The Cubicle Crucible: Breaking Out of the Office Gauntlet

Once upon a time, in a business park far far away, a company’s employees would relish the rare day that they could “work remotely”, “VPN in” or “be out of pocket for the day”.  These poor souls were often shackled to their desks by inferior technology and a management structure that believed that work from home meant daytime TV and snarfing bon-bons while collecting a check.

Of course, no real fairytale happens under the oppression of fluorescent lights and thankfully, those poorly lit dark times are becoming a part of the past.

The advent of things like online “cloud” software, web-based collaboration tools and more powerful and portable technology is slowly, but surely, turning the traditional office into a ghost town.  Within creative fields especially, organizations are finding that letting employees define their own work spaces that meet their professional and interpersonal needs is sending efficiencies, productivity and profits soaring.  The hardest part?  Having management take a deep breath, hitch up their big boy or girl pants and give up the idea that the team has to be physically together to make a project successful.

Here, let me throw out some bullet points to drive this all home:

• Truly fast-moving and innovative companies are tossing the costly traditional office in favor of a blend of virtual staff arrangements, co-working facilities and turnkey conference rooms.
• The green movement is pushing companies to lessen their carbon footprint.  Nothing says “hug a tree” like cutting down on commuting and travel and reusing old spaces.
• There are a lot of collaborative software packages out there that let people work together without actually having to be in the same room.  Dropbox, Basecamp, Skype and their ilk enable you to take that conference call anywhere you happen to be at the moment.

It would stand to reason that as companies are cutting costs and struggling to increase efficiency, they might be looking at new ways to employ people.  Well, they are.  Remote contractors/freelancers who are specialists are being called upon more and more to integrate with existing teams, use the software available to them, do the job and then ride off into the sunset. 

*Shameless Plug Incoming* 

Companies like Talent Tap are proving to be a invaluable resource for companies looking to do staff augmentation with outside talent.  A recruiter finds a specialist with the right skills and you use them for as much as you need. It’s hassle-free for the harried manager:  it’s all the talent without any of the HR headaches. 

The Art of the Job Offer: How Not To Screw It Up

You've applied to the job and you're feeling confident.  You had your first phone interview and you're thrilled that you made it this far.  Then you rocked your in-person meeting and now have that nervous, excited feeling.  Well, what happens next?

Not surprisingly, that depends on you.

It's been my experience that many job applicants handle prospective job offers in one of the following ways:  they're either a little too tentative and don't negotiate reasonable terms before an offer is on the way, or they are the polar opposite and are too aggressive and unrealistic.  Take a look at the following four mistakes so you don't fall into the same trap.

1.)  Don't be wishy-washy!  Figure out if you're really serious about making a career move before you even think about taking an interview.  We recruiters can figure out which of you are simply looking to boost your pay via the famous counteroffer.  If you don't like where you're at now, see if there's something you can do to fix the problem or determine if things just aren't working out and it's time to move on.

2.)  Do your salary homework!  Research salaries in your field for people at your level of experience around the region.  That last point is important because salaries can be significantly different in major metro areas v. secondary markets.  Try to steer clear of sites like salary.com as they don't often take regional differences into account.  Instead, try networking with peer groups on social media sites like LinkedIn or trade industry organizations in your area.

3.)  It's all about trade-offs.  Don't have rigid expectations when you start your job search.  Be clear about what is most important to you and what you're willing to trade to get it.  Think about it like this:  you are a senior level project manager making top salary and enjoy four weeks of vacation.  Now, if you switch jobs and want to keep those four weeks, don't expect a 15% pay increase.

4.)  Learn to dance.  Think of an employment offer as a marriage proposal.  You've courted each other, figured out if you're a good team together and now it's time to commit.  Don't ruin the romance by saying, "I'll need a week to think about it", or worse, "Sorry, I'm waiting to hear on two other potential offers, as well."  Scandalous.  You obviously don't need to respond immediately and asking for 24 hours to think about it, talk to your spouse, etc., is perfectly reasonable.

Remember, how you handle the offer will set the tone for the entire working relationship.  So put your best foot forward and jump-start a successful career move!