If you are looking for a job, flexibility is an important factor that will contribute to your success. Many candidates have a "wish list" of the type of position they would like to obtain. A dream job may be at a particular firm or have a specific title. Some candidates have a set salary range in mind and are not interested in changing jobs or accepting a new position where the pay packet will be less than a certain figure.
For job candidates, the length of the commute to the new job is another important consideration. Ideally, the time spent getting to and from work would be minimal. According to the results of a study conducted by the TUC, the average worker in the UK spends almost 200 hours per year getting to and from work. Based on a standard 40-hour work week, that's five weeks a year of time wasted on the journey back and forth to the workplace.
Telecommuting Not an Option for All Workers
Focusing one's search on telecommuting jobs would seem like a good option to avoid this glut of down time. There are definite advantages to working from home. The short commute to work is one of them. Workers can log into their company computer system and e-mail accounts and work on various tasks from home or another convenient location.
The Confederation of British Industry conducted a survey of firms that showed the number of companies offering telework to their staff as an option is on the rise. Figures increased from 14-46 percent in the two-year period from 2006-2008. The trend is expected to continue to rise.
In many cases, telework is offered as a part-time option to workers who are already established with the company. Some people work from home occasionally or in the evening to finish tasks they did not complete during the normal workday. It is less common for companies to hire workers on a full telecommute basis from the outset.
While some types of jobs can be done from any location, others do not fit well with a telework model. Call center workers could work from home quite well. Any type of work that requires face-to-face contact with customers would not work with this model. Sales representatives who need to visit prospects personally could operate from a home office but would still need to have a reliable means of transport to visit their customers.
Owning a Car Opens Up More Career Options
A job seeker who owns a car has more options. He or she can search for work in a larger geographic area. Someone who needs to rely on public transit to get to and from work is limited to the areas served by this mode of transportation.
Depending on the job opportunity, it may be worthwhile considering buying a car to drive to and from work. Someone who is considering this type of move would do well to shop around for the best car finance deals before making a decision. The extra cost of paying for a car would need to be weighed against the higher salary and convenience being able to drive to and from work. If the employer is not on a public transit route, then a candidate will need to have a car to get to work anyway.
The more flexible a job candidate can be when looking for work, the more likely he or she will be to find a suitable position. No job is likely to be ideal in all respects. Candidates need to decide which aspects of their "wish list" are factors that are "must haves" and which ones can be delegated into the "nice to have" category.
If location is something they can be a bit flexible about and they own a car, they open up more possibilities for themselves. Spending a bit more time getting to and from work may be just the ticket to a challenging and rewarding position. If that is the case, the extra time spent commuting would be worthwhile. There may even be a chance to telecommute after a time, so it would be a win-win situation as long as the job seeker is prepared to show a bit of flexibility from the outset.