Salary tips : Commute Distance

I am basically applying for hourly wage jobs at this point and I am wondering if there are any limits as far as employers prefer one to have to commute to work.

In my experience as a temp and hourly wage worker I've noticed that the more 'important' your job is the farther you can commute to work. For example when I temped at this one corporation,some of the regular employees might live as far as an hour away from their job. But someone like me who's pretty much low level most times will get a questionable reception from employers/agencies on how far I was commuting to work myself. Personally I would commute as far as almost 1 hour for a job,but it just seemed abnormal to the employers and some would even question my ability to be able to get to work and possibly even discriminate due to distance. I had one place even tell me that they didn't feel it was worth it to have me commute there. Well excuse me for making the effort to apply somewhere more fitting to my skills!

So is there some sort of 'unspoken' rule on how close I am expected to live to my job? I mean it's tough nowadays,I can't just walk out my door and find a job in town(not that I really want to work around here anyway). I already have enough trouble finding local work,let alone a place that's going to 'silently' discriminate.

It is unspoken and it does vary. But employers definitely do consider your projected reliability into the hiring decision. Someone making $5 an hour is not really likely to commute an hour an a half a day for a year. A few months in they' re probably going to throw in the towel and say that their commute cost isn' t worth it (not to mention their quality of life). They' re not that likely to keep doing it when the weather is bad or there' s an accident on the highway.

In some parts of the country, an hour' s commute is typical and employers don' t think twice about it since everyone does it.

"A few months in they're probably going to throw in the towel and say that their commute cost isn't worth it (not to mention their quality of life). They're not that likely to keep doing it when the weather is bad or there's an accident on the highway."

But I would think that is something that we would be factoring in to the job and also it would most likely come up in the interview. We employees/applicants are always expected to be 'positive' about everything,well thinking that we 'might probably' throw in the towel is not a very positive way for the employers to think now is it? That'd be like me saying 'well I'll take the job but I may or not be any good at it'...not very positive.

I' m telling you that' s how an employer thinks. They do not want to hire someone that they' re going to have to replace a few months down the road. Therefore, they try to avoid potential problems BEFORE they occur that might create the need to start all over with hiring for the job.

Potential problems include (but are not limited to):

-Excessive commute distance for the job. This is going to vary by job and location, but if it is "excessive" it is definitely a point off. Anyone who has hired lots of people over the years will tell you that few people will put up with an excessive commute for any length of time. Especially when gas is $3 per gallon and they' re not making a high wage.

-Poor work history. Yes, maybe they haven' t found the right thing yet, but the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. If you' ve got short-hops, been fired (especially more than once) or quit without another job in hand, that isn' t exactly inspiring confidence in a potential new employer.

-High maintenance applicants. People that require a lot of attention in the interview stage will probably require a lot of attention once they' re hired. No one has time for that.

-People that don' t follow directions. That' s not going to bode well for your work performance on the job.

And yes, you' d think that people would take that into consideration but most often they don' t. Or they THINK they have but they' ve never done the commute so they don' t know how bad it really is on a Friday night. The last job I hired for has a fair amount of travel. I was very specific about that in the posting. Everyone I interviewed had been asked about it already by HR and said they thought it would be great. None of them had ever done any significant business travel before. When I pressed them to tell me what they thought that travel would be like, all but 2 thought it would be really cool and exciting. They had no concept that it is also draining and exhausting and that we weren' t going to be going to exciting places, we were going to be going to Billings, Montana in January when it was 22 below zero.

Those are the kinds of things that an employer is trying to head off at the pass. If you' ve been commuting an hour for years, then say so. They' ll figure you know what you' re talking about when you say you don' t mind it.

"If you've been commuting an hour for years, then say so. They'll figure you know what you're talking about when you say you don't mind it."

Joe, Tess is right about employers being concerned about a new hire who has to commute a long way. But, and even when, as she points out, you've been doing it and can assure the employer you know what it takes, that doesn't always help, either. My husband & I have been together for 18 years, and for the vast majority of those years (due to the fields he is in) he has had to commute beyond what most people consider normal commute--at the very least 45 to 50 minutes one way, and as long as 1 1/2 hours. His curent commute is 35 minutes (no biggie compared to what he's done in the past), his last was 1 hour (2 years), and the one before that was 1 hr & 10 minutes (2 years on a contract job). Yet, I can think of at least two instances in which he interviewed for positions well within HIS normal range, and was dropped from consideration because THEY were worried he couldn't "hack" the commute, despite the fact that he told them he was used to driving those distances, and they could, of course, see it on his resume.

