TheLadders Blog

Let me try a phrase on you:

Unlimited Vacation.

That’s right. I said unlimited vacation. I’m sure you can’t wrap your brain around that. I couldn’t either, at first. But it’s true. When you work at TheLadders, you get unlimited vacation days.

It’s a groundbreaking philosophy. But… how can we do it?

Simple: We don’t hire slackers. We hire people who want to do awesome work, and want to come in every day and kick some ass. TheLadders HR and executives know that we’re not going to abuse that policy.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t use it. I recently took advantage of our unlimited vacation and headed off to Australia and New Zealand.

For a month.

A whole, consecutive four weeks. I’m not a tenured professor on sabbatical—but I took three consecutive weeks last year, too. So I wrapped up my projects and assigned coverage to my amazing team (thanks guys!), and packed my bags.

Not to sound trite, but it was the trip of a lifetime. I started with two weeks in Australia: First, the cultural capital of Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road. Next, the diverse neighborhoods and iconic sights of Sydney—take an $11 ferry ride to Manley Beach if you ever go, you’ll get great shots of the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House.

Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge, from the Manley Ferry. Sydney, Australia.

I capped off my Aussie visit with a dive on the Great Barrier Reef that opened my eyes to a breathtaking world, and was an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

My best shot from the dive on the Great Barrier Reef. Nemo!

I followed that up with some family time, as my sister currently lives in New Zealand. She’s a doctor at a small hospital in a remote—but very friendly—town called Balclutha.

My mom also flew in—it was Thanksgiving week, after all! From Queenstown to Dunedin, we toured the whole South Island, stopping at my sister’s house to celebrate the holiday—turkey was actually hard to find!—with some other Americans that worked with my sister. (And some new Kiwi friends!)

As we toured, we drove past skyscraping mountains and rolling, grass-covered hills and pastures reminiscent of the Scottish countryside. (The running joke in the car: Look! Sheep!) A boat cruise through the idyllic glacial fiord of Milford Sound—complete with a pod of dolphins who took a liking to our boat—was the highlight.

Milford Sound National Park, on the South Island of New Zealand.

Then we flew up to the North Island. We visited Rotorua, which everyone in New Zealand calls “RotoVegas.” (Kiwis are super nice and Rotorua was fun and beautiful, but clearly not many Kiwis have been to the real Vegas.)

Eventually, I ended my trip in the beautiful harbor city of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest, with 1.2 million residents. (As we drove past sheep farm after sheep farm, I had to remind myself the whole country had less than half of New York City’s population.)

I’ve only been back to work for two days. But I definitely understand the real reason we have unlimited vacation: It’s the way I feel right now. I’m rested, re-energized, ready to get back to work and kick some ass.

Bill Beard is the Associate Creative Director of Copy for TheLadders. He (obviously) loves to travel, always has ESPN.com open, and always takes the cheese option when it’s offered.

You may be walking around your city/town wondering to yourself — have I traveled back in time to 1977?

Nope! It’s Movember. Movember is a campaign to raise awareness and funds to support the fight against prostate/testicular cancer. The movement began in Australia (where the nick name for moustache is “Mo”) and is now a global force.

During month of November men around the world grow moustaches and gather sponsors to donate to the cause. It’s a fun way to generate awareness for a sometimes forgotten issue — men’s health.

Here at TheLadders, a group of 24 proud and brave men to rock the ‘stache for the entire month. So far we’ve raised $5,200 and are almost at our lofty goal of $6k. As capitan of the team, I can tell you it’s no easy task walking around for a month with a ferret on your upper lip. Mothers hide their children, girls shoot dirty looks and I keep getting offers to be a Burt Reynolds stunt double. The point is that a moustache is quite ostentatious accessory and everyone has an opinion. But, that’s the point! Every glare, every snarl, every fleeing old lady is a chance to spread the word. It’s a living billboard for men’s health, and the 24 men of TheLadders have done a smashing job of generating funds and fun to kick cancer’s butt.

We’ve even created a calendar to memorialize our efforts. A beautiful desk calendar available for only $10. Every person purchasing the calendar will not only be contributing to a worthwhile cause but, ensuring a 2012 full of daily creepiness!

If you’re interested in donating click here.

1. Click “Donate to team” on the left hand side or find your favorite moustache dude on the right hand side of the page to donate individually
2. Fill out the required information
3. Give the ‘stache and cancer research a monetary boost

If you would like this alluring desk calendar, just email me and I’ll make the magic happen for you!

JP Russo is a sales executive for the enterprise sales team. When he’s not creeping people out with his moustache he is making sure recruiters and HR directors across the country get the most qualified candidates in the least amount of time.

On Wednesday, May 25, TheLadders will host its second class of Adult Technology students from Per Scholas, a social venture dedicated to using technology to improve the lives of people in low-income communities. We had a very positive response when we hosted our first class in December (pictured below), and we’re thrilled to be bringing it back so soon!

We’ll be hosting a class of soon-to-be-graduates working towards a technology certification and will base job searches on their new qualifications. TheLadders is no stranger to bringing technology and the job search together. We’ve prepared an integrated agenda including a resume-building discussion, a panel discussion about careers in technology, a job search advice workshop and a guided office tour. TheLadders has also been selected to host Per Scholas’ all-women class, and we have 25 volunteers from all across TheLadders geared up to make the most of their day here.

Stay tuned for our update on how the day goes! We hope the feedback is as positive as the comments we received in December:

“I honestly feel that every person added to my experience in their own way, everyone brought something to the table that I learned from.”

“TheLadders.com was great, especially the atmosphere. Their genuine willingness to help us and accommodate all of our questions was incredible.”

“I have never been to a corporation or employment agency and it was fascinating. Having the opportunity to tour a reputable corporation and meet current technology professionals allowed me to better myself for a career after graduation.”

Hayley Soltesz is a Financial Analyst at TheLadders.com. She loves to travel and hates to cook; she knew New York was the place for her when she discovered she could experience Thailand, Italy and Mexico from the comfort of her apartment without having to turn on the stove.