What do these statistics mean for job seekers?  These are times of increasing globalization as well as economic volatility and variability.  Employment searchers should consider being flexible with regards to relocation, advised Carey Bertolet, an executive with Laurence Simons, an international legal recruitment firm with domestic operations based at OfficeLinks’ 1140 Avenue of the Americas location in New York City.  Along with her business partner Danice Kowalczyk, Carey joined Laurence Simons in 2010 largely because of the company’s global reach.  Laurence Simons is a truly international organization with offices all over the world including four different continents and 13 cities.

Laurence Simons is leading the way for its industry because it focuses its operations not just in established cities throughout the world, but in emerging markets as well.  Laurence Simons is unique in that it invests in all its target markets by establishing a local presence in these countries.  Its recent launch in Mumbai, India is an example.  Laurence Simons is the first company of its kind “on the ground” in India.  Carey believes this strategy is key to better understanding corporate clients’ needs.  She works in tandem with local offices and has come to appreciate cultural differences and gain better insight to what kind of employment profiles are popular in various countries.

Carey shared the following insight for the international job seeker:

• Know what challenges you may have moving cross-border.  Are you targeting employers who can help you navigate the appropriate immigration issues you might face?
• Know the cost-of-living differences.  It’s often impossible to compare salaries side-by-side when they are in different countries and subject to different tax treatments.
• Do you have children?  Are there international schools?  What are the appropriate deadlines for enrolling new students?
• Are you flexible on compensation?  You may not have to take a cut in salary, but are you willing to do that if it means that you get to move and work internationally?
• Are you looking for a permanent move or something for a few years?  Make sure you’re expectations are aligned with your potential employers.
• Understand the resources that may or may not be available in your desired location.  Will you have access to the level of healthcare you desire?  Can you bring family pets abroad?  Will you need a car?
• Most importantly:  if you are a globally minded job seeker–be a global citizen!  Educate yourself on politics and economic dynamics outside your native country — keep up on the events of the world happening in every corner of the world.

All great questions!  To learn more about the answers as well as Laurence Simons, go to laurencesimons.com.

A former restaurant barge is undergoing a $600,000 renovation to repurpose the vessel to house its new corporate tenants.   The city’s emerging “office harbor” vision anticipates more office offerings on the water that will attract the creative class who are looking for inspiring workspaces.

“It isn’t just about being on boats,” said Stanton Eckstut,” an architect specializing in waterfront development.  “It’s a great way for companies to attract interest, attract talent.  You see this cropping up in Europe.  It can be a fantastic work environment for people in creative industries.”

So, would you consider trading in a sidewalk for a gangway?  Let us know.

The Craft Beer Week will divide Chicago into nine neighborhoods plus the suburbs so that you – and all Chicago beer lovers – have the opportunity to explore the depth and breadth of local craft beer.

More than 200 venues are expected to participate this year, offering special $4 tastings of rare beers and other special events throughout the week. Festivities will begin with the “Beer Under Glass” event at Garfield Park Conservatory and end with the closing party at Revolution Brewing’s new production facility.

Click here for the Chicago Craft Beer Week schedule.

See just how close Chicago Craft Beer Week participators are to OfficeLinks’ Chicago offices, located in Willis Tower by clicking here.

Chicago’s celebration will again coincide with American Craft Beer Week (May 14-20, 2012). ACBW was started in 2006 and has grown each year. In 2011, ACBW events were held in all 50 states, paying homage to America’s more than 1,700 small, independent craft brewers. Chicago plays a large role in this growing beer culture along with cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, and San Antonio.

Are you still reading? You should have clicked through for more information already! Plan your beer crawl by getting more information here.

Fed up with the crowds and noises at coffee shops, mobile professionals on the hunt for free Wi-Fi and a comfy chair are leaving Starbucks behind and are working from hotel lobbies.  While this movement may not be suitable for all properties, some hoteliers are embracing their new temporary visitors.  Hotel managers in city centers have suggested a lobby that’s abuzz with activity and people could be good for business and bring in more revenue.   Could there be drawbacks to this trend?

“If you are inviting the locals to hang out in the lobby, you better make sure they represent your brand,” said Laurent Vernhes, co-founder of Tablet Hotels, a booking service for boutique hotels.

And, the downside to working in a hotel lobby doesn’t really differ much for individuals.  First off, it’s not the ideal place to hold a client or team meeting.  It’s not an option on a regular basis – you can’t assume your space will be waiting for you every day.  Conference calls would also be a problem.  And, there’s a matter of security.  Are you going to pack up your laptop every time you need to use the restroom?

While this may work for the one-off business trip, simply being able to connect any time, anywhere is no longer enough to be competitive.  Solopreneurs and consultants can find professional workspaces outside of coffee shops and hotel lobbies to call their own.

Today, Thursday, May 3, 6-7 pm, take a free yoga class in Bryant Park on the Lawn.  Led by expert instructors, provided by lululemon athletica, free yoga classes are held at Bryant Park on Tuesdays on the Upper Terrace from 10-11 am and Thursdays on the Lawn from 6-7 pm through the spring, summer and fall.

Yoga. Bryant Park. Free. Do we need to say anything else?

