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mkivikoski/ideal-employment.md

Last active September 20, 2016 14:36
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A checklist of the qualities you'd like to see your next company have.
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ideal-employment.md

We write resumes to convince employers to hire us. What if we created a list for what we were looking for in our next employer and their environment?

This allows both sides to cut through the game of telephone, establish what you are looking for in your role, and define the type of organization you're looking to work for. Fork, modify and add this checklist to your portfolio site to quicken the pace of getting through companies that don't match your criteria.

--

You:

  • You're a product company, with 8-15 current employees and are generating a profit with your product(s).
  • The goal of the company is not to collect VC money and sellout, but rather organically build the company with your own profits.
  • You care about your employees; their health, career, family and lifestyle.
  • You care about your customers; you understand that they can and will be different than you.
  • Your location doesn't matter as I'll work remotely.
  • You use Apple based hardware.
  • You need to care about the work process.
  • You understand the importance and benefits of keeping the work week under 40 hours.

Me:

  • I'm a UI Designer, Developer, Educator, and Speaker who is looking to lead the User Interface and Experience of your product.

What do I want:

  • I want control to make decisions.
  • I want to work with other hacker-minded individuals.
  • I want to learn from other T-minded folks.
  • I want to teach and share my knowledge.
  • I want to continue to speak at conferences and workshops.
  • I want to be use the appropriate design techniques and processes for the problem(s) at hand.

How do I work:

  • I work fast.
  • I sketch with pen and paper.
  • I prefer components over full-page designs.
  • I follow a 'done is better than perfect' philosophy.
  • I will refactor and rewrite as needed.
  • I use CI/CD.
  • I prefer weekly efficiency over monthly planning.

What my week looks like:

  • 80% of it is making (Research, Designing, Developing, Testing).
  • 20% of it is learning, speaking and working on open source with fellow coworkers and other industry folks.

The benefits I'm looking for:

  • 4 weeks or more vacation
  • 401k matching
  • Paid travel to speaking engagments within the US (international would be great)
  • Mac setup
  • Parental leave (for any new parents)
  • 100% Health Insurance
  • Salary of $XXXk

--

Note: This is a demo/template checklist for folks to have a starting point with. I'm currently very happy with my work situation and am not looking for new work at this time.

Have additional items that you'd like to see added? Put them in the comments.

Mike Kivikoski, @mkivikoski

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