Community Features Can Play Role in Career Decisions

Workers included in the study chose San Diego, San Francisco, and New York as the top three U.S. metro areas for job relocation, while Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York again topped the list as the least preferred, according to a press release on the study. An interactive graphic created by FortiusOne that shows other top U.S. metro areas is here .

Key findings of the study included:

• The majority of respondents say they are satisfied with their community; therefore it is advisable to look for new employees among people in transition – recent college graduates or those who have recently lost their jobs, for example.
• Job opportunities, clean and safe communities and cost of living are the most powerful factors in attracting talent to a particular region.
• Employers need to acknowledge less flattering misconceptions about their region and look to address them during the interview process.
• Both corporations and universities need to cooperate to ensure success. Corporations should take an active role in making curriculum suggestions, while universities should stay abreast of the job market to better prepare students.

“Employers and governmental entities within a given region can play an important role in attracting job seekers with top leadership skills by promoting the unique advantages they offer to residents in concrete terms,” said Allan Schweyer, president and executive director of the Human Capital Institute, who co-authored the study with John Eggert, Ph.D., in the release. “Don’t tell them about the lakefront; take them for a walk on the beach.”

The study also looks at the job categories that employers say are the hardest to fill, along with the top leadership skills they say are hardest to find.

Full results of the study, “Talent Markets: The Importance of Location in the Competition for Human Capital,” are here .