Rob #10 - Reinvent Your World

[Rob1231]

Well, I believe it's time for another update, friends.

On the old job front, things ain't great.

My former boss will hardly look me in the eye when we pass in the hall - with time, I've gotten a much better understanding why. His review was due at the same time as mine - and I know how he thinks. He wanted to be able to show he was being "proactive" and "dealing with the problem" - even if it took some creative spinning of reality to make himself look good. Solution? Throwing ol' Rob under the bus. Jerk.

Now, my personal battle is to let this go - not let it fester and spoil my PMA when I come to work. It just occurred to me on the way to work this morning - maybe I should be trying to actually FORGIVE this guy. Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself, right? Hmph, talk about your 'personal growth challenges' - need to ponder that one!

That wouldn't be so bad if my new boss (reports to the old boss, insert your favorite Who song here) were not also an a$$clown (thank you SD for that wonderful term!) The new boss gives almost no direction or feedback, ignores all of my suggestions and ideas, and has very few decent ideas of his own. It just becomes clearer and clearer, this is not where my future lies.

Sometimes I even get the vague feeling my new boss could walk into my office and say "You know, this isn't working out, time for you to leave." Probably the only thing preventing that is that my OLD boss managed to save some face by moving me into another spot, and cutting me loose now would just make him look bad again. On the one hand, I would be happy to be outta here - on the other hand, there are a lot of reasons that would be a Bad Thing.

Anyways, let's turn away from griping about the old job - I've already done too much of that. Positive actions, that's what it's all about! Time to talk about how I am working on getting a new, better job.

My biggest strengths are being analytical (the techie side of me) and being creative (the artistic side). I've decided that my best course forward is to take many of the skills from my old job (which was very techie but not creative) and spin them into something more exciting for the future. My goal is to become a project manager at a company in the "creative industry" (marketing, advertising, media production, etc.) I know that environment would engage both aspects of my personality and that I would really shine there.

Steps along the way:

I am taking a week-long boot camp class next week, to prepare for the Project Management Professional certification test. This will be valuable in giving me some 'street cred' that will help me get my foot in the door as I change industries.

I am starting to build a network of people in the industry. (This is definitely a field where jobs are found through contacts, not through monster dot com.)

First, I know a guy at my current employer who came from that world, who is willing to talk through strategies, introduce me to folks, etc.

Second, my W works in a large interactive ad agency in town. Now, I don't really want to work at the same place as her. I think that's putting too many eggs in one basket, in a very volatile industry. I also think it's good for our R if we have different friends, contacts, etc. that we can bring home to talk about every night. However, she does have some good contacts of people I can network with. I met one guy, in a project management position similar to what I am after, over beers last week. We really clicked and had a great time - he totally left me feeling like YES YOU CAN MAKE THIS TRANSITION AND BE A HUGE SUCCESS. Just what I needed to hear!

I'm working with a friend who is a career coach to plan transition strategies, revamp my resume, etc.

I'm also reading everything I can, in print and on the web, about the industry - so I can really talk the talk when interview time comes around.

Cross your fingers for me!

Finally, let me talk about how cool it is to have our Russian exchange student (RD16) with us.

I have been really taken by surprise how quickly W and I have bonded with her. It's really special for me in particular - while our "real" D17 is going through the normal sullen, withdrawing from mom and dad (especially dad) teenager process, RD16 still talks to me about anything and everything.

She's also just a great kid. She is self-reliant and works very hard to make life better for herself - I can spout DBer philosophy to her all day and she gets a huge amount of it. An "old soul" for sure.

We learn a lot from having her here. She comes from a home without much money or opportunity, and the contrast to us wealthy, jaded Americans is very eye-opening. Above all, the thing I want to learn and keep from her is that attitude of heart-felt gratitude for everything good that comes my way.

And of course, just about everywhere we go and everything we do is new and exciting to her. Remember my signature line about "confidence and enthusiasm"? This Russian teenager is showing me how it's done.