In case of rain, check out bryantpark.org for any cancellation or location change announcements.

Free to the public, the interactive smart screens will provide local neighborhood news, including restaurants, shopping information, traffic updates and safety alerts.  Users will also be able to access New York’s 311 website.

“The goal is to pilot it and see what the response is,” said Nicholas Sbordone a spokesperson for New York’s Department of Information Technology & Communications.  The screens will be funded through advertising revenue. Long term plans include incorporating additional connectivity that will enable individuals to Skype, check email and use the booths as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Here’s the big question:  How many people would actually stop on a street corner to use the smart screen?  Would you use these booths to get work done?  Let us know.

Right now, you can check out such exhibits as Weegee: Murder is My Business and The Loving Story: Photographs by Grey Villet, among others.

Weegee: Murder is My Business is on display through September 2 of this year and features work from one of the most relentlessly inventive figures in American photography: Weegee (1899–1968). His graphically dramatic and often lurid photographs of New York crimes and news events set the standard for what has become known as tabloid journalism. Weegee established a way of combining photographs and texts that was distinctly different from that promoted by other picture magazines, such as LIFE. This exhibition draws upon the extensive Weegee Archive at ICP and includes environmental recreations of Weegee’s apartment and exhibitions.

On display through May 6 of this year, you’ll find The Loving Story: Photographs by Grey Villet.  Forty-five years ago, sixteen states still prohibited interracial marriage. Then, in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the case of Richard Perry Loving, a white man, and his wife, Mildred Loving, a woman of African American and Native American descent, who had been arrested for miscegenation nine years earlier in Virginia. The Lovings were not active in the Civil Rights movement but their tenacious legal battle to justify their marriage changed history when the Supreme Court unanimously declared Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law—and all race-based marriage bans—unconstitutional. LIFE magazine photographer Grey Villet’s intimate images were uncovered by director Nancy Buirski during the making of The Loving Story, a documentary that debuted on HBO on February 14, 2012.

We already mentioned that Fridays from 5-8 pm, you can voluntarily contribute rather than pay a general admission, which makes this an awesome Friday Happy Hour option. However, during other operating hours (Tuesday–Wednesday: 10 am–6 pm,
Thursday–Friday: 10 am–8 pm,
Saturday–Sunday: 10 am–6 pm.
Closed: Mondays), General Admission is $12.
Students and Seniors (with valid ID) pay $8 and
ICP Members and children under 12 are free.

Want to do more than just look? The School at ICP offers more than 400 courses that range from traditional film and darkroom practice to digital media. The state-of-the-art facility features black-and-white and color labs; digital labs, including resources for multimedia and digital video; and a professional shooting studio. The faculty of ICP is dedicated to nurturing new talent and represents some of the world’s most accomplished and innovative practitioners, offering expert guidance and inside perspectives into the field. Spring and Summer Course Catalogs are currently available on ICP’s website at www.icp.org.

Rising to number one are information and media companies who now reign as the dominant office players in New York renting 28 percent of overall square footage in New York based on 2012 first quarter activity.

A deeper dive into the report shows information and media companies have even taken over the downtown market – leasing 42 percent of the available space.

“We are heading toward becoming a landlord’s market,” said Joseph Harbert, COO for the New York Metro region of Cushman & Wakefield.  His prediction is based on a belief that the employment numbers for the city will improve and vacancy rates will drop.

As new companies grow their employee base or expand operations controlling overhead expenses will impact the viability of the business.  If Cushman & Wakefield’s predictions are true, small businesses looking to have a presence in New York via traditional office space will experience a higher cost.  This could prompt dissent among this sector and drive them to alternative workplace options that will give them for flexibility and cost savings.

Here’s the day’s line up:

10:00 am – 1:00 pm:
High Line Art Performance Take part in a fun, participatory art performance!  Fluxus artist Alison Knowles, in collaboration with Jessica Higgins and Joshua Selman, restages Make a Salad, an iconic event originally performed in 1962. The artist chops lettuce and other vegetables to the beat of live music, and then produces a giant salad by tossing the ingredients together in a grand gesture. The audience is invited to take part in the action by eating the finished salad.

11:00 am – 3:00 pm: Gardeners Interactive Green-Up Info Station Stop by to learn about urban composting and talk to the High Line Gardeners about the unique challenges of maintaining a park in the sky.

11:00 am – 7:00 pm:
High Line Field Station Earth Day marks the debut of our High Line Field Station. Visit our mobile information cart, the High Line Field Station and meet one of our Greeters. Greeters are a group of committed, trained volunteers who answer questions and provide information about the park’s unique design, history, horticulture, art, and more.

11:00 am:
Volunteer Recognition Ceremony Celebrate the dedicated volunteers who spent hundreds of hours cutting back last season’s grasses and perennials, and clearing the High Line’s planting beds to make room for new growth.

2:00 – 4:00 pm:
High Line Kids: Earth Day in the Sky Bring the kids to Earth Day in the Sky for music by the On the Lam Brass Band, wildflower seed ball-making, face painting, and the creation of a communal mural.

All of the High Line Earth Day activities are free and open to visitors of all ages.

Find out more about the High Line’s Earth Day festivities and other happenings by clicking here.