As I discussed in my previous post, for me – as both a software engineer and a manager – a job posting can have some pretty big clues as to what the environment is like. I alluded to a second indicator from a post that a job might not be the most desirable. It is a little more subtle than the rock-star lingo:
Endless discussion of your “cool” environment.
“But wait!” you say, “A great working environment is important! Lots of people leave work because of indirect things they don’t like with the environment, not the work itself!”
True. And what I’m talking about here is a lot more niche than my previous blanket commentary on hip descriptions of the perfect employee. Here I’m specifically addressing perks at work in a high-tech environment. Pretty much this applies to software people applying at software companies in even moderately competitive tech corridors.
[captionpix imgsrc=http://skaveo.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Soda.jpg captiontext=”Free soda? I’ll put up with anything!” align=right alt=”Free soda sucks”]
I hate to break it to you: Everyone lets their employees wear jeans, or shorts. Everyone has free soda.
If you cater in breakfast and lunch, I hear “we expect you to work from 7:00 AM until 7:00 PM with a breakfast burrito hanging from your lips as you type.” God forbid you include dinner in that mix.
Unless your hip, cool, relaxed work environment allows me to take my dog to work (unusual in my city) or has some other amazing and uncommon perk, the Playstation or Happy Hour Friday isn’t particularly compelling. Worse, it makes it sound like you’re trying too hard. If you have to put it in the ad that you offer free Doritos, guess what: I think that’s your Big Selling Point, and that you’re also disastrously out-of-touch with today’s environment. It sounds like you’re trying to oversell the job or company to make up for a very real shortcoming.
All of that translates into being skeptical about your job offering. Now, if it is coupled with something really interesting, I might bite, but in general, it just makes me shy away. As anecdotal evidence, every job I every interviewed for that talked about How Cool and Casual Our Office Is wasn’t, and I turned down the offer.
These are the types of things to mention to a candidate when showing them the office for the first time, or if asked, or to let team members disclose when they interview the candidate (you do let team members interview potential co-workers, right?!)
So if you believe you need to differentiate yourself from competition for talent through your work environment, do something Actually Cool. Locate downtown and have all-window offices/desks (if that’s the cool spot). Let people bring their dogs to work. Have a movie afternoon once a month that is catered, occurs during work hours, and is genuinely fun. Go skydiving once a quarter. But free soda? Forget it – you sound like someone bragging about their high-school sports record from 20 years ago: tired, cheesy, and mildly embarrassing for those around you.