How To Convince The Interviewer You Are Willing To Relocate 

So you have made it through the first few rounds of the interview process and you are now at the final stage of the interview.  You are meeting the Hiring Manager and you know that everything is going great except you know that he/she is concerned about your willingness to relocate out-of-state for the position.  How can you set his/her mind at ease concerning this alarming issue?  Here, are our tips:

1.      Write out a list of all your ties to the area.  Before the interview, make a list of all the ties you have to the area or state.  This list should include times you have visited or lived in the state.  It should also include any family or friends that you have in the state.

2.      Write out a list of all time you were away from home.  Also, make a list of all the times you have been away from home.  These can be to any location.  Essentially, you are trying to make a record of times where you have been away from home for extended periods of time and were not homesick.

a.       Examples could include going to a college out of state or going to   Europe over the summer.

3.      Research the city for more “useful” information.  Research the city in which the job will be located.  Make a list of the things that appeal to you about the city and how they would be a natural extension of you.

a.       For example, if you do artwork on the side, talk in the interview about how great it would be to see “such and such” museum.

b.      If you belong to any clubs or groups (avoid discussing any controversial groups) that have chapters in that area, state how you look forward to joining those groups chapters.

c.       Also, you can use the uniqueness of the city to your advantage as well.  If you have never lived near the beach or the mountains, state how you are looking forward to a change from your own environment.  If housing costs are cheaper, state this as well.  Essentially, you are trying to show that a moving would be in your best interest.

4.      Determine how your marital and family status will be benefit in the move.  It is usually a no-no for the interviewer to ask you about these things.  However, you can bring them up if you believe they will help your case.  For instance, if you are single and have no children, you bring this point up to show that you can make this decision without consulting family.  If you do have a family, you can state how your family supports your decision and would love to move there for such and such reasons.

5.      Sell your commitment to the position.  If this position would be an excellent learning opportunity or is with a very prestigious firm, state you would be more than willing to trade any small degree of homesickness because the benefits significantly outweigh this one minor issue.

6.      Create a presentation for this interview question or concern.  After you have compiled your research, you want to create a basic presentation that you will use when asked about this issue.  By way of your preparation and your answer, you will be able to show you have thought about this issue and will give you a chance to state reasons why this will not be an issue and possibly even a benefit.  

7.      Take your cues from the interviewer.  Try to gauge what specifically they are concerned about in your possible move and tailor your answer to that particular aspect.  Often times, you can determine this by seeing how they respond to different parts of your answer to their question or what follow-up questions they ask you.    

Implementing these steps will not guarantee the interviewer will be satisfied.  However, it should go a long way towards planting seeds of thought that relocating will not be a significant issue.  Your goal here is really to minimize any lingering doubts.  If you are able to do effectively this, you just might be able to beat out a local candidate for the position.

*To get specifics on what to wear to interview, check out interview attire.