Another good one! I'm thinking of asking my employer if I can drop down to 9 months per year (carpentry in rainy Seattle sucks in the winter). So it would be my standard job, but seasonal in a sense. I swing a hammer and am paid hourly so its not like I have a unique "position" that needs to be filled by a single person year round. Have you heard of something like this?
That sounds doable to me and makes a lot of sense. It all depends on what you and your employer can agree upon. I’ve heard of plenty of road construction workers who would take winters off and work spring, summer, and fall, so similar, seasonal in a sense.
In my experience with construction, a lot of it will depend on whether your employer still needs you during the winter season, or if it’s typically slower that time anyways. If it’s typically slow, I imagine they will be happy to have you seasonally with winters off. If it’s busy, I imagine you’ll get some push back, but that’s the beauty of having your money situation figured out—you can stick to your guns and advocate for the work arrangement you want. Let me know what you end up doing, I’m curious to hear how it goes.
Interesting, thanks. It wouldn't be for a few years so I have some time to think about it. I'll probably try to take summer 2023 off to hike the CDT, then put in another year or 2, and then try to make it happen. Any tips for broaching the subject? Do you do consulting, like 1 hour sessions to strategize?
That's an awesome plan! I don't do any consulting at this point but have considered adding the option in the future and will let you know if I go that route. As far as tips for broaching the subject: my best advice is to spend some time beforehand thinking through yours and your employers viewpoint. You know what you want and why you want it, but you have to do your best to align that with what your employer wants and why they want it. It'll be an art form to guide the discussion towards a middle ground where both you and your employer feel like you've gotten a good deal with the new work arrangement. In addition, I think this article gives some great concrete steps to help the discussion go as smooth as possible: https://www.topresume.com/career-advice/6-steps-in-negotiating-flexible-work-arrangements
Thanks for the resource! "I like to go hard and then take a significant break to avoid burnout" is what comes to mind as my initial pitch. Anyways, let me know if you ever decide to do consultation, it would be nice to have an hour or 2 of your time to go over numbers etc.
Another good one! I'm thinking of asking my employer if I can drop down to 9 months per year (carpentry in rainy Seattle sucks in the winter). So it would be my standard job, but seasonal in a sense. I swing a hammer and am paid hourly so its not like I have a unique "position" that needs to be filled by a single person year round. Have you heard of something like this?
That sounds doable to me and makes a lot of sense. It all depends on what you and your employer can agree upon. I’ve heard of plenty of road construction workers who would take winters off and work spring, summer, and fall, so similar, seasonal in a sense.
In my experience with construction, a lot of it will depend on whether your employer still needs you during the winter season, or if it’s typically slower that time anyways. If it’s typically slow, I imagine they will be happy to have you seasonally with winters off. If it’s busy, I imagine you’ll get some push back, but that’s the beauty of having your money situation figured out—you can stick to your guns and advocate for the work arrangement you want. Let me know what you end up doing, I’m curious to hear how it goes.
Interesting, thanks. It wouldn't be for a few years so I have some time to think about it. I'll probably try to take summer 2023 off to hike the CDT, then put in another year or 2, and then try to make it happen. Any tips for broaching the subject? Do you do consulting, like 1 hour sessions to strategize?
That's an awesome plan! I don't do any consulting at this point but have considered adding the option in the future and will let you know if I go that route. As far as tips for broaching the subject: my best advice is to spend some time beforehand thinking through yours and your employers viewpoint. You know what you want and why you want it, but you have to do your best to align that with what your employer wants and why they want it. It'll be an art form to guide the discussion towards a middle ground where both you and your employer feel like you've gotten a good deal with the new work arrangement. In addition, I think this article gives some great concrete steps to help the discussion go as smooth as possible: https://www.topresume.com/career-advice/6-steps-in-negotiating-flexible-work-arrangements
Thanks for the resource! "I like to go hard and then take a significant break to avoid burnout" is what comes to mind as my initial pitch. Anyways, let me know if you ever decide to do consultation, it would be nice to have an hour or 2 of your time to go over numbers etc.