At a time when controversies over migration feature so prominently in political debates, it is important to understand the factors impacting an individual’s decision whether or not to consider – and eventually take up –  a job abroad.

We surveyed more than ten thousand workers in eight countries (United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Ireland) who started a new job in the last year and asked them whether that new job required them to move to a different country, or if not, whether they had considered the possibility of moving to a new country for work.

The results provided us with a unique glimpse into their motivations. We found that work-related factors such as attractive job offers were the most relevant triggers for workers who had recently moved to a new country to start a new job: For 38.7% of the respondents that was the prime motivating factor.

People who did not move but considered doing so were more likely to justify their choice in terms of family or personal reasons — almost one-third indicated this factor as the main reason holding them back. People who did not even consider moving similarly signaled a strong personal preference for living in their current location.

Although the majority of people who moved had considered just one specific location, a sizable number of respondents reported that they considered alternative locations as well, especially in Europe, where 33% did so.

Let’s take a closer look at the survey results to learn more about what prompts people to consider and take up job opportunities abroad — and what prevents them from doing so.

Why Do People Move?

The majority of people who moved to another country were looking for a job in that specific location prior to their move. Between 15% and 30% of respondents were also considering other possibilities while a further  5-7% were not considering a move at all but ended up making one anyway — perhaps following a partner or family member.

People who moved to the US were least interested in moving to other locations: 80.2% of respondents said they were looking specifically to move to America before they arrived.

By contrast, European destinations had the largest proportion of people who considered other possibilities. This is probably linked to the differences that exist between the two groups of movers, the biggest being the ease of intra-EU movement for citizens of EU countries.

Thanks to the freedom they have to settle anywhere within the EU, these individuals are more likely to consider more than one destination at a time — much like Americans can when considering a move to a different state.

In terms of motivation, however, workers on both sides of the Atlantic showed some consistent patterns: Among the top reasons behind a decision to move to either Europe or the US were personal reasons, an attractive job offer and long-term career prospects.

While these factors were consistently important in both continents, the way they ranked across the two regions was somewhat different. For example, people who moved to the states pointed to an attractive job offer as the most important factor, while people bound for EU countries ranked personal reasons as a more significant determinant.

This shows that the top-level triggers behind the decisions of people to take a job in Europe or the US are an interesting mix of personal and work-related reasons. But when we dug into work-related reasons in more detail, we found that compensation aside, the factors that prompted people to pack and move to either side of the Atlantic showed even more differences.

Almost half of the people who ended up moving to one of the countries in Europe to enhance their long-term career prospects pointed to “better opportunities to broaden my skills” as the main reason behind their decision. On the other hand, 42% of people who relocated to the US for the same reason referred to their access to an existing network stateside they could rely and build on.

This could reflect differences in the immigration systems between the US and the European Union. As the movement of EU nationals within the borders of the Union is substantial, it is likely that people choosing European destinations are more able to pursue career development goals without worrying too much about visas, while people who consider moving to the US might often need family ties to qualify for certain types of visas.

When it came to reasons related to the availability of better jobs in alignment with a worker’s skill set however, we again found some similarities —  this was among the top three reasons for workers who moved to either Europe or the US.

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The dreaded cover letter. Some recruiters love them, and others have little use for them. But there’s one thing everyone seems to agree on — job seekers hate writing them. Cover letters often veer toward boring and mechanical. For those candidates who manage to strike just the right balance of brevity, data-backed performance statements and personality, they’re left to wonder: Was the effort worth it?

Research suggests employers are relying less on cover letters than they have in the past. One recent study found 63% of recruiters consider cover letters to be of low importance, and another study found just 18% of hiring managers think cover letters are an important part of an application.

As technology plays an increasingly crucial role in the application and screening processes, should recruiters and hiring managers continue to require candidates to submit a cover letter?

Some talent professionals still see value in cover letters

Cover letters have long provided a window into a candidate’s personality, creativity and attention to detail, and some hiring managers continue to rely on them as an important vetting tool. For roles that require exceptional writing skills, for example, the cover letter can provide useful information to help qualify applicants.

If reviewed, these introductory letters can help recruiters get a sense of who a candidate is, and give job seekers a chance to showcase their personality and highlight accomplishments in ways that are not easily gleaned from their resume. With today’s emphasis on hiring for culture fit, these finer details can be invaluable — and might have the added benefit of speeding up the process of finding the best candidates for an available position.

“I believe cover letters provide us with a view into the person and insight into how they view their credentials and fitting into the organization,” says senior recruiter Mary Helen Foglia. “Sometimes it provides us insight into what we believe their legacy will be here.”

Cover letters themselves are a test in following instructions and some managers rely on them to filter through large volumes of applicants, only advancing those who meet this minimal requirement and answer the specific questions that may have been included to highlight job specific criteria.

Technology has changed the role cover letters play in hiring

As matching the right candidates to the right jobs has become increasingly automated by technology and a wealth of candidate information is easily retrievable online, many companies believe they simply don’t need cover letters anymore. Today there are other ways to learn about a candidate — often with greater nuance and detail. Hiring managers can check out candidates’ digital presence, via their personal websites or blogs, online portfolios and social media profiles.

“Hiring managers now use other methods to get a feel for applicants without leaving their desks,” writes Sarah Grant for Bloomberg. “That makes the four-paragraph missive about passions and key skills superfluous at best, and a liability at worst.”

With online and mobile applications as the new the norm, more companies are prioritising speed and convenience to attract top talent. Requiring a cover letter increases the time to apply, which makes it more likely top candidates will abandon your online hiring process before completion. Our own research found that companies with 45 or more screener questions lose a whopping 88.7% of their potential applicants to abandonment, and another study found 30% of candidates won’t spend longer than 15 minutes on an application.

This is why some top companies, including Netflix and Salesforce, no longer ask for cover letters in their online application process. Other companies, like Apple and Twitter, have made cover letters optional.

Deciding whether to keep or cut the cover letter requirement

If cover letters aren’t viewed as crucial screening tools by the bulk of your hiring organisation, consider phasing them out as an application requirement. Job seekers will thank you for it, and you could shorten your time to apply by doing so. Here are some tips for determining whether you still need to require cover letters from applicants.

• Measure how valuable cover letters are to your organisation. Poll your hiring managers to find out what percentage believe cover letters assist them in making hiring decisions. Weigh the value that hiring managers assign to cover letters against the shorter application times you could achieve by omitting cover letters. Work with managers to identify the most important hiring criteria for their roles, and then have frank conversations about whether there are approaches, other than the use of cover letters, to  screen for those criteria.
• Try out other tactics to learn about candidates. Use writing assignments or coding challenges to test for job specific skills. Virtually all commercially available assessment tools on the market today are fully validated and, therefore, more likely to actually be capable of assessing for the skills you need. Companies can also consider requesting short video submissions from applicants to get a feel for their personalities, and whether they are likely to be a culture fit.
• Audit your job content to determine whether it’s aiding your screening process. Do you use your job titles and descriptions to quickly narrow down to those candidates who possess the soft skills you might otherwise look for in cover letters? Consider how you can tailor your job content to attract more of the right applicants — those whose experience, achievements, goals and personality align with your role and team.

Cover letter or no cover letter, if you’re ready to get your job openings in front of a wealth of talent, post a job on Indeed today.

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