Why Dwellworks?

When deciding how I wanted to spend my summer, I had a few options in mind. One I could stay in hot, sticky New Orleans for an internship or my on campus job, look for internships in Chicago and spend the summer living with my friends, or come home to Cleveland to spend time with my family. I looked into all these options and before I knew it, summer was here and I was still undecided.  Options two and three were definitely my top options, but after my Dwellworks interview, I was pretty certain I would be returning to Cleveland. The reason I took the Dwellworks internship was because I actually enjoyed my interviews, felt comfortable with the people I spoke with, and enjoyed the idea of a new challenge. My last job was one that I loved, but after being there for three years, it was time to branch out and try something new. Dwellworks, though unique on its own, is larger and more formally organized than any of my other work experiences.  These two qualities were things that I looked for in companies I applied to in order to familiarize myself with different kinds of companies. I wanted to branch out a little and learn in a new environment and Dwellworks fit all my criteria. Not only is it located downtown, an area I did not know at all, they employ more people, and have a more formal hierarchy while still retaining their values and personality. I knew that Dwellworks was the next step for me as I move towards graduation and that real world everyone is always talking about. 

Week 6: What’s the Biggest Adjustment from College Life to Work Life: Occam’s Razor

I’m not in college anymore.  I haven’t been for some time.  More than 5 years, it’s been.  But there are more differences between law school and Dwellworks than my undergrad experience and this job.  If nothing else, this would be a considerably different post were I still in undergrad.

               

Law school, at its most basic, is an intellectual bloodsport.  Every grade is subjective, based on a bell-curve with B in the middle.  If there are 20 people in a class and the lowest gets a 95%- sorry, that’s a C.  The A’s probably garnered some bonus points or something.  Actually, it’s not even that exact.  Done correctly, the professors just ranks every exam (and the final’s the only grade you get most of the time, with some slight shading for attendance and participation, should the professor be feeling generous) then does some basic math: the curve says only so many get A’s, B’s, and C’s, so the top so many (usually 2-7) are A’s, on down the line, with the biggest proportion at B.  It’s a blessing and a curse.  It’s not common that people actually do so well that A’s on a regular scale become B’s and C’s on the law school curve.  It is true though that many people’s worst grade in law school comes in a class that is, by class consensus, “easy.” 

When grades are based on competition, the environment, particularly the first year is harsh.  It’s not so easy to not worry about what everyone else is doing.  That’s the number one piece of advice upperclassmen have for 1Ls, but none of us really heed it, no matter how far along we are.  After the grades come out, they release ranks based on GPA, and all the “best” employers require a certain class rank percentile to even apply.   At some point, law school just becomes a caste system based on subjective class rankings generated from subjective GPAs.  They even publish a list of who got the highest A of all the A’s in a given class.  Sometimes, just existing in the environment is a challenge. 

Eventually, law students either stop caring or let caring too much get in the way of their outer life.  Deep down, I think both sets are a little bit of the other, and a little jealous of the other.  Either way, there’s a bit of Stockholm syndrome peppered in: we start to thrive on the edginess it creates.  It’s the context in which we best understand the day to day.  Law School does not prepare you for interactions with non-lawyers. 

    

At this point, I’m not actually sure I need to say what the biggest difference is between all of that and Dwellworks.  You probably work here too if you’re reading this (and if you don’t, props to you for reading the random blog of random interns at a relatively random company you have no association with). 

What’s the biggest difference?  My colleagues, even the lawyers, aren’t sort of my enemies too.  It’s not a MAD (in the cold-war sense) world in here.  Dwellworks is built on values and one of them is actual teamwork; like, really collaborating for the greater good of everyone as individuals- and not just the greater good of the company (ultimately it’s because Dwellworks, as a company, realizes the two are inextricably intertwined).  Much of the time in law school we’re somewhat torn: even as we develop real friendships, there’s the lingering specter of how you have to hope for the worst from your friends in order to achieve the best yourself.  It’s toxic, and it is the opposite of Dwellworks’ corporate culture and ethos. 

                

I’m not quite sure why law school is the way it is.  Perhaps creating a culture where it’s “kill or be killed” creates the best lawyers.   Or maybe it’s that some artifacts of antiquated days last longer than they ought in the legal field, because actual innovators rarely remain prototypical lawyers who have any say in how a law school is run.  Whatever the case, Dwellworks is a healthy environment, while law school rarely is.

                

The most competitive we ever get at Dwellworks is when we’re collecting school supplies for children who need them in Cleveland.  Sure, the reward isn’t a high-paying law job at a soul-crushingly large firm, but the worst-case-scenario isn’t loads of student debt and unemployability because your class rank wasn’t high enough either.

                

I think this prompt intended to get stories about how much earlier we have to get up and how much harder it is to get through an 8 hour workday at a desk than any of us realized.  Like Bilbo Baggins, I’ve been there and back again.  You’re either sitting somewhere and doing homework (possibly a desk) or sitting somewhere (definitely a desk) doing assignments.  The only actual difference at all is how you can be confident that you don’t have to work once you get home.  You even kind of get graded at the end of any job: your future references or promotions are going to be based on how you did.  That’s more important for your overall life, probably than grades in school could ever be. 

                

It is not as if we stop learning when we graduate from college anyway.  For many of us, that’s when actual learning actually starts.  Some of us just wear nicer clothes for our day-to-day after college.  But some of us went to Denison, so not even that's true.

