remote work

Hey, Wait A Second! This Job Was Advertised As Remote, And Now It's Not?

Recruiting and hiring new employees is a serious undertaking. The process has built-in risks and uncertainties, so the current tug-of-war between employers and employees over remote vs. in-person work is an unwelcome new obstacle for recruiters and hiring managers to overcome.

 Enter the bait and switch. Employers know job seekers want remote or hybrid positions, so their job postings are composed in a way that makes candidates believe they are applying for roles that are 100% remote or 100% hybrid. There have been cases reported of employers misrepresenting the actual terms of the position to lure top talent into interviewing with the hope that, once in the room, candidates will make concessions to get the job.

Here’s a sample a scenario; say you live in eastern Pennsylvania and apply for a job for a company based in New York City that is advertised as a remote role. You make the two-and-a-half-hour trek into New York for an in-person interview. Then you enter a conference room and face a panel of four department directors – the interview goes perfectly until one of the directors implies the position is not as remote as advertised. Before you know what happened, 100% remote means 35% remote after a six-month trial period and supervisor approval, based on a host of performance metrics, none of which are your desire to work from home, or the beach, or the mountains, or wherever you can deliver the goods.

 What do you do? You are in the interview room or, in other scenarios, on a phone screen or Zoom call. Whatever the case, you are on the spot. 100% remote should mean 100% remote!

  • Be prepared for this situation to occur. If you know terms of employment, like remote vs. office, may change, determine your position in advance. If you give in-depth forethought to this specific issue, you can respond to relevant deal breakers with measured insight.

  • Before you blurt anything out, take a deep breath. Seriously, take a deep breath because you need to think things through. To resume our scenario, even if you are sitting in front of a panel of interviewers and you must think quickly, you need to think things through. Even if prepared, you need to think things through.

  • Think of it this way; you can’t blow the job offer because you don’t have one. Don’t panic. You’re in an interview, not reviewing a job offer. Whatever your response, the worst that can happen is the status quo. You did not work for this company when you woke up and you won’t work for it when you go to bed. Everybody moves on. Do not put extra pressure on yourself. You’re just talking.

  • Direct, polite, pointed questions are appropriate. Before you choose which path to take, be sure you understand the expectations. The promotion of the job as remote may have been a miscommunication (it happens), or something duplicitous, so ask for clarification. Ask them to explain the details of the remote aspect of the job. Make them give you an answer.

 

If the clarification is unsatisfactory, you have three options.

1.         Finish the interview and cut your losses. The path of least resistance is to finish the interview without pushing back on the “clarification” in employment terms, thank your interviewer(s), leave, and move on.

2.         Pull the plug and go home. To resume our scenario, you’ve driven from Pennsylvania to New York City for the interview with the expectation the next time you’d have to show your face is the holiday party. You have no intention of commuting or relocating. Like our hypothetical professional, if your circumstances are non-negotiable, in the interview, you can make it clear that you’re only interested in 100% remote work, thank your interviewer(s), leave, and move on.

3.         Pull the plug and go home, Part 2. Maybe your circumstances are flexible, and you’re not sure what you want to do. Now, you have to ask yourself, “How much do I want this job?” Do you want the job bad enough to remain in the interview and, if given, accept an offer that doesn’t include 100% remote work? Consider the pros and cons.

a.         Pros. Are there any pros? During the interview, did anything surface that changed your position on remote work? Is the compensation too high to pass up? Are there other benefits that tip the scale? As mentioned before, the strategy is to lure you in and dangle great shiny stuff in your face, so you make concessions. That doesn’t mean the great, shiny stuff isn’t, well… great shiny stuff! It is.

b.         Cons. Ethically, a company that isn’t honest with you before hiring you most likely won’t be honest with you after hiring you. You must decide, sometimes within moments, whether being trapped in an interview where you’re the least likely to protest a major change in work expectations is a glimpse into the overall corporate culture or just an aggressive recruiting method.

4.         Ask for more information. You decide you are seriously interested in the job and are open to sacrificing things like remote work to get it. Are you willing to give up all remote work? Or just 50%? Must it be part of the initial package, or can it be deferred to later in your employment? Decide your parameters. In the interview, reiterate your expectation was a remote position, but you want to hear more about the opportunity and decide based on the overall details.


Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Work From home. Back To The office. Work From Home. Back To The Office. When Will It End?

iStock | venakr

Six months ago, the world's economic and labor markets were in a state of ambiguity. The back to the office movement's momentum increased after Covid's Delta wave receded. Major companies announced plans to "return to the office," and the Covid precautions planned to make it happen, such as vaccination requirements or weekly testing. Green Light. 

Wait! Not so fast! Just as back-to-the-office seemed to be inevitable for the majority of American workers, Omicron swept across the globe with alarming speed and consequences. Businesses postponed their return dates to "explore their options." Discussions about hybrid work models as permanent solutions took center stage. Whatever the circumstances, nobody was returning to the office. Red Light.

Fast forward to March 2022. There is once again cautious optimism that Covid's impact on "Work" with a capital "W" peaked with Omicron. Like Delta, Omicron receded, and related illness and hospitalizations recently plummeted. Unlike Delta, we now have vaccines and therapeutics that (fingers crossed) should force Covid into an endemic phase and limit its role in shaping our economic future. The pendulum swings, and what was once ambiguous seems clear. It's time to return to all-hands-on-deck. Green Light.

Here is the dilemma. Many professionals directed to return to the office want to work from home or, in a minority of cases, do not want to comply with new work requirements (read: get vaccinated). If you are one of the professionals, what do you do? Do you return to the office or forge a new path? Red Light.

Step 1: Assess your current job. Nobody needs to be told to leave a job they do not like or is a dead end. If you're discontent at your job, the work from home vs. going back to the office debate is an opportunity to jump to a position more suited to your desires. However, you may be comfortable at your current job – just more comfortable doing it from home. The decision to bounce isn't as easy. Make an honest assessment of your current job. Do you really like it? Do you have a future there? Is this the job from which you're going to build a long-term career? Consider the advantages and perks you have (and may have to sacrifice) and weigh them against the benefits of working remotely. If you decide you're committed to WFH, get the hell out of Dodge.

Step 2: Is the writing on the office wall? If you are confronted by an employer ultimatum to "return to the office under our conditions or hit the road, Jack," you may have to accept the writing on the wall. Sometimes your days are numbered, your position is weighed and found wanting, and your future divided. Dust off the resume and start writing your next chapter. However, do not make assumptions. Talk to your supervisor and/or human resources and find out if returning to the office is an intractable policy or if there is room to negotiate more favorable terms.

Step 3: Does working from home advance or inhibit your long-term career plan? Think beyond the here and now. The pandemic proved you work remotely at the same level as in the office, and that a different kind of work-life balance is possible. However, the jury is still out on the long-term effects of the office diaspora. You may have a Lone Ranger role tailored to work from home in which you thrive, but many jobs are collaborative, and working from home has a greater impact. Consider the visibility you have in the office. A major issue for remote workers is "out of sight, out of mind." Your absence may act as a professional riptide, slowly and silently pulling you further and further away from the inner workings of your company until you can't be seen at all. The results of collaborative work may be more effective and rewarding when all the participants are in the room. Since everyone's circumstances are different, only you can determine whether you should stay or go.

Step 4: Determine what you want and what you'll take. If you've reached Step 4, chances are you want to stay at your current job, work from home, and have credible information that your company's return to the office policy is negotiable. Now, what are you willing to accept? Negotiations are typically give-and-take. If you're not getting your ideal terms (e.g., full virtual remote), you should consider what you are willing to take (e.g., hybrid). What are your parameters? Figure out your deal breakers and where you're willing to compromise.

Step 5: What is your bargaining position? Do you have any bargaining power? Let's face it. If you're in the C-Suite, you have more bargaining power than the last person hired to answer the phone (even though you can answer the phone from anywhere). Do you have the metrics to prove you've been a top performer while working from home? What are your competitors' office policies? The greater your options, the greater your bargaining position. Do you have the money to walk away without serious financial consequences? Your bargaining position just increased. Many other factors may tip the balance one way or another. Determine your bargaining position and go in with confidence. Good luck!

