Moving for a job?

My personal opinion is that you move and buy where you want to live and raise your family, period.
Jobs come and go but a mortgage stays.

 

That's exactly why I wouldn't tell them I'm willing to move for the job. I'd float the idea that an opportunity came up independent of the job, which might coincidentally line up nicely with the job.

Don't feel like you owe a company 100% honesty. They certainly don't feel that way toward you.

 

We have a driver that lives about a 2 hour drive from work. He drives in Monday morning, gets a hotel for Monday night, Tuesday night, and Wednesday night. Goes home after work on Thursday night. For him it's worth the expense.

 

Just tell them there is nothing keeping you where you are currently living and wouldn't mind moving closer to the job.

 

I hear you. When I got my first job, I had been homeless for almost two years. But I was applying for long haul, where a transient lifestyle is more likely to be seen as a bonus. I'm not sure about the mindset for local work.

Lots of people have been thru tough times, especially this past year. You might not be the only one they've dealt with. And everybody and his uncle is hiring drivers these days. When you're scraping rock bottom, its natural to feel vulnerable and wary of letting out the wrong bit of information. Nothing wrong with that feeling. But you might have more command of the situation than you feel like you have. Your best move might be to embrace your situation, own it, and present it as a selling point.

Selling a house to move an hour closer to a potential job is a big deal. There's a lot of work involved. They might thing you're desperate for that particular job cuz noone else will hire you, or for some other reason they've got you over a barrel. But if all you've got to do is pack up a week's worth of clothes and check into a different motel, now a lot of the potential behind-the-scenes personal drama is out of the way. They no longer have to imagine you dealing with all the hassle of a real home sale and simultaneous purchase. You can check into a motel by their yard on Sunday and start work Monday. And they don't have you over a barrel any more because you can leave town the same way you rolled in, and move down the street from their competitor instead.

When you're talking to whoever it is, I'd open by saying there's some stuff you're a little shy about, but it is what it is and you want to be honest, so here it is. You hit some tough times, you're living in a motel, you don't want the whole world to know, but you're telling them because they might be interested to know that you can move at the drop of a hat, so you can start tomorrow and move close to the yard this weekend without a hassle.

The worst they can do is say no. Just my $0.02.

 

Yeah that's another good way to play it. Nothing tying you down, no big deal.