A New Job

So first an explanation of the photo, especially for Ada. A few months ago, I had been told of an uncontrollable delay on some equipment we order. I emailed all our offices instructing them to place orders that day to cover the next month or so, since they would not be able to order for a while. In the email, I mentioned crossing their fingers that the delay would not last the expected 1-2 months. I try to make people smile at work, even when things aren't so great. So the way I announced that the offices could again place orders was, I took pictures of my various coworkers, and I said, as corresponding with their photos, "We crossed our legs, our eyes, our fingers... and I even crossed the hair on my head...," and I gave them the go ahead to place their orders. So this indeed is a photo of me at work one day. My coworker braided my hair around pencils so that it would stand up, we took the photo, and then we took out the braids. And the offices emailed their appreciation of the good laugh.

I won't be sharing those laughs anymore though. And now, the story of my new job...

About four months ago, our new managing director announced that essentially none of us had a job. They were reevaluating all the positions in our entire department (so not just Purchasing, but also Beehive Clothing, Distribution, Travel, Print Services, and more,) and he said we would be required to reapply for our positions. We were also permitted to apply for any job that we wanted (some people applied for 20+ positions). Without going into a ton of detail, I ended interviewing in addition to the job I've held for the last forever, for a job that was a higher position that I was in, and two days after my interview, about 3 weeks before I should have been - I was offered the job. So I had to sit for 3 weeks and not say anything until it was official.

This process scared a lot of people. Many people worried they would not have a job at the end of the day. But I was not worried, oddly enough. I may not have been the happiest in my position, getting bored with doing the same things, not having the opportunity for advancement, etc - but I knew that I have always worked my tail off in my job and tried to go above and beyond in my position. There are many people in my office who didn't really do anything. Some were close to retirement and figured they have no reason to learn any new systems because they'd be gone soon enough. There were others who knew the Church doesn't fire anyone, so they could just get by and still have a job. I had really hoped that this process would do as it should and would clean out, so to speak, those who weren't pulling their own weight around the office.

The announcement of who was given what position was sent out the Friday I left for Christmas break. In fact I was at the airport when the email was sent out. Sort of not the best timing - right before Christmas. I felt sorry for those who were not offered jobs because of the timing. But in a way good timing for me leaving since I wasn't going to be around for 10 days when all the fall out was happening.

My hopes weren't really realized though. I read the announcement and studied the organizational chart. I was shocked. I couldn't believe, in many cases, who still had a job. And in many cases, I couldn't believe who's names I did not find on the chart. Now I do not know what positions everyone applied for, and in some cases, it may be the case that they just applied for a job they were not qualified for. Also, we weren't asked to reapply because we weren't necessarily qualified to retain our current positions. So it is possible that coworkers applied for positions that weren't really open because the current person holding the position was a shoe in to get their job back.

Anyways, I am now a contract manager. I am really excited for the opportunity. The team I am working with is amazing. My new boss recently started with the Church, coming from outside companies. I am going to learn a ton working with this new team. It is awesome.

I have put school off for a semester because I will be putting in long hours learning my new position and I can't be sure that I can make it to class in time or at all each day. So this next four months are going to be a time for learning my new position. It is also going to be a time for getting back to the temple regularly again since the last semester was really busy and I made it maybe once a month, I need to go more regularly again. I am also going to get back to the gym more regularly again. I think I have lost all my muscle, especially this last month being so sick.

These next four months will still be super busy, but I am super excited. Bring it on!