My absence: Just call me Pat Benetar!

So the reason why I have not managed to make my regular appearances in the blogesphere for the past few month, well really, at least a half a year is because life has just been working me out!

I went from having no job to basically having 3 jobs! My regular full-time job has been going really well. I am really enjoying what I am doing and feel like I am making a contribution that is being valued. I have had two bosses in the past 8 months but that is because the guy who hired me got promoted to his boss' position, which is not a bad thing for me since he thought well enough of me to hire me in the first place and has direct knowledge of my work. And I like my new boss, who is a woman. I was not sure of her when I first started the job and she was in another group within my department. I got a strange vibe from her then but now that I report to her, she has been really great. She was promoted when she came to my group and is very inclusive and treats me very congenially, which is the opposite of what I felt from her before. So things are good!

Additionally, I am still working at The Container Store. A lot of people have asked me why I am still working there and it is not that the money makes a huge difference but I like it and it doesn't really interfere with my schedule that much. I work truck uploads, which is normally one night every 5-7 days (9-midnight on a weeknight/Saturday or 6-9 on Sunday) and I have started picking up store hours on some evenings and on the weekend. I cannot under emphasize how different this company is from regular retail --- and the people I work with are all pretty much very nice, helpful, agreeable people. But of course, that is why they were hired.

And lastly, I have been dealing with some investment properties that I purchased last year. The long and the short of it is that they have not worked out quite as I had originally envisioned. I have ended up renting them out as Section 8 housing, at a loss, and using a property manager (who is also an owner in the subdivision) to manage them. I was very hands off for a little less than a year but then the finances of it all caused me to take a closer look. I had not foreseen not having a job for 6 months when I purchased them and any extra that I could have dedicated to these properties disappeared into living expenses. But honestly, even if I had kept my job, the economics of this endeavor disintegrated as the housing market started going south. So while I am able to collect income on each property every month, it is not enough to cover the mortgage by a sizable amount. So I have spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out what to do. And I still haven't gotten it figured out.

What I did figure out was that I could not continue to afford a property manager if I was already losing money so this fall I started the process of managing them myself. And in the process I discovered that a few things were not being managed as I expected. So I had to dive in on my own -- manage the transition in management with the manager and tenants, sign new leases, sort through a whole mess of things with the housing authority including rent increase requests, etc, steering clear of an investigation that they launched against my former property manager, and finding someone to do maintenance for the units. Additionally, one tenant and the former property manager did not get along, for a number of reasons, and while I has trusted his advice in the past with regard to tenant matters, I started to question if the rendition of events he had been telling me was completely accurate.

There have been periods where I worked at least 5 hours a day for 13 days straight plus had to manage stuff with the properties in addition.

I definitely feel like an adult these days.... Got some big ol' adult issues to deal with. Whew!

TMI....

So a strange thing has happened at work..... There is a woman who works in another part of my group. I work with her from time to time and she is the only other black woman (other than assistants) under my Executive Director. We haven't particularly bonded, she and I, in fact, there is something about her that I can't quite put my finger on.

At any rate, twice now, I have been privy to side comments made by now her direct boss and her boss' boss that indicate to me that they are not pleased with her performance and that she may not have that position before the year is up!

How strange is that!?!? I mean, the first conversation occurred when I had only been on the job for about a month. It just is a little awkward to have this information about someone you work with. I sort of feel like I am in an awkward position. For a second, it made me wonder if it was a test of me --- to see if I would go tell her --- but that was just a fleeting thought, especially since I have worked with her more and more. Personally, I find that she tends to rush through things, not pay attention to detail and does just about the least amount of work possible.

So, I guess I am keeping my mouth shut and waiting to see what if any of those words actually come to fruition.....

Cloudy Coffee Town!

I got sent on my first business trip this past week to .... Cloudy Coffee town! (You can probably figure out where I am talking about....)


The flight there was not too bad, although it was delayed about an hour since they decided they needed to switch us to a different plane right after we started boarding. The more dramatic thing for me though was the temperature when we landed! It has been unseasonably warm here and apparently it has been unseasonably cold there so when I landed I was confronted with a temperature that was 50 degrees colder than where I left!!! A bit of a shock but I got out my jacket and rolled with it.

Most of the time I was in meetings while I was there. We did get out for a couple vendor sponsored dinners (gotta love that!) and had some great food but I didn't get out of the suburbs until my last afternoon.

My last afternoon I had a rental car and a few free hours before I would meet a grad school friend for dinner so I got the opportunity to go to the famous Pike Street Market! As I was strolling the market I couldn't help thinking how much fun it would be to do grocery shopping there..... The flower markets are so beautiful and the fresh fish, produce, pasta, nuts etc. are like a culinary dream.
These are about the biggest lobster tails and crab legs I have ever seen!

