I reached out in one of my chat groups, asking for help if anyone has any leads or connections in finding my next job. One of my friends responded, asking if I had a wishlist of constraints, conditions, and such.
"Wiki is communication," said friend
He was right.
This is me "putting pen to paper."
Work Environment
Remote or Hybrid
Remote and hybrid style working models allow me to work the best I can. I do enjoy spending time with colleagues, being in an office, having meetings, brainstorming, etc. but I also need the time and space for focused work. This also allows me to share responsibilities of housework, taking care of littles and furred ones, too.
A perfect hybrid working model would be a need to be in office two to three times a week. Even a remote working model where we meet up once a quarter or once a month (not sure where that lies in the naming spectrum of hybrid or remote) would work well.
Flexible, core working hours
I'm good with a set of core working hours, especially if working with an internationally located team. I understand and value the need to be available for others in the team, for synchronous work.
My best brain hours are in the morning, and that's when I get my focused work done. It sets the pace for the rest of the day. I do need flexibility with those hours though, as not all days are the same; also: life happens and sometimes that flexibility will be a necessity.
Multi-modal commute, less than one-hour one way
I've worked in places, even in the United States, where I have options of walking, cycling, public transport, and driving to the shared working location. I prefer to have multiple options for getting to work, preferentially down this spectrum:
- Walking: most preferrred
- Cycling: very preferred
- Public transport: preferred
- Driving: least preferred, would like to avoid 1
Physical location & moving
I'm an American citizen, married to a Spanish citizen, currently living in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States.
I lived in Amsterdam for a decade, on a kennismigrant visa, and even got my permanent resident permit. I'm open to locations in any of these three countries: United States, Spain, and the Netherlands. I may be open to others, but these are of particular interest at the moment. I can only consider moving potential employer is willing & able to sponsor as well as support moving my family and I from the United States to the new city or country. Language levels: English, Native; Spanish, B1; Dutch, A2.
Company Culture
Sustainable funding with a long-view of time
I've worked in environments of all sorts—universities, local government, digital agencies, federal government, global enterprises, mom-and-pop shops, start-ups approaching seed round, and scale-ups that have funded runway.
I want to work somewhere that is somewhat more sustainable than a nascent-startup or they're building a product to "make it through the next funding round." If a company is scaling and has the profit or long-runway to support it, I'd be up for joining.
I want to work somewhere that has a long-view of time. It's not just about the next quarter, it's about the next century and how we can build something that will impact more than the next quarter.
Asynchronous default communication
There may, will, and have to be exceptions to an asynchronous corporate communication culture, but if it's the default, that works great.
I'm a reader, and communicate best when I write things down. Similarly, a more asynchronous culture would likely have practices in place that support what I think is good practice:
- agendas for meetings;
- minutes taken of meetings for those who don't attend;
- materials ready beforehand for context-gathering and preparation; and
- questioning if a meeting is really needed 2
Written company norms & ways of working
Does everyone in the company—or a large proportion—understand how decisions are made and communicated? How processes are built and scaled? How they handle failure, individually and collectively? How wins are celebrated and losses are learned from? How and why initiatives are prioritized? How individual performance is measured or how people are fired?
For me, these are basics of how to run an organization with a long-term view and intent. It also makes working together with diverse people easier and more accessible. We all come from different life experiences, cultural norms, and backgrounds. Writing what the company's are helps bring people into the team, and understand what's acceptable and what's not, very quickly.
If they don't have these, I'd be happy to be hired to help make them.
Mission & Impact
Purpose-driven; sustainably-minded
I'd love to work with a B-Corp, S-Corp, non-profit, or co-op type of company. It doesn't need to be massive, but should be mindful of sustainability of the business, in their growth, and all the way through to environmental sustainability of their operations.
Towards something better
I'd love the work to be for Good in some way. There are so many things happening in the world that need attention, and I'd love to contribute—how I can—towards something better.
For me, this means company's who's purpose or has aspects that of some of these things:
- Open source and culture;
- Civic tech;
- Accessibility;
- Renewable energy and a Circular economy;
- Biodiversity and conservation;
- Libraries and knowledge preservation;
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion;
- Localization and cultural diversity; and
- the list could go on.
Red Flags
- "Hustle culture"
- "We're like a family."
- "You're paid for 40 hours, but we expect you to work 60."