2017 Week 38 Update

What happened this week was a reminder to me to keep listening to my intuition or gut! I am going to put it here, maybe someone reading it can advise me?

This week, almost exactly three months and a couple of weeks to the date I joined the organisation, I was let go! It was quite uncanny that almost immediately after I finished doing the signature event and helped them move office. I was asking HR about my confirmation which was due to happen in three months when my reporting manager called me for a meeting with HR and said they will not be confirming me. I was shell-shocked! It took me around four days to come out of that shock and then think back to all the red flags and that’s when I realised what my gut was telling me all along!

The red flags in order of appearance were: having only one interview before an offer more an a month later (which almost never happens, and knowing the CEO as I do now, it seemed very strange since this person was personally arranging the stationary cupboard when we moved, this after someone else did the job first). The next came the week I joined – I had to chase manager for a week before they would sit down with me for a chat to discuss the role, which was extremely vague. Then after that, at the end of month one and during all of month two, I kept chasing for a one-on-one, which would either be ignored or if scheduled, would be cancelled at the last minute (after I have prepped for it). I kind of gave up during the third month, when I knew it would never happen. Other red flags included pinpointing at every small mistake I did (others could do bigger mistakes and it was inadvertent, but not me) and making sure I was always under stress. I was never given the time to learn the new environment I was in and the processes they followed, I used to joke to myself that the role needed psychic abilities in addition to the ones advertised. In fact, the biggest red flag was that I had no real experience in the role; I had done similar roles, but nothing like what was expected of me. I actually wanted to ask the manager during the exit process why I was hired but kept quiet because I didn’t want to burn bridges.

I was super unhappy there and from the first month itself, I was looking to leave. I have actually psyched myself that I should stay a year for it to look good on my CV but looks like the forces above me had a different opinion. I now believe that this was a God-sent opportunity to get out while I still retained my sanity.

So what now? I restart my job search again, this time with a hope that something good comes up and soon! An organisation where I can stay for a long time and be proud to be a part of.

My parents are here for a few months and I am looking forward to spending time with them. Thanks for reading my rant and have a blessed week everyone!

 

 

2017 Week 37 Update

Gosh, what a week! It started off quite badly for me (with a ticking off from my manager) and ended well (I think). But it took a very hard toll on me physically, I needed more than the next few days to physically recover from the three intense days – two of the signature event and one of packing the office!

For the event which was in the planning stage for the good part of a year, it was really surprising to me that speakers were finalised only a week before and a lot of arrangements left to the night before. We slept past 1 pm most days and this, coupled with the amount of time I was on my feet made my feet swell up, which made walking a real pain and torture!

I am now seriously reconsidering if this position and organisation is a right fit for me. I don’t think I can take many such days and especially since I am getting older and this is something, someone who is much younger can do a better job than me!

This time though, I want to make sure the next organisation is the right fit, so I will take my time and also am thinking of getting professional help for this. More details later as I firm them up.

I am really hoping this week is much milder than the previous week and I have some time to myself. I am also excited for the weekend which will come as it means my parents will be here to spend a couple of months with us! It also means I need to start planning our year-end holidays!

Have a good weekend folks!

 

 

2017 Week 36 Update

This week has been a very intense week for me, especially at work. We have our signature event two days from now and the last week has been busy at work, so much so that I’ve had a chance to even think!

The place that I am now working in, is pretty notorious for doing things at the very last minute! If you are efficient and do things ahead of time, you are penalised for it because things change between the time you do it and the time it has to be ready. For someone who always (and I mean always) is ready ahead of time, this is serious anathema to me! Every time this happens, I wonder what I am doing here!

I’ve been here for slightly over three months now, but I still have not gotten the confirmation letter from them. I am going to wait until the end of this month and then check with HR to see what they say about this issue. Maybe also speak to my manager (who still hasn’t done the one-on-one with me, even after three months!) to see what is the process here.

This week is also going to be a super intense week, what with the event and then the after the event, we have to pack up the office because we are moving the very next day! No rest for the wicked here!

Have a wonderful week folks!

 

Happy Birthday GG & BB: A Letter to you on your 14th Birthday!

Happy Birthday, BB & GG! You turn 14 tomorrow and the years between the first time I held you both in my arms to today seems to have gone by in a flash. Tomorrow is also your Hindi year-end exam and I wish you all the best for the exams (though I know you wish the exams didn’t happen today!).

GG, you are my first born (by two minutes) and as I watch you grow into a warm and confident young lady, I am always surprised you were born from my womb. You are beautiful, both from the inside and the outside, but I am glad, at this point in life, you are more concerned on the inside than the outside, maybe unlike your peers.

BB, my baby boy, who is now a whole head taller than me, you are still the sweet and lovely little boy I watched grow up. I still love the random hugs you give me now and then and the cuddles you ask me sometimes and hope you never change this aspect of your personality.

Both of you are no longer children and completely dependent on me anymore. You are already young adults who show promise of the adults you will soon become.

For both of you, the exams that begin around the end of the month are defining exams. How you in this exam will determine to a large extent your future path in life as the subjects you take will eventually determine the subjects you can take post school.

There are very few children who are your age and who know what they want to do in life, you both are quite fortunate you have been able to pin down your passions early on and to a large extent, you both have decided what you want to do in life. All I say that grow your passion and let that determine your path in life. As someone wise once said,

“When you love what you do and work in something that you are passionate about, you never ever go to work a single day in your life!”

The teens are brutal years, take this from someone who has been through it. I have always believed that teenagers are more lethal than even adults and what you learn while navigating these years will be the foundation which you can use to base your adult interactions.

The teen years are brutal, take this from someone who has been through it. I have always believed that teenagers are more lethal than even adults and what you learn while navigating these years will be the foundation which you can use to base your adult interactions.

One thing I would like you both to learn during the holidays is to learn to cook! Cooking is no longer restricted to girls and with both learning to make simple meals in school, we can take this further and learn simple meals you can make for yourself. This will make you more independent and cooking is an important life skill. You will never starve or even spend too much money on meals when you stay away from home!

Speaking of which, I am quite dreading the time when you both fly the coop – BB will start first when he starts his National Service, but I would love for both to stay and study overseas so you gain valuable experience – both academically as well as in life!

My hopes and aspirations for you both are quite simple, I want you to enjoy what you do and in the process be happy doing it. Live life to the fullest and make use of every opportunity that comes your way, be it tiny, little or big. Keep learning, it never stops and try to learn something new every day! Love each other immensely as you now do and never stop being in each other’s lives. You both share a special and unique bond, keep that flame always alive!

Happy Birthday, GG & BB! Remember I love you to the moon and back (definitely more!)

2017 Week 35 Update

This week went off quite quite fast for me and before I knew it, the weekend was here!

I had a work offsite this week which was why the week went very fast. The next few weeks are very hectic work-wise with a signature event and an office move, all happening this month!

Work has been both good and bad, and I am all the more determined that once I complete a predetermined time here, I will start looking for a new, better position. My manager sent me some ‘feedback’ which I felt could have been handled much better; maybe speaking to me first and trying to see it from my point of view. Since we’ve never had a one-on-one since I joined this organisation, three months back, this could have been a good time to sit down and speak with their feedback on how I was doing. Anyway, these are the issues which leave a bad taste in the mouth. But I have not given up completely – once the way event and move happen, let’s see if the one-on-one happens.

I will have a hectic and possibly stressed out week, but I hope you have a better one!