Commuting and Relocation Today

If you’re advertising a job in San Francisco, you should target job seekers in San Francisco, right? Maybe not, according to Simply Hired’s 2012 Today’s Job Seeker report out later this month. We learned that not only are job seekers willing to travel further distances for work, but they’re also willing to relocate for the right opportunity. In addition, job seekers actively search for jobs that allow telecommuting.

According to the report, the majority of job seekers (54%) would drive 30-60 minutes each way for work, with an additional 16% willing to drive an hour or more. This means that when advertising jobs, you shouldn’t only consider targeting the job seekers located in that city, but even job seekers 50 miles or more away. And if a job seeker isn’t having any luck landing a job in their current place of residence, over three quarters (77%) would consider relocating for the right opportunity.

The report also found that for many, a house is not only a home, but an office as well. With the advancements in technology, increasingly flexible management, concerns for the environment and high gas and real estate costs, telecommuting is a very viable and sustainable option for many workers. Companies that offer the option to telecommute are seen as more desirable--56% of job seekers would prefer to work at a company where they could work both in an office and at home. If your employees are allowed to telecommute one or more days a week, highlighting this benefit in your job description could be a key to engaging top talent that otherwise would have not applied.

To learn more about current job seeker trends, keep an eye out for Simply Hired’s 2012 Today’s Job Seeker Report, due out October 30th!