Thursday, August 5, 2010

Sometimes Goodbye . . . is a Second Chance

"I'm not angry, I'm just saying
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance"
- Shinedown

I was listening to this song today and thinking about how close I almost came to actually saying goodbye to my current employer, the relationships I'd forged there, and the years of hard won respect and how, out of nowhere, a second chance (so to speak) presents itself. In an instant, my life has shifted gears and I'm moving in a whole new direction. New boss. New office. New set of responsibilities. Funny how, one minute, I'm feeling like running out of there like that commercial where are the adults are running out of their offices like it's the last day of school, except with a grimace instead of a smile, and the next minute, my entire outlook on the company, my job and even my coworkers jumps from one end of the spectrum to the next. I'm still trying to figure that one out. Has that every happened to you?

Regardless, I'm enjoying this new sense of relevance in my professional life. The interview process for an assistant to fill the role I'm vacating has been an awesome experience. Seven years ago, I was just like these optimistic women, laying my credentials and my ego on the line in hopes that a new job with better pay would catapult me into the next phase of my life. The resumes are polished and their power suits are crisp. Such enthusiasm is rarely seen in an office like mine and its like a breath of fresh air! Hopefully, they'll decide on a new me fairly quickly so that I can transition out of there and on to the future and the new challenges it holds.

Since this is technically a promotion after all, I'm somewhat concerned about how everyone, my fellow assistants and even the hire-ups, will respond once I make the move 100%. I'm interested to hear about your inter-office staffing changes. Was it a seamless shift met with fanfare and support. Were your team mates eye-rolling and whispering about you in the break room? What should I expect?

9 comments:

Angeline said...

Congratulations on the promotion! I also recently got promoted within my dept (my former position won't be re-filled, but I will be getting an intern), but it hasn't been announced to the rest of the company yet...I'm also nervous of what people will think.

Tamara said...

When I was promoted to my role, most people (most of whom were here longer than me), were happy for me or at least didn't show any signs of opposition or anger. There were a couple though, who would try to disregard me and go over my head with their questions, but the person they would go to would always defer to me, so that helped a lot! It showed that they promoted me to this role for a reason. Congrats and good luck in your new position!

Breanna said...

Congrats! It's always a mixture of excitement and dread with a promotion. (Exited for yourself...dreading the negative whiplash that can sometimes come with it). In my own experience, I thought the whiplash would be worse than what it actually was! So cheers to your promotion!

Kathy Campbell said...

Congratulations!! So exciting.

I've been with my current company for 4 years, and have held 5 different positions. Most of them have been seamless....I was hired as the receptionist and worked 3.5 months in that spot before moving to a different department. I've bounced around a lot, mostly filling in places that have been vacated by other people transitioning out of the company, which means that I learn as I go and have to rebuild the position since no one really knows what they were trying to do.

Then I got pregnant. I moved from a managerial position to what I like to call being "Random Crap Girl". I transitioned out of that position and was around to train my replacement. The problem was the girl that I was training was about 20 years older than me and thought she could do the job already. She grew into one of the biggest **insert bad name here**, taking the reigns and just walking over everyone. She didn't listen to what I had to say, deciding that she already knew what was going on and then weeks later would say that I never showed her how to do something.

When I returned from maternity leave, I took a position back at the front desk and have been here for way too long. In good news, the girl that took my old position has been asked to leave and they are going to hire someone else out of the company that has actual managerial experience. It will be interesting to see how my position changes with the new addition.

And wow...this comment turned into therapy....I apologize! I wish you only the best of luck!!

Miss Innocent said...

congrats!!

Miss Innocent said...

lol sad, that was a really short post of mine, sorry...

i couldn't just currently relate for now, since i'm totally not doing ANYTHING. i.e. not working nor studying.

but i still want to read your posts. maybe when i go back to work (new workplace too) maybe ill have a thing or too and make that (third job) a job where I will last. for 2 yrs at the least

APF said...

Congrats!! It's always rewarding when the company can recognize your drive to get to the top. Hard work pays off when its returned with a promotion and of course more money helps.

Interested to hear about the new things you will face. I went through the same thing about 3 years ago and have found it rewarding and going through completely new challenges!!

V 9 to 5 said...

Congrats!!!

A few years ago I was promoted and so exicited. It never dawned on me that people would be jealous. I had to deal with a lot of whispering and gossip. One thing that really hurt me was when I heard someone saying, "Who is she sleeping with?" I am not flirtatious in the slightest bit and dress very conservatively. I was so upset that someone would say that.

But the caddy remarks only last a few weeks, and then once I proved to people that I was worthy of my new position, people were very nice and supportive.

Good luck in your new role!!!

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