New Job [Me]

You'll never guess what I've been doing in the last couple of weeks since I posted. Okay, most of my readers will, because they've seen me comment on it elsewhere. I started a new job! This is huge for me, because changing jobs is not something I do frequently. My last two jobs covered fifteen years - six for one, and nine-and-a-half for the other.

And I wasn't really looking for a job when I got this one. A friend of mine said, "Hey, send me a resume, would you?", so I did. Then I got a call asking if I could talk on the phone to his boss. Then I got a call to come in for an interview - a two-and-a-half-hour interview! Then, a job offer, and a 'Can you start in two weeks?' So I suddenly had to say goodbye to the people I'd seen every day for nearly ten years.

After all, I was never going anywhere with the old job. I had been sitting at the same desk doing the same job for over nine years; there wasn't any reason to think that might change in the next nine. My relationship with my boss was based on tolerating one another; she wasn't interested in helping me get higher, but I was too good at the job to try to get rid of. The pay, while a little shy of competitive when I landed the job, didn't even keep up with cost of living when it came to raises; this late in the game it was obvious I was not making a decent amount of money ever without a job change.

There are things that terrify me about changing jobs. Mostly and Number One, though, it's the annoyance of not having a clue what I'm doing. I have a pretty strong drive related to competence. I like to be the one that always knows what she's doing. Even if I mess up, it's because I was simply doing too much, or at least I know enough to fix the mistake. People ask me for help, not the other way around. So now I'm completely useless in this new job, so far. I have to learn everything. And I'm not being at all productive when it comes to getting anything done. I can't answer the phone - I don't know how to get the calls to come to my phone anyway - because I don't know the answer to any possible question someone might ask me. Okay, I could transfer them to another extension, if they ask for that one - that I have figured out.

So now it's like being in school again, except more self-guided. I'm waiting for a new training class to start, so in the meantime I'm just trying to educate myself mostly, with occasional hints and guidance from my lead. I'm getting to know the people at the new office. I'm getting login information on all the new systems. And I'm doing lots of websurfing. You'd think I'd be doing more blogging, but I've been struggling with feeling like it. However, here I am.

There are some neat things about the new job, aside from a lot better pay. Free sodas and lots of company-provided food. I'm not in a warren of cubicles any more; I'm seeing sunlight and weather and peoples' faces a lot more. There are all kinds of places to eat pretty close. I'm getting to carpool to and from work with the Boss; that's pretty nice. And I have Saturdays off instead of Mondays - that one's a mixed blessing. Another mixed one is that I'm working 9-6 instead of 7-4. So my evenings are pretty much about getting supper and then it's time for bed. But I'm getting to sleep in a little bit later, which is nice.

So once I start actually working for the nice heftier paychecks, we'll see how good I can be at the job. For now, I'm enjoying just coasting along in a new environment.