Job searching (and the decision to think about job searching), both for contract and full-time work, is stressful, even for the most coveted candidates:
- the approach (how do I find opportunities? who do I talk to? what should I ask? how do I know what I want?)
- the pre-interview process (what should my resume look like? how should I handle a first phone screen? do I still need a cover letter?)
- interviewing (what should I ask the company? what are they really looking for? what kinds of questions are they going to ask me?)
- negotiating (how should I negotiate? how long do I have to decide? how do I give notice?)
We try to be helpful on an ad-hoc basis – we’ve helped at least two people get the jobs they wanted this year in a completely behind-the-scenes way, and helped another company redo their CTO search, which they’re now doing with another company – but we’d like to do more.
Starting next week (5/23), we’re holding open office hours on Wednesdays. Most of our meetings these days are with candidates and companies in South Lake Union, Downtown, and Pioneer Square, so we’re going to switch between two locations:
- First and Third Wednesdays of the month, 1-3pm: Zeitgeist in Pioneer Square, 171 South Jackson St
- Second and Fourth Wednesdays of the month, 1-3pm: Uptown Espresso in South Lake Union, 500 Westlake Ave N
This office hours are open to both candidates and companies, completely confidential, and completely free (of money and obligation).
- Candidates and companies: we’re happy to advise on both your own strategy finding a job, or on how you should find great candidates for your own team – including messaging, job descriptions, etc.
- Confidentiality: we won’t share anything you tell us with anyone else, including your managers. Obviously if you’re concerned about being in a public place, we can try to meet somewhere else afterwards, but trust me – we meet people all the time in these places, and nobody knows why you’re there. We don’t have horns.
- Free: no obligation to talk to us ever again, no salesman will visit you, your email address will not end up on a newsletter list forever (we don’t have one anyway), etc. This goes for both clients and companies. If you want to hear about our jobs and services, we’re happy to tell you about them, but we won’t lead or pitch you.
We’re doing this because a healthy hiring ecosystem benefits us: we see a lot of folks who struggle with these things, and if we do a good job, you’ll probably tell people. That’s worked for us before.
The only thing we ask is that if you think you’re going to stop by, please email us at officehours at roosterpark dot com and let us know, so we know to look for you.
We’re looking forward to meeting more people and being as helpful as we can. Hope to see you soon!