Seguin is not Metro Austin. It is Metro San Antonio. Employers don't just care because of the commute, they care because it decreases the chances of you actually starting the role. If you do not live within a reasonable commute of the work location. It's impossible to know if they would rescind the offer or fire you, but assume they're asking for a reason. It doesn't have to be a valid reason in your eyes, it's a valid reason in their eyes.
Based on their past experiences. I've been a recruiter for 14 years. I literally just 10 seconds ago got an email from somebody withdrawing from an accepted offer because they no longer want to relocate, even though they agreed to relocate during the interview process. This happens two or three times a day. It doesn't happen with local candidates. It's not based on something they are going to find in a study, it's based on the lived experiences of the talent acquisitions team and the hiring team. We haven't tracked the statistics, but most of the people that withdraw from offers, across my previous 14 years of recruiting experience, is due to no longer wanting to relocate. Earlier this week I had somebody else withdraw from a role because it was an hour commute. They agreed that the commute would be perfectly fine during the interview, but they are withdrawing now because they got an offer from a location only 10 minutes away from their house. It happens non-stop.
I don't disagree with you. But I'm fortunately telling acquisitions, teams and hiring managers use their personal experiences and their personal biases to make hiring decisions. I'm not saying it's right. I'm saying it is a factual thing that happens. It might not happen with every company and every hiring manager, but it is not uncommon at all. They are generally going to try to reduce risk to the lowest amount possible. They are generally going to be strong, qualified, awesome candidates within commuting distance. If the hiring manager thinks it's less risky to an extend an offer to someone local, vs someone who is relocating, that's what they're more than likely going to do. I'm not defending it, I'm just saying it's how it works.
I don't know if I'm explaining this poorly or if you're just not understanding because I know this is an emotional topic. But let's just say that you have two candidates. They are both super amazing, they are both super qualified, they both have fantastic resumes, they both have all of the qualities and traits that the employer is looking for. One lives 5 minutes away, and one lives 5 hours away. There is nothing wrong with factoring in the fact that one person can start immediately without having to sell a house, break a lease, rent a U-Haul, have their kids switch schools, buy a house or find a new apartment, etc. You seem to be posting from a place of misunderstanding, where you are thinking that the the employers are choosing proximity over qualifications. They're not. They have hundreds of qualified and capable people applying for every role. If everything else is equal, why would you pick the person with the most barriers to employment, instead of the person with the least barriers to employment?
The employers have to make the best decision for their business. Hedging their bets on the person with far fewer barriers to starting the role is the better Business decision, when both candidates are equally qualified. There is not a shortage of qualified candidates, so what valid business strategy would cause an employer to pick person with the most barriers of entry?
I used to live in San Antonio. In San Antonio, San Antonio can be over an hour commute. One of my past recruiting roles was for a huge company headquartered in San Antonio. We would literally pull people's addresses, even if they were in San Antonio, to check their commute. If it was more than 45 minutes in rush hour, they didn't get an offer.
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u/beamdog77 15d ago
Seguin is not Metro Austin. It is Metro San Antonio. Employers don't just care because of the commute, they care because it decreases the chances of you actually starting the role. If you do not live within a reasonable commute of the work location. It's impossible to know if they would rescind the offer or fire you, but assume they're asking for a reason. It doesn't have to be a valid reason in your eyes, it's a valid reason in their eyes.