This post was written by Aquent's Alex "Anytime/Anywhere" Weaver. This is a picture of him.
As fluid and uncertain as it has become (thanks in part to companies shedding full-time employment opportunities faster than A-Rod is shedding fans), the career landscape isn't really a landscape anymore. Its more like a wormhole where traditional job search conventions go in and something entirely different emerges.
Some claim that we are now looking at a 24-hour workplace, but I think it goes beyond that. Thanks to the web, the workplace isn't even a real place anymore; it's been replaced by the nowhere-in-particular of cyberspace.
The question now is: How do you go about looking for a job in the anytime/anywhere world of work in which the internet is your office, a solid web presence your resume, and what you do (your specialization) matters more than where you do it (your geographic location)?
I'll tell you this: it's not easy. Where once you could focus the bulk of your networking attention on the city you call home, now you could potentially be working for a client in Kuala Lumpur on a project that needs to be delivered next day to Sao Paulo (their time), while your toast gets cold in Idaho. See? It's complicated!
We've been responding to this brave new wormhole by shifting around the way we work. Our agents are now focusing less on covering a specific geographical beat than they are on mastering a particular area of specialization. It's technically possible for a web agent in Seattle to find a web designer in Montreal to work for a client in Dallas, so why shouldn't we make exactly that happen?
Obviously [BLATANT SELF-PROMOTION WARNING!], one way to look for gigs (or talent, for that matter) in the anytime/anywhere world is to partner with an organization capable of being anywhere/anytime (I can recommend one if you're curious). But what I'm dying to know is, how are YOU doing it (without the aforementioned, nameless organization)? Have you been able to shift your mind and efforts successfully into the de-spatialized, temporally fluid workplace? Do you work in a certain specialty rather than a certain place? Does your client list span the globe while you, uh, butter your toast in Idaho?
To put it another way, do you now or have you ever worked for someone you have never met in person who lives in a place you've never visited? How did you make that happen? I gotta to know! Talk to me!
I wouldn't trust a creative professional who hasn't yet worked remotely. How do we do it? Usually Craigslist + email + PayPal. Faster than the old phone + mail + paycheck of Bill Bly's youth. Those who are really committed remote workers use services like oDesk.
Hi Alex, really nice post.
I'm an experienced Designer, Professional Web Designer / Developer from Brazil with a Bachelor degree in Social Communications, Specialization degree in Advertising and Publicity, granted in July 2005. I'm used to working remotely; 20 months working (Full-Time/Contract remotely) with US companies so far.
My opportunity came from a friend who was leaving the job and needed someone with same or higher skills as he did to replace him.
I believe companies open their doors to this "anywhere/anytime" because they are looking for cheaper work force.
When I started, my hourly rate was U$20,00. Still, it's a lot less than some of my friends in Chicago that makes U$28,00 ~ U$35,00 per hour. And some of them don't have the experience and expertise as I do. So, companies pay a lot less to have a lot more. Also when working like remotely, companies have less obligations with the so called "employee" than with those they maintain in-house.
Payment comes through a lot of ways, with me the main were International Wire Transfers, Swift Transfers, Wester Union, and PayPal. But usually Wire Transfer using Swift code; it takes only a few hours for the wire to be into my Brazilian Bank account.
Now my contract with them reached it's end and I'm looking forward to get "anytime/anywhere" opportunities to get back working for other companies World Wide. It's not easy when you're overseas though, from 100 emails/CVs/Portfolio sent so far, only 3~5 feedbacks were given saying : "we will be looking all applications and will give feedback soon". And i believe this happens because despite the "anytime/anywhere" this "anywhere" does not really means "worldwide" but "nationwide" most of the times.
The economy scenario right now is not good to anyone, anyways, but the anytime/anywhere sounds like a good solution to bear down company expenses; that's my opinion only.
Also, I don't use oDesk, Elance and other biding websites out there. It's a ridiculous to see Web Designer hourly rates sometimes getting really down like U$4 ~ U$5 per hour. Everybody loses with approaches like these. It's not my profile anyways, despite the fact I'm a target cheap work force; i know my skills, i know how much I'm worth.
About trust, it's not that hard to get set and used to it. Your guarantee it's the work/task/request done within provided estimate. How come? If you make a request and the Web Designer says it will get about 4~6 hours and it's within your pre-set budget, and the professional makes it within 4~6 hours, and delivers exactly or even a better results than expected; then it's alright, you're dealing with a professional. But if not, if you experience delays, out of budget results, then it's time to let this one go. With less than 2 weeks working like this and getting positive experiences like described above, I believe any company would hire anyone to full-time / 40~45 hours week. That's how it worked out for me so far.
I used to ask myself "how can they trust me that much?". Well, the answer is always the same: first they are very open minded companies and second, the "Task Done" always with high expectations fulfilled things does the job.
Just a note: I believe a lot of job listing sites need to add a "anytime/anywhere(worldwide)" option to the their Location drop down boxes, because the demand for skilled remote workers is growing fast, worldwide.
Again, all above is my experience and opinions only.
Best of luck to everyone out there looking for anytime/anywhere experiences.
Best regards,
Gustavo Accioly Martins