-Zack

                

My Desk

I generally try to keep my workspace fairly organized (though I'll admit that my room at home is a different story... that space gets pretty disorganized!) When I started to notice the papers piling up in my cubicle here, I decided a means for organization was necessary.

 

I borrowed this organization unit from the stack of free-for-all supplies. I love it because it keeps my desk from getting cluttered. I also took a couple more clips so I could hang more papers. The flier you see hanging in this image was created by Ana and me as part of a project!

- Kaitlyn 

FUN

Something fun I have done during these past few weeks was definitely the Sports Day that we had in the Cleveland office. There were different activities during the day such as a soccer ball hunt, juggling with your feet, and a hula hoop contest. I was determined to find all of the paper soccer balls and I did! As my prize I won a $10 gift card to Chipotle. After all the activities we got cookies, fruit snacks, Capri Suns, and oranges. Throughout the day we were allowed to wear sports themed clothing as long as it was appropriate. This day was a great example of how Dwellworks practices one of its core values-FUN!

-Amber

From Bellhop to Team Lead

For the past five weeks I have worked under Wilson Rodriguez and was unsure of how he made his way onto the Dwellworks team.  I recently conducted an informal interview with Wilson and uncovered many oddities throughout his professional career. Wilson, a team lead at Dwellworks, has not followed the prototypical professional employment path that many of his counterparts have. Wilson has bounced around throughout his career and has work extremely hard to achieve the position he holds.

Wilson’s employment history began as a bellhop in Rhode Island after attending “Some College”. He operated as a full service bellhop, checking in new clients, delivering their bags to their rooms, and even meeting customers at the airport in the hotel courtesy van. At this establishment Wilson learned many valuable customer service skills which he routinely uses here at Dwellworks. 

After leaving the hotel business in hopes of obtaining a more rewarding career, Wilson spent a short time in retail working as a store manager for Blockbuster. After the first week he knew that a career in the field was not a viable option. Wilson exited the retail industry short after and actively searched for a fulfilling profession.

In 2000 Wilson landed a job in downtown New York with DJ Knight residential services as a quality assurance coordinator. In this role Wilson facilitated many large scale expo shows and the temporary housing associated with the shows. He enjoyed his time with DJ Knight, but when SIRVA Relocation bought the company he was unsure of his future and decided to leave on good terms. After dabbling in day trading for two years Wilson came across an opportunity at Dwellworks. A career at Dwellworks offered Wilson a fresh start to his professional career along with a relocation from Denver to Cleveland. Wilson began his new chapter in life at Dwellworks is 2011 and has not looked back since.

Steve Freiberg

Where is Dwellworks UK?

Hidden away in the South-West corner of England lies the beautiful county of Cornwall, or Kernow, as it is known colloquially. Almost completely surrounded by the sea, here you'll find some of the most impressive scenery and the longest stretch of uninterrupted coastline in Britain; it is also where you'll find the offices of Dwellworks UK.

With its long-standing heritage and laid-back mentality, Cornwall is unlike anywhere else in Britain. Its strong sense of community makes it the perfect home for Dwellworks' commitment to the delivery of authentic and innovative relocation solutions.

Our offices in the UK are located in Truro, the county's administrative 'hub' and its only city. The population of 20,000 now equates to roughly 5% of the county's total occupants, but in the 18th and 19th centuries, the city was once a thriving river-port. 

At the centre of this historic town lies Truro Cathedral, an impressive piece of Gothic architecture that towers over the town. The city itself boasts an intricate maze of boutique shops, art galleries and cafes, attracting visitors from all over the country.

But anyone who knows Cornwall will know that the heart of this county does not belong in the city; it lies with the sea, and all along the Cornish coastline you'll find evidence of its historical links to the maritime industry. From the secluded beaches of the milder southern-side, to the windswept beauty of the north, it really is one of the most diverse locations in the UK.

There's a real buzz about Cornwall, and, for a company as unique as Dwellworks is, what kind of place could be better?

Sophie Moore
Destination Services
Dwellworks, UK

Workin' for the Weekends

When one, formerly operating on a lazy college student schedule, adopts a structured 9-5 professional schedule the weekends become that much more valuable.  Sure, don't get me wrong, a weekend in East Lansing is valuable, but I slept until 11 most days and spent a handful of week nights fraternizing with my peers. Suffice to say, this new schedule has been a shock to my system.

Now I wont kid anyone, and pretend that I am in bed by ten each night, however things have definitely changed. I get to sleep earlier, get up earlier and am, all around, a more of a functioning member of society. A part of me misses the no rules, blurry lined schedule of college life, but the other half enjoys the structure that this job provides. I eat three meals every day, I get at least seven hours of sleep each night, I am more considerate of general hygiene and have even committed to running and going to the gym. I've gotta say, it feels pretty good to be organized. I feel like I am more on top of my game and I can tell that this correlates to my favorable performance in the office. Having said that, though, the free spirited half of myself waters at the mouth as the weekend approaches. Weekends are really a beautiful thing and whoever developed the idea of a five day work week knew what he or she was doing, from an efficiency stand point. These next two days of rest (or maybe not) give us the chance to shake out any frustrations, anxieties and general tension that can build up throughout the work week, leaving us fresh and ready to start over every Monday. So, to whoever reads this, work hard now because Friday is only like 5 days away probably. Or 7 if you're reading this on a Friday, but in that case, it's all gravy anyways. In conclusion, I find that I quite like the structure that this internship provides and, even more so, love the weekend.

- Ben Hardin, Detroit.