And of course, what is Cloudy Coffee Town without......salmon!

And of course, some one had to get their picture taken catching a fish....

Then I walked over to the original Starbucks, just to take a peak -- I actually don't drink coffee (shhh! Don't tell them!) and on the way I stopped that this bakery called The Confectional.
Now, I pride myself on my cheesecake. I even seriously considered opening a wholesale bakery specializing in cheesecake. So, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to try some of the interesting flavor combinations that this little bakery offers.


I decided that I needed to taste 4 flavors so I tried Mexican Chocolate (chocolate with a hint of cinnamon and cayenne pepper -- Spicy!! Quite an unusual sensation), Quadruple Chocolate (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate and....??? I don't remember!), Coconut Cherry Chocolate (surprisingly the yummiest of the 4) and Caramel (eh, too sweet in my opinion.) It was decadent to have all these different cheesecake tasters, especially for a cheesecake-lovin gal like myself.

Then, I went to meet up with my friend in International City ( or Square or something) at this Vietnamese restaurant called Tamarind Tree for dinner. It was yummy! We ordered this lemongrass beef platter that you make your own spring rolls from. They also had, oddly, some of the best mojitos there.

It was a nice end to end the trip!

What a difference a day makes....

Yesterday, I started my day at the County Tax Assessors office...

And the day just continued to be stressful, including some incidents at work (which actually were just more stressful given the day's tone.) It was just one of those days where nothing went quite as planned and you just want to crawl in bed and start over the next day....

And that is about what I did.

And this morning I vowed not to let the previous day's events shake me. And today was a good day. Work went well and I even got some face time with my Executive Director who I really haven't spoken to much at all since I started this job.

What a difference a day makes!....

Starting to get the hang of things....

Two and a half weeks in and I am starting to feel like I am getting the hang of things at work. At least I think so.

Today I was running down a few launch affecting product issues, got to do some user experience testing, was taken out to lunch by a vendor, and got a bunch of cool gadgets to play with and use to support my job responsibilities. I am still excited about the job.

Also, coincidentally, a guy who was in the same group with me at my previous job, has interviewed for 2 positions at my company, one in the same group I am in and one in a different group from me but one that I personally interact with every day. I guess that it is not completely coincidentally. This other woman who I have worked with at my last 3 companies, put in the good word for him and helped him get the interview. So I have been putting in the good word for him whenever I could. Yesterday, I was asked to write a recommendation for him so I think that his chances are pretty good, at least for one of the positions. I am glad that I am able to help him. I think that is is so important to reach back and help out someone else in their job search after you get a job. It's sort of like paying it forward....

Payday!

Today is my first payday at my new job! It seems that they didn't get the direct deposit set up yet so I will be getting a physical check and since they pay one week in arrears, I will only get paid for one week but a paycheck is a paycheck!

Yay, money!

I think I am going to take this opportunity to revisit my budget......

I have an office!

So, I forgot to mention..... by the luck of the draw, I managed to get an office at my new job instead of a cube. I actually don't mind the cubicles they have. They are pretty roomy and full of light. And I think that you can learn alot by overhearing other people's business conversations (and personal ones but that is another story!)

So, I sort of had mixed feelings when they showed me my office. It is an interior, closet-like space, with a desk that forces you to sit with your back to the door. There is no window and intially it seemed a little dark. I am somewhat light-affected and my spirits and energy level is really lifted by sunlight. It was also filled with the previous occupant's stuff but I finally got that cleared out.

But, it does have a door which can be pretty nice. And, it's own printer, nice as well! I also set up my computer so that I am sitting sideways and can see the door out of the corner of my eye which eliminates the sneak-up factor. I do sometimes feel a little isolated since I have to make a conscious effort to go out and talk to people but it has been good since I have a lot to do to get up to speed. And, as I learned this week, while I can't tell when it is sunny outside, I also can't tell if it is rainy and gloomy outside! There is a fli side to everything.

Now, the whole building is moving in 5-6 months to a different complex that I actually worked in before so I am familiar with the layout. There, I will not have an office and will be returned back to cubeland. So, I better just enjoy it while I can!

Why I love The Container Store.....

Back in November, at one of my "job search support" breakfast meetings, one of the regulars mentioned that they had a part-time job at The Container Store and that she really enjoyed it. Well I LOVE The Container Store and thought that since I had some extra time on my hands, I might as well apply to work there and maybe pick up some seasonal work over the holidays. So, I applied online and waited....

