TRAILING PARTNER - CAREER ASSISTANCE

TRAILING PARTNER - CAREER ASSISTANCE
MAKING THE DIFFERENCE IN RECRUITING!

The compensation package was of the first order, the salary was at the top of the range, the benefits were not just competitive, but cutting edge, the sign-on bonus was handsome and the stock options would make anyone sit up and take notice.

The accompanying relocation package you offered the candidate also was progressive, included home search advising, and expenses, interim living and temporary commuting expenses, a home sale plan, new home closing costs, shipment of household goods and related moving expenses.
The cultural and recreational amenities in your geographic area beckoned as well, boasting of picture perfect seacoasts and green mountains, fine schools, museums and gourmet restaurants.

The offer letter went out to your most preferred candidate, the individual who most understood your company’s needs, who most conveyed leadership skills, the one your decision-makers believed most capable of unfolding and implementing a vision for growth.

But the response, a not-so-uncommon one in today’s world of dual-career couples, came back from the candidate, simply and with finality: “At this time, I am unable to make the commitment to relocation.”

“Leading the list of reasons a candidate declines a job and relocation offer,” says Larry Maglin, COO with Gateway International, “is the ambiguous impact such a move may have on the career of that candidate’s partner. Accepting an outstanding new position by one individual may unavoidably undermine the career path of that individual’s partner.”

“Mergers, acquisitions, corporate downsizing and reorganizations have contributed to the increased number of relocations occurring nationwide,” he adds, “and that means many more partners are confronted with a temporary career disruption of their own and subsequent feelings of loss and uncertainty.”

The decision to relocate for a new job always involves a variety of factors, but the difference between a candidate accepting or declining an offer may come down to the availability of a corporate-sponsored service, called partner career assistance, provided by Gateway International.

“The concept of partner career assistance generally means comprehensive career assistance for the partner of an individual who decides to relocate for a new position,” says Mr. Maglin, who added that The Gateway International has been offering career consultation and coaching for trailing partners and spouses for over a decade. (Some companies’ policies limit these services to a spouse only and not to an unmarried partner.) He adds that partner career assistance can add significant weight to a company’s relocation package by addressing a major area of potential stress for a relocating couple and thereby strengthens that firm’s recruitment efforts.

Arnie Miller, co-founder of Isaacson Miller, a national retained search firm based in Boston, states, “Not only can partner career assistance make a difference to a candidate considering relocation, it sometimes becomes necessary in order to close a deal.” Mr. Miller, whose search firm has a partners’ policy coupled with its retained searches, says he knows first hand the challenges of embarking on a job search in a new city. He himself was once a trailing spouse.

“Successful recruiting of exceptional candidates does not always come down to dollars,” continues Mr.. Maglin, “but to things that affect the quality of life of a couple.” Partner career assistance tells partners that their career is important too. Partner career assistance programs typically are based on a one-on-one instructional approach to conducting a job search. For those partners conducting an immediate job search, Mr. Maglin states that the program provides them with private offices, telephone and voice mail, administrative support, job market information and seminars that teach the effective use of technology in the job search. Or provides the same level of service through their GIG@HOME, which offers the same level of service but in the convenience of their homes.

Mike Carey, former Senior VP Human Resources for Johnson & Johnson, says his firm has benefited from providing career partner services to employees recruited for company transfers. “The career assistance program has become an important element in supporting corporate relocation,” he states, “This one benefit often makes the critical difference in whether an employee accepts or rejects a key corporate transfer.”

For More Information:http://www.gioip.com/ http://www.larrymaglin.com/ http://www.lawrencemaglin.com/ http://www.joekran.com/ http://www.josephkran.com/

Staff Review by: Joseph (Joe) Kran, Lawrence (Larry) Maglin and Rick Spann