea to address common concerns in advance in a cover letter if you are able to submit one.

this employer is actually doing you a bit of a favor by checking with you - a lot of places would just toss your resume because you're not local.

[Poor Chemist]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

I got this response today from an employer in Tennessee requesting a response as to why applied for a job in Tennessee, given that I'm in Indiana now. I'm not local, but am from the state, and why should an employer ask why did I apply?

Anyone else run into this?

I relocated from Georgia to West Virginia and in the interview they only asked me if I had any reservations about relocating to West Virginia. They didn't say why are you applying to this job in WV. In your case since you are from Tennessee your response was very appropriate. You told them you are from Tennessee and you want to move back to your home state to be closer to your family.

In my case I had no choice but to relocate if I wanted a decent job in my profession. All the jobs I could find in Georgia were lousy temp jobs with no benefits and it was hard for me to make ends meet off of $17 per hour and no benefits. I accepted the first full time chemist position and could care less where the job was located.

I believe the reason employers ask questions like that from out of state candidates is because they don't want to pay for relocation expenses. My new job paid to move me to WV even though I was an entry level chemist with less than 1 year experience. I think if you tell them you don't need any help on relocation they will be more likely to hire you for the position.

[Rabrrita]

Very common. When employers figure out they have wasted lots of time on people with no intention or means to relocate, they either just dump out of area resumes/applications or they pre-qualify the applicant's intent. You are lucky they are asking and not dumping.