He did not leave either of his two previous positions because of the commute. However, even with his demonstrated ability to do so, these companies simply did not want to consider anyone who had to commute those distances.

Sure, the employer "should" give credence to a candidate who can walk the walk, so to speak, but as often as not, they will make the decision for the candidate, unfair as it may be.

"-Poor work history. Yes, maybe they haven't found the right thing yet, but the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. If you've got short-hops, been fired (especially more than once) or quit without another job in hand, that isn't exactly inspiring confidence in a potential new employer."

That's another thing in itself with me,which is perhaps what's hurting my job hunt at the present time. So many jobs. That's why I'm applying mostly with temp agencies because I'd think they'd understand but apparently they don't.

Personally, I don' t think employers care how far their employees have to commute. If you' re willing to drive two hours each way to and from work, I can' t imagine why the employer would care at all - as long as the distance doesn' t interfere with your attendance, punctuality, or ability to do the job. The commuting distance is really more up to you and fairly assessing how far you' re willing to drive, how much it' s going to cost, and whether the job is worth the trouble and expense of getting there.

They might not say it but they are thinking about:

1. Dependability due to foreseen circumstances. (Your fault)

2. Dependability due to unforseen circumstances. (Not you fault but the farther you commute the more .. happens)

3. Cost to you. I live in LA SoCal region.I worked out driving vs Metrorail. I use the Metrorail. With road time 1.5 hours each way. The cost is about $10 each way driving or $12 round-trip on rail. (My monthly pass is $230). So think about your hourly rate in terms of commute.

4. Flexibility. What if they wanted to work you 20 hours a week. Could you afford and want the commute?

I like the train and my job. It works for me.

Good Luck in your job!!!

As far as the cost,I would think the way things are nowadays and from what I've experienced in the past that one of the things an employer would be concerned the least with would be any costs to me.

As far as the train,around here that can take just as long if not longer to get to work. With waiting times,transfer times etc.

I started ' temping' around 15 years ago, mainly because I liked the variety and specifically looked for roles that would be interesting, challenging and expose me to tasks and ideas that would enable me to utilise my skills and build on my experience.

I was prepared to travel and bought myself a new car just for that purpose, although I would have wanted the extra cost reflected in my rate of pay, Not always a welcome revelation.

I expanded my portfolio of agents to enable me to have a variety of opportunities to choose from. I have travelled far and wide for interviews only to be told ' The travelling may be too far'

The client is probably paying a high premium to the agencies to recruit, and the agencies should fulfil the task of putting suitable applicant CV' s across to the client.

It is the agency' s responsibility to field the CVs and check with the client about travel arrangements and the expectation of the client for that or any other purpose. You nor the client should be put in the position of being judged as a non suitable applicant becuse of the travelling distance. Even worse still the client choosing an unsuitable applicant because they happen to be on the doorstep, what a waste of an interview process! They might just as well have put the advert in the newsagents window.

I have found it extremely annoying to be turned down for a role based on distance and have on most occassions judged it to be a ' cop out' . It is the easy option so as not to go over any other areas such as too old, too young, won' t fit in as they don' t support the right side etc.

My advice - be proactive - avoid wasting time-- Make a check list of the basics,distance, car parking, train stations/ times, hours of work, family arrangements, part time study arrangements, etc etc. Make sure that you are able to provide the service you are offering and be able to rise above the problems without it impacting on your level of serve and reliability.

Then go over this with the Agency and ask if the client would find these things a barrier to offering you the role. Then you will know for certain that it will not nor should not be a discussion point at interview and the only points to be discussed are your credentials of completing the project successfully.

I have found that this is a sympton of a far bigger issue, that the recruiter will not give appropriate feedback. This is most annoying when you have taken a day from your life, travelled, prepared for an interview and been as professional as you can be, sometimes faced with the most bad mannered and disorganised of interviewers who are the very centre of their own universe.

To me the pay off of an unsuccessful interview should be the feedback.

Let people know that your time is precious and you don' t want it wasted. Most of all maintain your professionalism though all about you may be loosing theirs!

Career Tips

Commute Distance