Looking for job in the O.C.?

[question everything]

RISING COST OF HIRING

OC employers offer incentives to attract new workers faced with sky-high home prices.

By Linda Melone

With year-round warm, sunny weather, glorious beaches and snow-topped mountains a stone’s throw away, it’s hard to imagine a downside to living in Orange County. Unless, that is, you’re an employer trying to lure a prospective candidate from another part of the country. When that candidate lives in a mortgage-free, 3,000- square-foot home on three acres, the promise of 12 months of golfing weather is hardly enough to make up for downsizing to a 2-bedroom condo in the OC.

Attracting and then retaining quality workers to Orange County from other parts of the country is creating a growing challenge for many employers, according to Ed Klimczak, a corporate and contract recruiter with 12 years experience in the field.

“ This is a candidate-driven market,” he says. “Often, the prospective employee will have more than one job offer on the table, so a company has to make it worth it for him or her to move here. The candidate may say, ‘I understand about the career course your company is offering me, but if I have to live on Cup-A-Soup to make ends meet, it’s not worth it.’

“ Companies need to ask themselves, ‘How much is this person or position worth to get a product or service out the door?’ They must be willing to sometimes venture outside the status quo or normal company policy to get the people they want. Otherwise, those people may accept jobs in a less-expensive area.”

Because of the housing sticker shock experienced by people from other, less-expensive parts of the country, many OC companies prefer to hire locally, but this is not always possible. When qualified people can only be found outside the county, companies have to woo potential candidates by offering them incentives that range from paying moving costs to offering maid service ­ even paying school tuition for a new hire’s children.

More..

http://www.ocmetro.com/metro011906/business011906.html