What better way to re-join the blogosphere than by gloating about my recent two weeks off of work! In between jobs! Because I got a new job! Seeing as how I haven't posted in more than 3 months, there's a lot to catch up on, but the best/biggest news is the most recent fortunately, so let's get into that.
My old job: I can't wait for the day when I get to reminisce about my brief three-year stint in the agency world. I worked for possibly the best place in the industry, not because of the creative caliber of the work (yeah I said it), but because of the culture. That place was all about the perks - masseuse, stocked kitchen, themed happy hours every Friday, paid gym memberships. I would describe everything else as charged. Deadlines were fast and furious. The same work could be fascinating (p.s. thanks for answering all my underwear surveys) and at the same time deeply unfulfilling (cough, underwear surveys). Coworkers flew around the office making me want to punch them with their superiority complexes and then they'd save my ass in a meeting 10 minutes later. Clients knitted you scarves (really!) and then asked you to get on a flight across the country for one, superfluous meeting...on your vacation day...which they were fully aware of. All in the name of consumerism :)
That being said, I worked with some incredible people. Our female CEO was one of the most inspiring people I have ever met—such a graceful blend of compassion, honesty, confidence, and humor. My boss taught me that being a good manager starts with empowerment, trust, flexibility, creating opportunities, and pushing the boundaries for great thinking. And my hilarious, spunky coworkers...so sad to leave them behind. Who am I going to sing karaoke with? Play pranks on? Learn new dance moves from? Practice new accents with? Revolutionize the company with? Be catty with? Sigh. The new gig is not going to stand for any of these things.
My new job: While I was figuring out what it meant to work on marketing strategy for the last few years, I kept feeling a pull toward the nonprofit consulting world. I'd dabbled in it for a brief stint back in the day, LOVED it, and never could get back in once I was out. Getting into my last job was actually a total fluke, as I was searching exclusively for jobs in the nonprofit world. Anyway...so after we got back from Africa, I knew my days were numbered. I just couldn't handle it. I started having conversation...after coffee...after phone call...after email...trying to get a sense for what the nonprofit scene was like around here. And then a miraculous thing happened, and I mean that very literally.
One night I saw a job posting for a strategist at a nonprofit consulting-type firm online and decided that the next day, I'd start hunting down all my contacts to see who had a connection to this very, very tiny company that I was very very interested in. Those firms are few and far between as is, even in a city as big as Chicago, and finding a strategy job specifically was a total needle in the haystack. I wanted to play my cards right and find someone—anyone—who could recommend me...which I knew was going to be a brutal process because less than ten people worked at the company and I had no LinkedIn connections. Where to begin...
The next morning, I had a coffee that had been delayed from three weeks prior; it was with a woman who worked with an amazing nonprofit. On the whole our conversation was good, but seemed like it wasn't going to go anywhere afterwards. At the end of our meeting, I was thanking her for her time and packing my bag and she interrupted me with an after-thought, giving me the name of one other person I should think about talking to. That woman was the owner of the very very tiny company that I'd seen posted the night before. Honestly I had goosebumps as soon as she said it—every step of the way, I had a feeling that I was going to get the job, and now I start my first day on Monday! Which makes no sense actually, because they wanted someone with deep fundraising experience and I have exactly 0 of that. But the original coffee-woman's referral was apparently worth its weight in gold, because that got me into a "show and tell" of my work so they could assess my skill set and from there I did a test assignment, which I thought was fascinating and got me really excited about the job. And now it's ON!
I genuinely feel like I'm embarking on a career change that's right for me. I think my experiences, education, trip to Africa, everything...it all feels like it's prepared me for this! Crazy right? I'll try not to let my idealism get buried under the things that I know may be less fulfilling: building budgets, project management, admin work, etc. But for the big stuff—the strategy, the research, working hand in hand with our nonprofit clients—let's get that party started!
My old job: I can't wait for the day when I get to reminisce about my brief three-year stint in the agency world. I worked for possibly the best place in the industry, not because of the creative caliber of the work (yeah I said it), but because of the culture. That place was all about the perks - masseuse, stocked kitchen, themed happy hours every Friday, paid gym memberships. I would describe everything else as charged. Deadlines were fast and furious. The same work could be fascinating (p.s. thanks for answering all my underwear surveys) and at the same time deeply unfulfilling (cough, underwear surveys). Coworkers flew around the office making me want to punch them with their superiority complexes and then they'd save my ass in a meeting 10 minutes later. Clients knitted you scarves (really!) and then asked you to get on a flight across the country for one, superfluous meeting...on your vacation day...which they were fully aware of. All in the name of consumerism :)
 |
| This Advertising Life does a tremendous job of capturing the absurdity of it all |
My new job: While I was figuring out what it meant to work on marketing strategy for the last few years, I kept feeling a pull toward the nonprofit consulting world. I'd dabbled in it for a brief stint back in the day, LOVED it, and never could get back in once I was out. Getting into my last job was actually a total fluke, as I was searching exclusively for jobs in the nonprofit world. Anyway...so after we got back from Africa, I knew my days were numbered. I just couldn't handle it. I started having conversation...after coffee...after phone call...after email...trying to get a sense for what the nonprofit scene was like around here. And then a miraculous thing happened, and I mean that very literally.
One night I saw a job posting for a strategist at a nonprofit consulting-type firm online and decided that the next day, I'd start hunting down all my contacts to see who had a connection to this very, very tiny company that I was very very interested in. Those firms are few and far between as is, even in a city as big as Chicago, and finding a strategy job specifically was a total needle in the haystack. I wanted to play my cards right and find someone—anyone—who could recommend me...which I knew was going to be a brutal process because less than ten people worked at the company and I had no LinkedIn connections. Where to begin...
The next morning, I had a coffee that had been delayed from three weeks prior; it was with a woman who worked with an amazing nonprofit. On the whole our conversation was good, but seemed like it wasn't going to go anywhere afterwards. At the end of our meeting, I was thanking her for her time and packing my bag and she interrupted me with an after-thought, giving me the name of one other person I should think about talking to. That woman was the owner of the very very tiny company that I'd seen posted the night before. Honestly I had goosebumps as soon as she said it—every step of the way, I had a feeling that I was going to get the job, and now I start my first day on Monday! Which makes no sense actually, because they wanted someone with deep fundraising experience and I have exactly 0 of that. But the original coffee-woman's referral was apparently worth its weight in gold, because that got me into a "show and tell" of my work so they could assess my skill set and from there I did a test assignment, which I thought was fascinating and got me really excited about the job. And now it's ON!
I genuinely feel like I'm embarking on a career change that's right for me. I think my experiences, education, trip to Africa, everything...it all feels like it's prepared me for this! Crazy right? I'll try not to let my idealism get buried under the things that I know may be less fulfilling: building budgets, project management, admin work, etc. But for the big stuff—the strategy, the research, working hand in hand with our nonprofit clients—let's get that party started!
2 comments:
Hey LB! I love this update! Congratulations! This sounds like a wonderful fit for you!! Hope everything goes well on your first day!
Mary Jane
Loved reading this post! Not sure I fully understand the world you're embarking into or what your position will entail but I'm beyond thrilled for you because it sounds like you're doing something you value and are passionate about. And getting paid for that? How could it not be a win!
Proud/excited for you friend!!
Post a Comment