Finally, remember that Covid is a continuously evolving situation. Six months from now, we may be playing the same game.


Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Is The Option To Work Remotely Here To Stay?

iStockphoto.com | Olezzo

iStockphoto.com | Olezzo

The pandemic isn't over, but a gradual transition "back to the way things were before" is underway. However, nobody knows exactly what that will ultimately mean.

What do we know so far? Some companies have announced ultimatums to their employees to return to the office by a specific date (“Businesses tell their workforce to return to offices by Labor Day or even sooner” - USA Today 06/26). Other companies have said they are in no particular hurry to disrupt whatever equilibrium they've achieved during the last year and a half. (“Return-to-Office: A New Competitive Strategy” – Bloomberg 06/21). And still, others foresee long-term dramatic changes in employment structures that will not be back to the way things were before (“These Startups are Betting on a Remote First World” – Wired News 06/23).

Since businesses are all over the map on remote employment going forward, where does that leave the employee who grew accustomed to remote work and like the twist in lifestyle? Many people forced to adapt to remote work by circumstance now prefer it over the traditional in-the-office environment by choice -- enough to contemplate leaving their current jobs for one that is remote or partially remote if forced back in the office.

If you are in a tug-of-war over your next post-pandemic professional move and remote versus office work is a primary factor, here are some factors to consider:

1.    It is too early to know whether "work-from-home" will be a regular thing. The examples above illustrate how balkanized viewpoints are on where employees should be when they do their work.

2.    Many companies must still navigate re-opening strategies that benefit their business goals, culture, and staffing needs. For example, before 2020, technology companies already had more remote workers than those in other fields, so it will likely be easier for them to plan to have more remote workers post-pandemic. However, many of the same tech companies have corporate cultures they build "campuses" and "complexes" and "compounds" to promote. What do you do? Nobody is quite sure yet.

3.    The recovery may be a block-by-block renovation, not an all-encompassing development. That means there may not be a universal consensus or move back to full in-the-office employment, and what happens next will happen on a company-by-company basis. If you plan to search for remote opportunities, do your homework in terms of searching specifically for work-from-home jobs, and asking the employer their plans on this topic going forward.

4.    Companies that want to embrace a remote work culture are still unsure of the logistics. Five days a week? Half remote, half in-the-office? Virtual conference rooms? Companies may explore, revise, scrap, and adopt different models before determining the best way forward.

5.    In this market that favors workers at the moment, companies don't quite know if they have enough power to dictate terms to their employees or if the employees have the leverage.

6.    Is remote work a good idea for you?  An honest assessment of your strategic career plan is warranted. Where are you in your career, and what you want to get out of it? If you are career-oriented or entrepreneur and have ambitious goals, remote work may not be your best move since the visibility and interpersonal interaction you receive by being in the office can pay professional dividends that remote work cannot. If you are early in your career and want to develop a professional network that will follow and help you throughout your work life, better achieved in person than on Zoom.

7.    Where you want to live? How remote is remote? If you live in Florida but do remote work for a Texas-based company, it's not easy to simply pop into the office for a meeting. Suppose you live in a metropolitan center and you do remote work for a company across town. In that case, you're able to work from home and be in the office as necessary to bolster some of your other potential professional goals.

8.    What is it that you value in your work? The work itself may give you value, and you believe that you have that experience just as much at home as in an office. You may value regular interpersonal interactions and learn more from others in person. You may be a more effective and influential worker in the office where you nail a presentation or work magic behind the scenes. Maybe it's a verifiable fact you do your best work alone. Only you can decide what the best way is.

9.    Do you live in Colorado? That seems like an odd question unless you live in Colorado. Colorado recently rolled out a new law that every job posting must include the salary range. Colorado is the only one of the fifty states that have this law. It is wildly unpopular with employers from other states who feel salaries are propriety information that gives them bargaining power. As a result, many remote or semi-remote employers are accepting applications from candidates virtually everywhere except Colorado. If you live in Colorado, the only remote opportunities on offer may be from employers inside the state.


Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.