Friday, January 27, 2012

The Grass is Always Greener and all that jazz

Happy Friday everyone!

I can't begin to tell you how much I look forward to Friday each week. Is everyone else like this? I don't know that I ever dreaded Mondays coming around though as much as I do now.

You may remember that I was facing the possibility of layoffs at my prior job. Knowing this I was proactive and searching for new opportunities. One came my way, quite by accident, when a recruiter came across my resume online.

We spoke, I telephone interviewed with the hiring manager as well as a VP and learned that I'd be going to their home office for a day of interviews.

Y'all

I was so excited. Here I was facing a potential loss of job and income and I had been singled out for a new position.

The interviews in the office went swimmingly well...except for the in person with the hiring manager. I walked out of there wondering if he was a modern day Jekyll & Hyde. It didn't go well, in my opinion. He was totally different in person than over the phone.

I walked out feeling that it was wrong and probably, based on him, wouldn't be a good fit for me. I didn't expect to be offered the position.

And then the recruiter called and offered me the job.

With some trepidation I accepted. Based on everything I knew, both with my prior company and the current economy, I felt like it was a no-brainer. I couldn't not have a job. Sure, I thought about dog walking to supplement the loss of income. It wouldn't have been the same though and would have placed a strain on Mr. Potts' & my marriage.

We would have made it through, but it would have been tough.

Interesting side note - I would have been laid off less than a month later.

So, all was well.

And then I started.

And I'm not complaining (well, trying not to) but I quickly realized this was not going to be a long-term job for me.

Very quickly. As in, "I haven't quit applying for new jobs and probably won't until I find one."

One piece of this is that the travel portion has escalated from 50% - 70% to almost 100%. I like my home, I like my bed, I love my pets, I love my friends, I love my family and I love Mr. Potts. Trying to squeeze all of this into 2 days is pretty rough.

Yet there is more.

Because, you see, I've learned that my new boss genuinely dislikes people. He is quite the elitist and has no problem letting people know he is looking down his nose at them. Y'all.

He manages a team of people and feels like it is ok to keep them in a "constant state of heightened discomfort and fear for their job as a way to highly develop them."

True statement out of his mouth.

Last week though had me almost in tears. I learned that he, a manager of people (who doesn't like people), a manager part of an HR organization, has had several (numbering 4-5) HR complaints in less than 6 months.

So, I've been digesting this information and my thoughts/feelings about this new job. Much like a few months ago, I feel like this is not a good position to be in.

What a sad post for a Friday, right?

But what I'm focused on is this:

  • I am employed
  • We have health insurance
  • We are continuing to save for our future
  • I'm still learning in my professional life
  • I still have regular Fridays.
Fridays make me smile, so today, my wish for you is that you smile!

What makes you smile on Friday?