Company's reneging on relocation costs may be a sign of things to come

Q: Your company offered you a new job at headquarters in another city. Human Resources told you to have the lowest-priced of three moving companies bill the company directly and that it would pay three months' rent till you found a new house. A few days before the move, HR says you can't use that moving company and it's paying only two months' rent. What do you do?

Nick's reply: Your real power in this Challenge rests in your willingness to turn down the job after all, or even to resign and leave the company. I know that's extreme, but if you're not willing to take that step, you have little choice but to ask the company to reconsider and to accept any decision it makes.

I would go to the HR person who told you to have the mover bill the company. "I followed your instructions. My move date is in three days. I cannot change that because I will not have a place to live if I move later, and my belongings will have to go into storage, which will cost more money. I followed all the instructions you gave me. How do we proceed?"

Give him a chance to make this right. Often such snafus are not intentional. Don't let this screw up your plans, but don't make it worse by resigning before trying to set it straight.

Then bring up the other issue: "Part of the offer was that I would have three months to find a house, during which time the company would cover temporary housing. I accepted the offer on those terms. How do we proceed?"

In both cases, you should give HR a chance to make good on its promises. If it doesn't, then you ask for a meeting with HR and the hiring manager "to review this and work it out." You must insist on all parties being present. It's HR's job to make this right. If they don't go to bat for you, then you should meet with the manager privately and calmly explain the discrepancy, without blaming anyone. "I'm sure we can work this out. I made a commitment to the company regarding the new job, and I expect the company to hold up its commitment to me."

If everyone balks, that's when you play your cards and tell them you cannot accept the job if the terms have changed. Think this through carefully in advance, because they may close the door on the new job -- or any job. But I think there's a good chance they'll negotiate with you, or give you what they promised originally.

In a situation like this, I'm not very negotiable. I'm willing to walk away with nothing if the other party is not going to honor its original commitment. It's a sign of things to come, one way or the other.

My advice is to play this calmly without making threats. Your real power lies in your willingness to walk away, if that's what it comes down to.

Copyright 2009. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate

Nick Corcodilos is author of "Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job" and the host of www.asktheheadhunter.com. He can be reached by e-mail at seattle@asktheheadhunter.com or at North Bridge Group, P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Sorry, no personal replies.