Job Search | Simple. I Just Do.

Last week, I posted about feeling very overwhelmed, and I thank you for your patience.

Most of the reason for feeling so overwhelmed is that my job just sucks. It does every summer. It is our peak season, and things get hectic, and my boss does not handle stress well, yet simultaneously craves it. My job duties change daily, and sometimes are diametrically opposed to what I was told to do the day before. Everything is an emergency, his schedule is incredibly erratic, and he gives no one the power to make decisions on their own. A project that is time-sensitive may sit on your desk for days because you can’t get him to talk to you for five minutes to make a decision, and then when it doesn’t get done, the blame is placed squarely on your shoulders. And somehow, there is always time for blame.

I got a dressing down this past week about lunchmeat, people. LUNCHMEAT.

I’m to the point where I cry before I go to work (ok, only when it’s that time of the month… usually), and that is a very real sign that something needs to change. Meaning I need to find a new job.

Yet, it took me five months to find this one, and I’m not exactly a shlub…

So, I look. I do the job search dance. I count the minutes and hours down during my work day. I take solace during the times when the boss is not in the office. I dream of walking into his office to give him notice, and have even toyed with the idea of simply walking out and not going back. And I hope for something better.

I really hate to wish the summer away, but this is really just too much for too little in return.

When I go, I’m taking my red stapler. Because it’s mine…

Not a bad office view…

Starting work today was something completely new. You see, since I graduated college in the mid-nineties, I had only a handful of interviews, and they were for teaching jobs. Even though I may have had a new job here and there, I kind of knew that school was school, and nothing would be that different from my previous job. I needed to know who the secretaries and the custodians were ASAP, and always, always treat them nicely. I needed to know where the copy machine was, and where I could eat lunch. The rest was pretty much the same. I went to my room and taught.

Today, I walked into my new job, not knowing how many hours a week I was wanted, nor how much exactly I was to be paid. I didn’t even know exactly what my job entailed but that my title would be “Event Coordinator” for a long-standing, local boat tour company.

By the end of the day, I had impressed my new boss a bit, been told I could work full time if I desired, and would make enough for me to not have to worry about my bills anymore.

Best of all, I enjoyed my day. I edited and formatted, created spreadsheets, and researched, all the while learning my new boss’s idiosyncrasies, and getting along well with the other office “girl” whose job is separate from but most similar to mine.

I’m back to work, but work like I’ve never known it. I’m thankful. I’m excited.