Relocation Promotion Opportunities
Current company is looking to expand and presented an opportunity to be the local professional sourcing deals in a completely different state, where none of my family/friends reside and would be the only one from the current company living here. Currently live in a T1 type Metro (SF/NY) and the move would require living in what I would call a good T2 Metro (Seattle/Denver/Boston/Austin) that is 3+ hours away from the hometown, however still completely different cultures.
Overall, this is what I have been working towards for a few years in my career, sourcing deals in a respective market. However, I never anticipated having to move to a new location, especially one where I have no social ties to. I am viewing the opportunity as such at the moment:
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Great opportunity to learn and progress career.
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As cities begin to re-open from COVID-19, there will be more opportunities to network and meet folks socially. I was thinking of attending ULI/NAIOP events professionally, and joining some sort of intramurals and maybe hit the bars to meet folks socially.
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With being the only person from current company here, I will likely have to continue a WFH type situation. I candidly, would miss some of the office interactions with folks within our organization.
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If I declined the opportunity, I believe my career progression ladder would be much slower in the long run as we have current teams in place sourcing, etc. thus would likely have to be in a support role for some time.
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Unsure as to the longevity of living in the new City and always envisioned living in the current hometown for the long haul, but would reassess after a couple years to see how everything has unfolded.
For those who have had a similar opportunity for internal promotions to cover a different market requiring a relocation, or choosing to relocate to a different city for a new job, wanted your general take on this to see if I am touching all the main points or anything else I may not be thinking of. I am currently 50/50 on this.
I took a new job in a T1 city, major move up (it's New York City, since I always talk about NYC, no reason to hide it lol), from a clear T2 type secondary city. Was majorly important in my career progression. These are what "taking career risks" look like.... scary and unsure!
Honestly, if you say no, you have to weigh the fact that you could easily be in a place where you need to move to a new firm to move up. Saying no to a promotion can be very limiting in some firms' cultures, but this is not universally true, but it something to factor. Being the "outpost" employee can be good and bad, on the good is you get to be more a true "leader" and will totally get credit for successes in that market. The "bad" is being remote from HQ/team (again, they may have you travel back to HQ frequently if only 3 hrs), which can mean "out of sight, out of mind", plus if the market does not "perform"... well you get tagged with that.
Personally, if this move is very strategic for your firm (meaning its a major goal to expand in this market), then I'd lean very heavily on taking it. The visibility with top leadership will be great. These are the moves that gets people to top positions. On the other hand, if it is a "dead end outpost" then only take if you want to relocate to that market (which it does not sound like your plan).
This is the reality of "risk taking" in careers, it legit feels like a risk!
Current company is looking at 2-3 new areas to invest and this is one of the new outposts. Appreciate the comments, and based off that, leaning towards taking it at the moment.
If I had an opportunity like that, I'd probably take it on. It really shows that your firm values your work and leadership if they are sending you to another market where they haven't historically done business. It's a better deal compared to relocating for a job at a completely different shop because you know them already. If you don't have many responsibilities, meaning you are a young single individual with no major obligations (spouse, kids, mortgage, etc.), it's worth trying out. Plus if you don't take it and later decide it's something you want to do, it might be a little harder to justify because spread on comp will only get wider between tier 1 and tier 2.
I'll also add that I think it's easier to build more momentum in you career in a tier 2 city compared to tier 1, less talent to compete with. I've personally relocated from SF and I left mostly because the industry felt like it was shrinking; bigger shops are the only ones able to do business out there, smaller shops aren't able to compete or have to remain very lean. I moved to a firm in LA, so not quite a tier 2. It's a new role and a step up, basically a promotion for me. It's only recent that I did this, but I personally believe it's a good boost to my career because I was running quite stagnant in SF no matter how hard I tried.
You also mentioned that you'd be the only one there and WFH, are there plans to eventually open up an office and add more employees assuming business is successful?
Good point regarding city size. Only counterpoint is there could be less deal flow, but as you indicated, likely less talent to compete with locally. Does your current company have an office in LA or were you one of the first employees to plant the flag?
There are opportunities to have an office presumably once more market share is taken over, and would encompass hiring additional AM and Construction folks, and likely add onto the deal team.
I went to an entirely new shop in LA, different from the company I was with in SF. The shop I'm at, is a bit newer and not as established compared to my prior company. Not quite the same shoes as you right now.
Do you care about not having a social life in the new city? You will be going back to your hometown every weekend I’m guessing. It’s a good move career wise but are you the type to be okay with not having anything to do besides work? Personally I will probably never leave NY because all my friends are here and the culture is just too different and I’ll probably also get hate crimed. Good luck dude
Would definitely like to have a social life during the weekends, I would just need to meet new friends there throughout my time. Don't mind during grinding through Mon-Fri since I have a general routine of work/gym and sports. Would only head back to the hometown during events/vacation since it is 3+ hours for a flight, and would like to explore the new area. Thanks man.
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