Thursday, July 12, 2007

New job, new after-work bars!

A new career comes with a host of changes to get used to. You're working for a new boss, you have a different company e-mail address, different workload, probably similar sexual harassment laws. But these are just the obvious differences. There are many subtle nuances to consider before you start your new job.

For instance, what kind of work environment will you now be in? A cubicle in a large open room? Or will you be sharing an office with one other person, so that when she is out sick for the day or even leaves to use the restroom, you ostensibly have your very own office?

Will you have fresh coffee brewed for you daily? Free bagels and cheese on Friday mornings and a fridge stocked with beer on Friday afternoons? State of the art computing systems? If you work for a non-profit, the answer to all these questions is likely to be "no."

Consider the environment outside your office building. Are you close enough in proximity to shops get a variety of errands and tasks done during the day? How far is the nearest Subway shop? Is a Starbucks within reasonable walking distance or will you be forced to go against the very grain of your being by switching to Dunkin' Donuts, thus further morphing yourself into a "Bostonian"?

In close relation to my last point, assess your new selection of after-work bars. For example, if you are moving from the Beacon Hill area (Mass. General Hospital terrain) to the Fleet Center area, you are presumably forfeiting the chance to mingle with a large population of doctors and surgeons. This is not true, however, as someone recently informed me that doctors don't actually go to bars. So it could be in fact a welcome change for you because that dream has already been shattered.

Are there enough colorful, eccentric homeless persons identifiable by a single trait (i.e. the one who always wears a pirate hat, the one who you saw urinating inside government center station) to keep you entertained yet slightly uneasy for the majority of the day?

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A good job is likely to be one that is not chosen haphazardly or at random because you needed to make a car payment. Or because you assumed since the higher-ups would be traveling to places like Sydney or London, you would inevitably be invited to travel too, because that is probably a false assumption.

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