May 11
18
“This is just like television, only you can see much further.” Chauncey Gardner / Being There When I started my job search that landed me at PPC Associates , I decided that I would consider only telecommuting work arrangements. My choice actually gave me a lot of freedom because every search marketing position open in the United States theoretically became a possible destination for me. After all, I had been telecommuting for nearly 5 years and had no interest in changing the lifestyle that I’ve grown accustomed to. My understanding was that many employers had become much more open to the idea of telecommuting, so I concocted a pretty simple job search strategy: Flood the search marketing job market with my resume and take the best opportunity afforded to me (which ultimately I did). However, what was unfathomable to me is how many employers with genuine need for advanced search marketing skillsets would rather go without (and suffer the consequences) than consider a telecommuter. I’m not talking about the people who I had reasonable discussions with and decided for whatever reason that I wasn’t the person for the job. Rather, I’m talking about the people who were super impressed with my resume yet were off the phone with me within seconds of my telling them I would only consider telecommuting. Some of the conversations were almost comical. The following was a near verbatim conversation of a woman who contacted me and scheduled a 30 minute phone interview with me. The entire call lasted 47 seconds (I timed it). After she introduced herself, she asked me: “When were you planning to move to Minnesota?” “I’m not planning to move to Minnesota…I’m looking for telecommuting work.” “But the job is in Minnesota.” “I’m willing to travel as necessary but I would only accept a work from home arrangement.” “Thank you for your time.” What the great majority of employment folks don’t realize is that senior search marketing folks can pick and choose the work arrangement that suits them best. They really don’t have to bend to an employer’s whims unless they see it advantageous to do so.
Go here to read the rest:
Organizational Sediment