Finding your dream job can be difficult, especially if you’re limiting your search to a specific city. Unfortunately, you might have to leave your hometown to find a job you enjoy. Many companies will offer a relocation package to help them attract top talent. Relocating to a new job can be scary, but a relocation offer can help ease the financial burden. 

While many jobs offer remote work, others may require you to relocate even if you’re working remote so you can attend meetings. You’ve come to the right place if you’ve been offered a job with a relocation package. While it might seem incredible that an employer is offering to help you, you should never take the bare minimum. This article will discuss what relocation packages might provide and how you can negotiate them to get the best terms. 

What is a Relocation Offer?

Relocation packages are used to cover a new employee’s cost of relocating to a new city, helping employers upskill the workforce and improve talent acquisition processes. They can also be given to existing employees who need to move to a new location for a different position. However, companies don’t legally have to offer a relocation package, but many do to help them find the best talent around the country. 

In most cases, a company won’t offer to pay all the costs of relocating, although some do. The terms of these offers vary depending on the company. There are many different kinds of relocation packages, including:

Lump-Sum

With a lump sum, your new employer will give you money upfront to help you pay for your relocation however you like. However, you won’t get any more once your lump sum is spent, so it’s best to budget appropriately. 

Reimbursement

Some companies will offer partial reimbursement for your move. In this case, you’ll have to submit receipts for all of your costs, and you will pay for anything that goes beyond the company’s specified amount. 

Third-Party

Your new employer might outsource the logistics of your move to a third party to manage your relocation. 

Direct Management

Some larger companies may give you a lump sum or reimbursement package while also helping you organize your move and managing the process from start to finish. 

What’s Covered in a Relocation Offer?

Relocation packages vary from company to company, but many benefits typically come standard no matter what type of relocation assistance you receive, including:

A Visit: Before you move, you should check out your new town or city and view a few houses or apartments. Relocation assistance should include an expense-paid trip for you to meet with a real estate agent and learn about the place where you’ll live. 

Finding Schools for Children: If you have children, your relocation package might also help you find the right schools for them. 

Financial Assistance for Home Buying: A relocation offer will likely come with financial assistance to help you purchase or rent a new home. 

Travel Expenses: Travel expenses might be paid if you need to travel to the company before your official move. Additionally, if you have pets at home, consider enrolling them in a boarding program to help your pets cope with moving anxiety.

Moving Costs: Moving costs will be paid to help you ease the financial burden of moving your family. Your relocation offer should cover at least some of the costs associated with moving your stuff, including moving company fees. 

Temporary Housing: Many people can’t simply move into a house immediately after accepting a job in a new city. Your relocation package might help pay for temporary housing, such as renting a sublet apartment until you find a permanent home.

Negotiating a Relocation Offer

Just like your salary, you can negotiate a better relocation offer. Negotiating allows you to cover your financial costs, including travel and helping your spouse find a job in a new city. It also benefits the employer by allowing you to be ready to work as soon as possible. Here’s how you can negotiate a better relocation package. 

Do Your Research

Always ensure you know how much everything involved in your relocation will cost. It’s great that your employer is offering to help, at least partially, but you don’t want to be stuck with a high out-of-pocket expense after just starting a new job. By knowing how much everything costs, you can negotiate payment for different aspects of your move, including moving expenses.

Getting quotes from a few different service providers can help you show your employer how much relocation costs so they can give you the best package available. 

Get a Contract

You should always have some sort of relocation offer in writing to avoid being stuck with a heavy bill. In addition, your employer should outline what they’ll pay for in writing so you can use it as a way to negotiate. After all, you can’t walk into a negotiation hoping to get what you want without knowing exactly what’s being paid for you. 

Consider Cost of Living

If your new city has a higher cost of living than your current city, consider having state and property taxes rolled up into your relocation offer. At the very least, your salary should reflect an increase in daily costs, a traditional mortgage loan, mortgage payments, or rent, and even transportation. Also, you should consider the costs associated with your relocation. Movers, packing supplies, daycare for your pets and children can all add up, so ensure you mention it in your cost of living. 

Communicate the Benefits

Of course, a relocation offer should benefit you and your family, but if you want your employer to agree to your terms, you should be able to describe how a better offer benefits the employer. For example, by agreeing to the new terms of the relocation package, your employer may be able to help you get into the office earlier than expected.

Be Ready to Accept

While employers want to help you move so you can help their businesses grow, many will put a cap on how much they’re willing to put into a relocation package. Remember, they will likely treat all relocations the same for all employees. However, you can still negotiate the terms to ensure you’re not spending too much money out of pocket to start your new career. 

Be ready to accept an offer that isn’t exactly what you want. Instead, your employer might choose to meet you in the middle. If you’re not ready to accept an offer or your out-of-pocket costs will be too high, you can still choose to reject the proposal altogether. 

Final Thoughts

By researching the costs of relocation and your new cost of living, you can walk into a relocation package negotiation armed with the proper knowledge to help you get the benefits you truly deserve. Relocations come with a lot of stressful decisions. Still, a relocation package should serve to help you avoid many of the financial and logistical challenges of moving to a new city for work. 

Julia Olivas

Julia Olivas graduated from San Francisco State University with her B.A. in Communication Studies. She is a freelance who loves sharing her passion for digital marketing and content creation. Outside of writing, she loves cooking, reading, painting, and her pup Ruby.