Jason Borrevik is an alumnus of the University of California at Berkeley. He currently works for Compensia as a management consultant and a principal. In the past, he spent some time interning for the Oakland Raiders as well as a number of years working for Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Prior to obtaining his law degree, Jason Borrevik went to the University of Oregon and pursued a degree in economics. In 1994, he graduated magna cum laude and went on to chase his dreams in Berkeley. When he is not working, Mr. Borrevik spends time with his wife and two sons and enjoys playing and watching sports, hiking, and reading. 

Do you travel often? If so, what are some of the reasons why you enjoy it?

I used to travel a lot. Nowadays, however, I spend most of my free time at home with my family. Nevertheless, I still get to go on a few trips every year. Most of those tend to be business-related as I work with some clients that are out-of-state. As far as the reasons why I enjoy it, it depends on the nature of the travel. If I am on a business trip and have to meet with a client, I like traveling to their location because it provides me with a face-to-face setting. So, I get to capture their initial reaction to my advice. If I travel for leisure, I love the fact that I can relax and not think about work for a few days. More importantly, I get to experience a new area that I may have never seen before. 

Do you have any tips for first-time travelers?

Start planning long before you actually have to begin your trip. I see a lot of people, whether they travel for business or personal reasons, procrastinate and waste precious time. When you want to go somewhere, there will be a lot of things that you must take into account. So, you should never try to just wing your entire trip and hope for the best. Instead, spend some time looking at the area that you are visiting, the weather, local hotels, flights, car rentals, and so on. Doing so will also help you save money as most of the aforementioned will be cheaper when booked early on. 

Do you believe that globalization is incentivizing companies to send their employees across the world more often?

Absolutely! Globalization is a trend where international borders are starting to be obsolete when it comes to business. Instead, companies are engaging in trade deals that may be structured between some of the most unexpected countries. Obviously, to make things like that work, a lot of organizations have to send their employees to their potential partners’ countries for hands-on negotiations. 

How can businesses leverage travel to increase their market share?

I believe that traveling allows companies to increase their footprint in whatever market they decide to go to. When customers see that a new company is present, they will become much more aware of their product or service. So, even though they may not switch and purchase from them immediately, it will now be on their radar for future reference. Additionally, as mentioned, traveling allows companies to take advantage of their employees who can strike great deals with others by using face-to-face negotiation techniques. 

Do you think jobs that require a lot of travel should come with added compensation or other incentives?

Well, I do not think that I can provide a clear “yes” or “no” answer. The reason why is that I understand both sides of the debate and could easily make an argument for each. For example, it would make sense that people who have to travel a lot would be compensated more because they are sacrificing their nights with the family and innumerable hours that must be wasted on waiting for planes, in transit, and so on. 

Then again, however, traveling is often viewed as a great job perk as one gets to leave the office and explore a new market. So, they are technically already receiving a benefit by being the worker that gets to enjoy those trips. From that standpoint, obviously, added compensation would be unfair. Either way, this is a decision that each person should make on their own depending on their specific situation.