In conversation with my dear friend Mindy Haidle recently and we both agreed that the world of remote work is tenuous right now. If you are job searching and you need to or want to be fully remote, study your prospective employer CAREFULLY. Many businesses right now are changing their strategies and calling employees back to the office.
Be intentional about this part of your job search. Ask a lot of questions. Read a lot of what their executives are saying about remote work, read the job description carefully.
Some companies are ALL in on Remote or ALL in on in person/Hybrid (which means you need to live near-ish to the office). But many others are taking a more wait and see approach. Choose wisely. You can use this as a negotiation tactic (call me and I can help you craft that pitch), but also be open and honest with yourself about the realities of what a call back to the office might mean for you and your family.
A few remote-first companies I know about: GitLab, Buffer, Zapier, Airbnb, Atlassian, Doist, Automattic, and many more.
A few In Office/Hybrid companies I know about: Apple, Google, Goldman Sachs, Nike are calling people back to the office full time or choosing hybrid (3 days in office, 2 remote, for example). My employer, Amazon, just changed its policy from a “leave it up to the manager” to 3-days a week in the office mandatory. We all have a bit of whiplash from that 180 degree switcharoo. https://www.geekwire.com/2023/amazon-responds-to-walkout-plan-we-respect-our-employees-rights-to-express-their-opinions/
There is no one path here - YOU need to find a company that matches your needs/values and future growth and whether that is place-based, hybrid or remote is up for grabs.
How are you deciding?
What companies are you tracking in either camp? Please share for our job searching people.