Career Tracks 6: Live Free or Balboa

I don't often write about my career for several reasons. Besides the potential of being a horrendously boring topic for anyone outside my field, there's the ever present risk of being ”Dooced” and losing my job for something I wrote on the internet. I'll allude to vague work things as they relate to my personal life, but one never knows when even one wrong word will have dire consequences. So even though I don't use my real name, nor would I ever name a company I worked for, I'm still apprehensive to approach the subject. Though the subtlest hints may have slipped in to posts over the Summer, I managed to avoid letting on that my position had been eliminated.

Layoffs are a scary but inevitable part of the business world. While most people advocate changing jobs often as a matter of increasing one's salary and growing in a career, I think a person potentially risks playing “layoff roulette” by staying anywhere too long. Sooner or later, a bullet might have your name on it, figuratively speaking. I had a great job though. My friends were excellent and my team was nearly perfect, a collection of editors, marketers, a writer, and a researcher all proficient and professional in their responsibilities. These people knew what they were doing and I could always count on them. I was happy, and I knew what I was doing. The unfamiliar is scary and, lacking a push, I might have stayed in the same place for the rest of my life.

I can't get in to why my position was eliminated, nor how many others fell. I can say that I was given very generous notice, and more than enough time to make preparations for my future. That “colleague” I mentioned, the one whose last day we were celebrating on Friday was of course me. It was hard to say goodbye, and I really do hope to keep in touch with the friends I've made over the past seven years.

On a happier note, I started a new job on Monday. I had a great first day, with one of the most thorough orientations I've ever experienced, complete with movies and a tour. My boss seems cool and, for the first time ever, I have my own office, which is as exciting as the free coffee, tea, and soda in our break room. It's the little things in life that make all the difference, and though it's only been one day and my workload has been manageable so far, I may already be a happy employee. There were a lot of friendly faces, and a barrage of names that may take years for me to remember. By the time I left my old job, though I might not have known all my coworkers personally, I could attach almost every face I passed in the hall with a name.

I wish I could say more, but confidentiality with my new employer gives me a new reason to be vague. I don't think saying “I lost my job at one great company but found another one at another great company” betrays any secrets, but those of you who know my secret identity understand my paranoia. Comments that divulge more than I've let on here may have to be deleted, so please be equally vague or contact me via e-mail instead.

It should prove to be an interesting and exciting week. Different systems and terminology loom before me, as does a ton of the usual new job paperwork. The previous occupant of my office left some challenges as well, such as a drawer full of sugar. I wouldn't have minded so much if it was in packets and not loose, but she also left a ton of pennies in there as well so the surprises weren't all bad. A lot of the people I met at my new job told me that people either stay for a year or two, or spend the rest of their careers there. It's too soon to know which category I'll fall into, but so far it's all good.