Posts filed under ‘Work’
Murphy’s Law of Timing
I have the most insane timing of anyone I know. Things that I’ve given up on always seem to show up as soon as I’ve moved onto something else. The most recent example of this is my job situation.
Last week, I started a temporary assignment as an administrative assistant/office manager for a well-known non-profit organization. I got tired of not working, I need a way to support myself for the next several years as I go through grad school, and I’m the super-organized-multi-tasking type, so it’s a good fit. I also really enjoy it when my efforts go towards helping people. That’s probably why medical facilities were my favorite projects as an interior designer. Basically, I had decided to forget about finding a design job in this economy and switch careers.
Alas, exactly one hour after I had started work at my new position, an interior design firm that I sent my resume to about 6 weeks ago called me to schedule an interview. The designer in one of their offices left, and they desperately need someone to replace her. Well, I rocked the interview of course. I’m up against a handful of other experienced designers though, so we shall see. I also have to decide if I want to pick up and move again, which this job would involve. Stay tuned.
I do have the craziest timing.
Add comment December 17, 2009
Better Days
Things are gradually breaking in the career department. Last week Southern Illinois University Medical School scheduled me to test for a couple of different positions. I took one exam today and the other is tomorrow. The HR lady that I talked to today told me that she hardly ever sees a score as high as mine, so I am pretty much guaranteed an interview. Yeah, I’m a rockstar. 
I’m tossing around the idea of going to grad school at night for an MBA in Human Resource Management if I end up in one of these non-design positions. I would be good at it, Robert Morris University has a decent program here, and let’s face it, the architecture and design industry doesn’t look very promising for the near future.
Additionally, last Friday I received a call from a design studio that I sent a blind resume to a couple of weeks ago. I will be interviewing with them on Thursday. I’m excited about it since it seems like a cool place and it’s only about 30 miles from where I live now. I wouldn’t want to live there since the town is pretty much the armpit of Illinois, but 30 miles is a doable commute, and then I wouldn’t have to move.
Another beacon of hope is that I interviewed today for a part-time job that would be easy to do while I look for full-time work. I would be earning just under the threshold for losing some of my unemployment, which means that I would get to have the extra income on top of unemployment. It still wouldn’t be as much as I was making as a designer, but it would help.
It also doesn’t hurt to have an incredibly sweet and supportive boyfriend through all of this. Timing is a very interesting thing.
Add comment October 27, 2009
Observations of the Unemployed
1. These last two weeks have gone by really fast.
2. I enjoyed not having to go into work for about 10 days or so. Now, I’ve got to admit that I’m starting to crave that continuous human interaction.
3. My home uniform of track pants and a hoodie is starting to make me feel kind of “blah.” Now I at least put on a pair of jeans to go to the grocery store.
4. The gym is blissfully quiet about 9 AM. No one bothering me, and I can get on any piece of equipment I like.
5. My body’s natural sleep time is around 1 AM to 9 AM, which explains why I don’t talk much before then if I do have to be awake.
6. I am incapable of “vegging out.” I always have to be DOING something.
7. Friends are very sympathetic and invite me to hang out, but rarely offer to pay. Um….I don’t have a job, remember?
8. To say that the job market is tight is the understatement of the week. I’ve applied to probably 30 places already and haven’t received so much as a phone call, and this is someone with a bachelor’s degree and 9 years of work experience.
9. The internet is the most wonderful invention ever for a job seeker. It makes searching and applying as painless as possible. I was also able to apply for unemployment online, which saved me the embarrassment of having to go to an office.
10. Some employers ask the most inane questions. For example, the State of Illinois government asked me to write down how many college credit hours I had in each topic. Not sure why they care that I had 5 credit hours in genetic biology, 4 in textiles, and 3 in film appreciation, but whatever floats their boat I guess.
11. When people ask me how my day was, I’m kind of starting to sound like a retired person: “Well, I had breakfast…then I exercised…then I took a shower and got dressed…then I went to the grocery store….then I checked my e-mail…then I had lunch…then I made some butternut squash soup for dinner later…..”
