Nervous at Work

Posted by Forest on October 3, 2008

Hey, I just realized it’s been a while since I’ve complained about work or given you any update at all.  I think the last thing I told you was that I hated it and wanted out!

It’s gotten a little better.  I’ve finally started to figure out what I’m doing which really makes a huge difference.  I have a little more confidence and things are going a little more smoothly.  Morale is still pretty low and there are some bad vibes around, but whatever, it’s a job and I’m happy to have it.

And that leads me to this…I’m a little worried.  They don’t seem to have much work for me.  Today I went home two hours early after not really doing anything all day.  With the economy the way it is, well, I feel expendable.  Granted, we are in the slow season and I was warned that it would get like this, but I had no idea it would actually be this slow.  The days really crawl by when you don’t have anything to work on.

On a more positive note, we received our third quarter metrics toady and I’m ranked 3rd in Quality Score out of 7 on my team.  That’s a feat I’m pretty proud of as I’ve only been there about seven months now.

All that to say, work is not as bad as it was a few months ago but it’s still not ideal and I will still be keeping a glancing eye open for other opportunities that sound interesting.

The Meeting with my Director

Posted by Forest on September 2, 2008

(Note: I just found this post in my drafts folder and I had written it in mid-August.  No idea why it never got published, but here it is for what it’s worth.)

I just realized I never filled you in on what happened when I went in a couple of weeks ago to meet with the director from my old position. She had called the night before and told me that basically her hands were tied and my prospects didn’t look good. You can read about that conversation here. Well, I went in the next day just to meet with her and talk a little bit about the situation. It was really great to be back there.

We basically sat in her office and she explained to me how the order had come from high above (one of the VPs) that times were tough and basically there was an external hiring freeze. Everyone is watching their bottom line these days and this company is no exception. They were now only considering internal candidates. My director was awesome though and offered to help me in any way she could. She then proceeded to ask the million dollar question: “So what do you want to do?” As in, what kind of job do you really want? I understand she was just trying to help me out and she said she would use all of her contacts within the organization, but that question really haunts me and I just wasn’t sure what to tell her. I still don’t know.

I thanked her for her time and her offer to help me. She did leave me with one little sliver of hope when she said, “Now, I’m not entirely sure what will happen if we don’t get any internal candidates.” But I’m not holding my breath. They are pretty tight-fisted around that place and if there is a hiring freeze on, it’s going to stay frozen for a while.

The director then asked if I wanted to visit anyone and I thanked her for the offer and she let me go visit my old friends. That was my favorite part of the day. I spent almost 45 minutes visiting and catching upwith several of my friends and former teammates. So while it was a disappointing day, at least I had gotten the heads-up call the night before so I wasn’t completely blindsided.

Things have improved ever so slightly at my current job, so I haven’t spent much time or effort either looking for a new job or taking my old director up on her offer for help. However, two more layoffs were just announced in my department today and I found out why the girl two cubes down from me wasn’t at work. Layoffs just aren’t great for morale, you know? Especially after the last round when they said they were all done. Today’s email just said something like: the best way to prevent more of these is to work extra hard and win business. Nice pep talk, chief.

Not So Fast or Pride Comes Before a Fall

Posted by Forest on August 5, 2008

So remember when I was feeling so confident the other day…as if they were just going to hand me my old job back…well, it’s never that easy.

HR called today and confirmed an interview for tomorrow morning with the department director.  Everything was looking good and I was still feeling good.  Then, on my way home from work today, I got a call from the director.  She told me I was still welcome to come in for the interview but she wanted me to know that she is being told to prioritize internal candidates.  So she just wanted to let me know that so I didn’t think she was wasting my time.  We will still go through with the interview on the off chance that there are no internal candidates.

I was completely caught off guard and really bummed.  I had been really banking on this and had pretty much quit caring about my current job.  (Yes, I know that’s terrible and stupid)

I get that internal candidates should have priority, but honestly, they are still going to have to train any internal candidate so I still think it would be wise on their part to select me because I could just jump right in where I left off.  I understand that they may be questioning my loyalty as I did choose to leave on my own volition.  I left solely for the money; I had liked what I was doing and I learned that the money wasn’t worth it.  So maybe loyalty gets rewarded by them hiring an internal candidate. We’ll wait and see.  I’m still praying that it all works out however it’s suppose to.  I’ve never been accused of being too much of an optimist, but my hopes are still relatively high that something will work out here.

And all this leads me to: what next? I definitely don’t want to stay where I am, so if it doesn’t work out at my old employer, I guess I will be on the hunt for a new job.  That should give me plenty to post about.  But I should know a little more after tomorrow.

They Called Me Back!

Posted by Forest on August 2, 2008

As you know, I submitted my application to my previous employer on Thursday night. Well, they called me at work yesterday and everything sounded really favorable. This was just a call from HR to confirm that they received my application, but she sounded like she was familiar with my situation and we chatted for a few minutes. Everything sounded really promising and she said the next step would be for the hiring director to give me a call next week. So I’m feeling very confident.

I made sure to ask about regaining my old schedule of four 10s and having Friday’s off and she said if it worked before she didn’t see why it would be a problem now. Of course, nothing is really up to her as she is HR, but I don’t believe my director will have a problem with this either - at least I hope not! It’s one of the main reasons I want to return.

Now, the greatest challenge continues to be caring about my current work. I’m trying very hard people, it’s just not easy.

I Applied

Posted by Forest on July 31, 2008

The posting for my old job finally went up today!  So tonight I submitted my application and the waiting process starts all over again.

No Job Posting Yet

Posted by Forest on July 30, 2008

So my former boss told me that they would be posting my previous position on Monday.  I had planned on reapplying and getting my old job back.  Problem is, Monday has come and gone and it has not been posted.  I wrote to my boss on Tuesday to inquire about the posting just to make sure I wasn’t missing it.  She said there seems to be a delay with HR and she didn’t know why it wasn’t up yet but hopefully it would be soon.  Well, now it’s Wednesday and still no posting.  I’m patient and I can wait, but I’ve really psyched myself up for the chance to go back to my old job and now the wait is a little bit harder!

Job Update

Posted by Forest on July 25, 2008

I got an email from my old boss today.  It said: Good news!  We are posting for your old position on Monday.

So it looks like I will be polishing up the old resume this weekend and submitting my application come Monday.  I do think it’s a little funny that I have to apply for my old job and I’m hoping it’s just a technicality.  Perhaps there is a candidate more qualified than me!?  I don’t think so; there’s no training necessary in my case.  I’ve been gone five months but I’m pretty sure I could jump right back into the swing of things.  So I feel like my chances are good, but I don’t want to get my hopes up too high!  Problem is, they already are.  And now that I know my chances are fairly good to get the old job back, it really makes me not want to put forth much effort at my current job.  But don’t worry, I will continue to do my best!  There is no reason to burn any bridges.

Anyway, it will be really nice once this whole job thing is settled because then I can move on to worrying about this whole housing situation.  My housing situation sort of depends on where I’m working, so it will be nice to know.

But again, it’s not a given so say a little prayer and wish me luck.