Chicago Business Owner Uses Technology To Help With Job Relocation
With the economy finally on an upward trend after worrisome unemployment rates since 2008, employers are more confident in hiring. But the new people they hire may not always be from the same state as the company.
According to a CareerBuilder report, out of 3,000 employers and 7,000 workers surveyed, 32 percent of employers confirmed that they would be willing to relocate new employees; 19 percent said they would provide a signing bonus in exchange for a smaller first-year salary with a relocated employee; and 44 percent of job seekers said they would be willing to relocate for a career opportunity.
People between the ages of 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 were most likely to move, according to the Census, for a variety of reasons.
"The majority of people who I was trying to help find jobs really felt let down by the lack of support," said Jeff Ellman, the co-founder and president of UrbanBound. "Moving to a new job and moving to a new city are two of the top five most stressful life events. Our goal was to find a way to solve it by technology. We built the first relocation software, and currently we've signed up about one Fortune 500 company every 10 days."
Ellman used his bachelor's degree from Michigan State University's business school to not only help with relocation but the job market as a whole. He's also the owner of Hireology and Home Scout Realty.
"My mission was simple," said Ellman about his college goals. "I wanted to help people. I have over 200 employees across my company, and I get a lot of satisfaction in watching them grow and reach their full potential."
Ellman encourages business students to perfect their technology skills, from learning new software to being a good typist. He's also an advocate for students learning to network.
"When you're just out of college, it's amazing how many people go out of their way to help you if they see that you have potential, that you care and that you're going to be responsive to them. With all of these different social media outlets, you are one or two degrees away from so many people that can have a big impact on your career and on your life. Maintain those strong relationships over time because it comes full circle."
Shamontiel L. Vaughn is a professional journalist who has work featured in AXS, Yahoo!, Chicago Defender and Chicago Tribune. She's been an Examiner since 2009 and currently writes about 10 categories on Examiner.com.
