Negotiating job offer question

[LoveTrains]

Is it ok to ask - while in the negotiating/offer phase - about office space? For example, if you got a tour of the office and were shown the desks of the people who would be reporting to you and they are out in an open area with low cubes. It looked like there were some empty offices in the back.

You want to know if the job offer comes with a desk in cube land or an office. Is it ok to ask about this and if so, how do you phrase it?

[crashgizmo]

If it is important to you, I'd definitely ask "What would the office space situation be for this role?"

[heyrebekah]

I asked this at an interview. It felt like I had a natural opening because we were walking out through a sea of cubicles and I asked if the workspace in their department was arranged similarly.

I did not get offered that job.

Then again, the sea of cubes made me not want it. Also the fact that the interviewer promised that most of the time they didn't have more work than could be handled in "a normal 50 or 60 hour work week." Um no, that is not my normal, LOL.

[LoveTrains]

The question is for a friend.

[vanillacourage]

Yes. I would phrase it like, "what does a typical day look like?  What is the workspace?" Blah blah. 

[FishChicks]

You can ask it, and if it's a deal breaker for you, you should ask it. That said, it's a question that can lead the hiring team to view you as entitled or very picky.

At my last company only the senior most managers and executives had offices. The rest of us had cubes. I managed a staff of eight without an office, so it can be done. If people I interviewed asked me about getting an office, I worried about their ability to tolerate our culture.

[cosmos]

Jun 28, 2014 22:55:50 GMT -5 vanillacourage said:

Yes. I would phrase it like, "what does a typical day look like?  What is the workspace?" Blah blah. 

This is how I would (and did) ask.

I was put off by the cube at first, coming from my own huge office with windows, but honestly, I vastly prefer the cube. I goofed off too much alone, had little social interaction. Now I know people are watching so I work smarter, and I love talking to my cube mates. It's been a great way for me to learn about the company.

And we are mostly mid-level management on my floor, and my building is mostly management and IT, so there is no stigma about who is in a cube here. Only directors and higher get offices.