Manifesting Me Some Destiny

Work. There is a reason they pay you, right? I don't buy into the "do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life" thing, but it shouldn't suck.

When I was in high school I had a position about dating: If it isn't fun >90% of the time, bag it. This was advice for friends in tumultuous, angsty, drama-riddled relationships and also for myself. I think the general principle applies to a lot in life. It doesn't have to be sunshine and unicorns all the time. In fact, working for or through something that is hard is a wonderful growth opportunity and can be incredibly satisfying and character-building. But there is a difference between challenging and soul sucking.

I wouldn't say work for the last year-ish was "soul sucking" exactly, but it was severely dissatisfying. My non-profit was acquired in Q3 2014 by a for-profit company in the same field. I wouldn't have applied to work for this new company, but there we were. I still believed in the work, I definitely believed in my team and there were some good professional (and character-building) opportunities. They fed us some nice words during and after the acquisition. I was optimistic.

Then this last summer my boss, my former boss, my first boss and my mentor were all laid off, along with others, with no notice and my optimism was replaced with disillusionment. People with incredible value were tossed away as a "cost saving exercise" to save a bit of cash on the short-term balance sheet. The true cost was the undermining of our ability to get the job done, let alone do great work, and decimating morale.

There had been a gradual accumulation of warning signs but at this point I started to understand that the company and I had irreconcilable values.

I started with my work there in 2008 and over the course of seven years had a few opportunities to think about whether I was in the right place and what I wanted out of work. In particular, The Dip by Seth Godin, got me thinking about "when to quit and when to stick" and "under what conditions will you quit?"

I didn't have super clear answers but my thinking basically boiled down to values and for me they shook out as:

• Be Transparent: Be open and truthful about what is going on and why. Have integrity, especially when it is tough.
• Do Great Work: You have to keep the lights on but value excellence over bigger profits. It also means making the world a better place in some way.
• Treat People Well: Consider what business decisions will mean for the people in the company. Don't lay people off right before Christmas. 
• Have Fun: There should be regular bouts of laughter.

In my mind these add up to a much more humane and enjoyable place to work and I don't want to waste my abilities on a place that doesn't appreciate these values. I'm also dead certain teams and organizations with these values are better equipped, and more likely, to be successful.

My company was way off the mark on all these fronts, but how does a gal with very general abilities (great motivator! good communicator!) go about a job search for a "Good" company?
Randomly. Patiently.

My plan was:

• August: Get resume updated and go to Iceland. (See here too. And here. And here.)
• September: Be open to possibilities and let my network know I was thinking about my "next step." Casually look around at companies and job postings.
• Q4: Let my immediate boss (and dear friend) know we should plan for 2016 without me. Finish out the year and prep for my team and the work to be as successful as possible without me. Practice applying for jobs.
• Q1 2016: Leave. Take a couple months off to run, do pottery, read, write, see friends.

Amidst casual conversations and looking at random job postings and lists of companies I got a job pushed to me from Glassdoor or LinkedIn. It was for a company in a totally different field I have zero experience in. But the job was a blend of people management and operations and I was thoroughly qualified (weird right?) I was also about to start practicing applying for jobs.

In looking at the company's website it looked like a fun place, they do great work on a lot of levels and are a leader with regards to women in the workplace (and doing it for all the right reasons.) So I applied.

In stalking connections on LinkdIn there was one person at the company with whom I shared a handful of connections. I was still in casually-curious mode so figured I would wait until after the phone screening with HR to reach out. I wanted to make sure it was actually someplace I wanted to be before getting others involved. In the phone screen it turned out the person I had a few connections to was the hiring manager for this position.

I reached out to a mutual friend for a referral and intel, got a response that same day and Friday had a 30-minute chat with the hiring manger. 30-minutes turned into 60 and by the end of the chat I had shifted from casually-curious to seriously-interested. The following Thursday I had in person interviews with a handful of people and came away with the agonizing feeling of "I really like it and want the job but I don't think the interviews went well." However, a few days later they invited me back for a second round of interviews, the next day I got a verbal offer and we signed the papers the day after that.

From the time I spoke with the hiring manager to signed paperwork was just under nine business days. I started my new job three weeks later.

I'm about to start week seven of that new job and feel so incredibly great and grateful. I could wax on about the ridiculous benefits (beer on tap, unlimited PTO) but it is so much bigger than the perks. My first three weeks were almost all training and included a week in CA at HQ that was 99% training. I've been there a matter of days and already had the opportunity to drastically overhaul, improve and relaunch a major system and process that impacts everyone (25 people) every day and informs how we make business decisions. They value and appreciate what I bring to the table.

In the interviews and my interactions since starting it is clear to me that my larger team, and the company as a whole, share the values I articulated for myself late summer.

In short, I feel like I'm in the right place.

Photo from the Redwoods two years ago. That also felt like the right place.