It’s only temporary. I know. I’ll find something soon. I know. God has a plan. It’s just a really weird situation for someone who has never been without a job since the age of 16 to be in.
Add comment October 15, 2009
A door closes…where’s the window?
I am the latest casualty in economic “cutbacks.” It’s surreal how the course of your life can change in a matter of seconds, and you have no control over it.
I went into work yesterday morning like a normal day. Nothing seemed different, nothing to reveal that anything was amiss. About 1:45, my phone buzzed and the owner of my firm called me into the conference room. I thought he had one of his little projects that he needed me to do for him. I walked in and saw him and the vice president, the main “boss,” seated and looking very somber. My immediate thought? I’m in trouble for personal internet use and text messaging at my desk. A large knot formed in my stomach as I sat down. Then the owner said, “As you know, we have suffered due to the economy. There’s no work coming in, and there hasn’t been for a while. We’re going to have to make some cutbacks on staff.” My heart started racing as I waited for the follow-up words. Instead of hearing them though, they both just looked down at the table and remained quiet. I finally had to ask, “Am I losing my job?” They then confirmed. I gasped and my head started spinning. I got it together and said, “How much longer do I have?” The reply? “We will pay you for the next two weeks but you don’t have to come in, so you have time to look for a job.” Yeah, two weeks is all I need to find another job. Thanks. They weren’t even man enough to TELL ME themselves. I had to ASK. If you’re going to lay off a little 24-year-old girl, at least grow a pair and do it right.
At this point, I had two choices: I could throw a fit and burn bridges on the way out, or I could be the class act that I am. I chose the latter. I thanked them for giving me the experience, told them that it was a pleasure to work with them, said that I understood, and left the room. Then I broke the news to everyone else, and that’s when I lost it. Everyone was floored. No one saw this coming. No one had heard anything about it being so bad that layoffs were coming. It also made everyone else worry about who is next. I am their warning, apparently….I’m the head on the stake.
After I notified my co-workers, I cried in the bathroom for a couple of minutes, composed myself, and started going through my things: threw some stuff out, handed off my projects to other people to finish, saved my personal files off my PC, and packed up my belongings. I was gone by 3:45.
I only slept for 3 hours last night. I just couldn’t shut my brain off. I was up by 5 this morning, and started e-mailing people. Then I made a list and accomplished the following things:
1. Updated my resume
2. Updated my profile on careerbuilder.com
3. Went to the gym
4. Showered, dressed, and generally got myself together
5. E-mailed half the continent it seems like to let them know
6. Attempted to cancel my cable (they didn’t want to lose me so they got me an awesome deal)
7. Canceled my hair and massage appointments
8. Went into the office to get project files for my portfolio, ask for a letter of recommendation and a letter of termination, turn in my parking pass and say goodbye
9. Filed for unemployment
10. Verified with my landlord that I’m on a month-to-month lease
Where do I go from here? I don’t know. Architecture and design firms aren’t hiring….all I hear about is layoffs. I know that God has a plan for me, but it’s pretty dark from where I’m standing.
2 comments October 2, 2009
Odd office e-mails, part deaux
One of the e-mail offenders at my office sent out another goody last week:
After leaving this evening please wash your hands. Sorry no beer.
No one has any idea what that was about. The most ironic part of it is that this particular person never washes his hands after using the restroom. Ewww.
Add comment September 1, 2009
Apparently, my mother works at my office.
There’s certain people at my office that have a habit of sending out e-mails reminding the rest of us of office procedures, cleanliness, traffic laws, social skills, etc. We have literally received e-mails about washing our hands, taking Vitamin C supplements, holding conversations, and not speeding. I am not exaggerating. This morning, we received another one of these e-mails:
Subject: PITCHING IN
Whoever stuffed all the drawings in the recycling can in the plotter area needs to think about what they did and how they expected anyone to get the bag out of the can.
