Maybe I just haven't met these engineers, but isn't the problem usually "I don't want to relocate" ? Who talks about relocating as if that's the primary motivation for a job?
You would be surprised. A large number of resumes for every job posted are from people outside of the area who want to move there for different reasons.
Most people want to have a job set up before they move to a new city.
> Most people want to have a job set up before they move to a new city.
This is obvious for most people... generally a bad financial idea to move to a new city without a job. But, primarily taking a job just to move to a new city seems odd to me. I guess I just prioritize a job I want to work at over a city I live in.
I see it a little different. I'm not saying I prioritize work over everything else, I just see them as almost unrelated. The location is a filter, not a motivation. For various reasons, I wouldn't ever choose certain cities to live in and there's very few reasons a job would overcome that (I guess if you gave me enough money that would make me reconsider... but it's a pretty high bar that is likely unreasonable).
Meanwhile, if your spouse is moving for a job, it seems bizarre that a response on "why do you want to relocate" wouldn't just be some form of "my spouse got a job here, so I will be living here now".
> it seems bizarre that a response on "why do you want to relocate" wouldn't just be some form of "my spouse got a job here, so I will be living here now".
That's no real passion to work for us buddy, byez.
Most people want to have a job set up before they move to a new city.