It would have taken only 5 more minutes to get a new bag and put them in it – or however many bags it took. I have set a roll of trash bags on the window sill whenever we need a new bag in the can. Also, anytime you see any trash can or recycling can full, empty it and put a new bag in. If we all work together doing out part, it won’t be such a chore on only some of us.
(I’d sign with a sad face if I knew how.)
Another person in the office sent out his own e-mail today as well. I found out later that at least his was a joke:
Subject: Exacto Knives
To those who plot and cut – please keep the exacto knives neatly aligned and to the right of the plotter adjacent the window. The blades should be perpendicular and pointing towards the wall so a safe condition can be maintained. Also, the container of sharp blades should be also neatly placed next the exacto knives; also at the right of the plotter.
Thank you for your cooperation.
This stuff is just too good to make up.
1 comment July 30, 2009
Office Space
I love my job. I really do. It’s 1000 times better than the jobs I held when I first started working (retail work….I wouldn’t recommend it. That’s for another post though). However, there are definitely things about working in an office that fuels fodder for comedies like the movie Office Space or the TV show The Office. These are some of the things that I have noticed about working in an office:
1. There’s always these mysterious food containers that appear in the fridge and stay there until someone gets grossed out enough by the mold growth to pitch them, or the health department threatens to shut you down, whichever comes first. The thing that is odd about these food containers is that no one seems to know how they got there and who they belong to. They spontaneously spawned there, apparently.
2. The people that act like they know everything usually don’t.
3. The same people seem to always get sick on Monday. Funny how that happens.
4. By mid-afternoon, people start looking like they could lay down and take a nap right then and there. Then 5 o’clock hits and the burst of energy is incredible.
5. You can tell a lot by looking at someone’s desk. For example, who’s in the photos? I don’t even have any photos on my desk, oddly enough. I do have a little squishy stress reliever ball, several beverage containers, hand lotion, lip balm, 2 kinds of tea, and hand sanitizer. I’m more of a creature’s comfort kind of gal. I once worked with a girl (OK, twice worked with this girl, because we worked at 2 different places together) who had photos covering every square inch of her workstation walls. Even below the desk, where she couldn’t see them. It looked like a photographer’s gallery. The thing that got me though was that she was in about 90% of the photos. Wow.
2 comments May 22, 2009
Do you have a gawker?
“Gawkers” are people who watch you way more than anyone really should. You catch him repeatedly staring at you from across the room, or she looks at you every time she walks by. I have a gawker in the form of one of my co-workers. I can feel his eyes on me every time he passes by my desk. I don’t normally match his gaze because that would just be more awkward. Why, I don’t know. I’m sure there’s far more interesting things to watch than me hunched over a computer screen, sipping coffee. Like, say, paint drying.
Of course, at least this beats out getting stared at in the women’s locker room at the gym. When that happens, you just hope that she’s just admiring your outfit or looking at the clock over your head.
Add comment January 14, 2009
Work your dream
One of my best friends says that I’m lucky. This is because I have always known what I wanted to do with my life, while she is 24, post-college, and still trying to find her path. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. Most people change careers several times before finding a fit, and that’s great. There are some of us, though, who can remember wanting to be something in particular even as little kids. I agree, that is a nice thing.
I thought of this because yesterday a new girl came to work in my office. I am an interior designer and I work at an architectural firm. This girl, about my age, just finished grad school and was hired as an architect. I invited her out to lunch and we got a chance to talk. She told me about how she used to draw houses from various angles even when she was very young, and her mother told her that she would grow up to be an architect. This was before she even knew what an architect was. That triggered my memories as well, of drawing floor plans without even knowing what they were called. I used to draw fashion designs too, so it makes sense that I would blend the two into interior design.
It makes me wonder how many people dreamed of doing something as a child, but grew up to do something else entirely due to pressures put on them by society, their parents, or friends. As Pam from “The Office” stated, “I don’t think any little girl dreams of growing up to be a receptionist.” Do we let others influence us too much about our careers? 50 years is a long time to be doing something that we don’t love.
I guess I AM lucky.
Add comment January 7, 2009