So, what is The Container Store, you ask? Some of you may not be familiar with the store since there are only 43 brick and mortar stores in the US (soon to be 44, as of this weekend! But more about that later) but the company also does a strong catalog business. I think that I first became familiar with The Container Store through their catalogs because I didn't live in an area where they had a store until college. Simply put, The Container Store sells stuff to put your stuff in! They like to say that they help people save space and valuable time. They specialize in storage and organization exclusively (plus gift wrap and boxes -- which technically is "gift storage") and sell a broad range of solutions to solve your organizational conundrums. And it is a perfect place for a sometimes anal/organization person like me. Don't know what to do with the lids of your pots? They have a number of pot lid organizers. Do you spend hours searching for matching shoes or socks. They have solutions for that too! Is your mail piling up on every free surface you have? Not a problem, The Container Store has many different solutions for you. And while some of the things they sell are not the cheapest that you might find, you can be sure that they are high quality and that the store has the broadest selection of options you will find anywhere.

At any rate, I got a call back from The Container Store in late January to come interview for a part time position. Although, at this point, any work I did there would just reduce the amount I would get in unemployment, (what a dilemma --- do no work and make $x or work part-time and still make $x) I decided to still interview because 1)I knew they offered health insurance and other benefits to part-time employees, 2) there is a GREAT employee discount and 3) I actually suspected that having something to do during the week outside of the house might actually make me more productive when I was back in the house.

Now, I have never worked in retail before but this was not seen as a drawback at The Container Store. They just viewed me as a person that they didn't have to untrain from the "typical retail mindset." I knew that I liked their products but I didn't realize how different they really were as a company until I started interviewing and learning about the company

A little history
The Container Store was started in 1978 by it's two founders, in Dallas. At that time, they were focused on providing commercial storage and organization products, such as dairy milk crates and Metro commercial shelving, things that normal consumers couldn't readily get, to those consumers. Everyone thought that they were crazy, that they couldn't possibly build a successful business model for a store that sold boxes. But they remained dedicated to the idea and have since built a $ million private company that is run based on the personal principles that have meant something to the founders since high school.

Their principles
The Container Store runs it's business based on certain core principles that address everything from relationships to manufacturers, to how they communicate with and treat employees to customer service. They work directly with many of their manufacturers as partners, even placing orders during a manufacturers low season to help them maintain their business. They believe in fully training each employee so that they fully know how to do each aspect of their job before they are allowed to do it on their own. They also believe in training all employees on all aspects of running the store -- from truck to sales. They are very selective about the people they hire, believing that a great employee equals 3 good employees, and, as a result, they believe at compensating them on a higher scale than typical retail jobs. They also believe in communicating store level and company level goals, metrics etc to all levels of employee, whether full or part time as well as fully training each employee so that they know how to do each part of their job before they do it. Also, they believe in being contributing parties to the communities that they are in and donate 10% of the opening weekend proceeds from a new store to a local charity. And most importantly, they believe in providing excellent, proactive service to their customers. Yes, they do have sales goals but the viewpoint is that if they do all these other things well, then the sales goals will come naturally as each employee feels empowered and has a sense of ownership. All these things have given them a place in the top 20 of Fortune's Top 100 Companies to Work For list every year since they became eligible to compete in 2001, ranking #1 in 2001, #2 in 2002 and 2003 and #3 in 2004. You can learn more about the company here.

They were interested in hiring new people to help support a new stocking and merchandising process they are trying out and I decided to join the team. So I have spent the past 2 weeks, coming in at 5am 2 days a week to learn the truck and merchandising process. This includes unloading the truck, sorting merchandise, unpacking the merchandise and putting it on the shelves. If you have ever been to a store, you know how amazingly clean, organized and fully-stocked the shelves always are. I now know how they get that way. There is definitely no lull in activity, which is actually good since, if you have to be up at 5am, you want to be busy so you will stay awake! And, I know I can skip my workout on these days. It's fun though and the people are all really cool. I want to keep working there after I start my new full-time job and with the process change and the slower schedule through April, I think it will be pretty managable. After all, I have a bunch of things I want to buy with my employee discount!

And oh yes, the 44th store opened in Little Rock, Arkansas this weekend. So, if you are in the Little Rock area, stop by and check it out! Other new stores are planned for Plano, TX, Scottsdale, AZ, Edina, MN & Cincinnati, OH. Find info about current store locations here.

What I have learned from my job search - Create your own job seach support group!

One really great idea that one persone in my group at my previous company had when we all got laid off was to create a little "support group" for all of us as we dealt with the impact of losing our jobs and started our searches for our next opportunity. So, since September, a group of us met every Tuesday morning, not too early, for breakfast/brunch and conversation.

It ended up being a great thing. Not only did we have folks to commiserate with on a regular basis, but also, since we were all looking for jobs at similar companies, it was a great way to share job leads, resources and contacts. We were witnesses for each others' severance papers, shared ideas for small businesses, shared interviewing and negotiating tips and celebrated successes.

Membership obviously changed over time. Folks came and left as they got new jobs. Some only came once or twice, others came for months. There was another round of lay offs so we gained a few new members in December. We also opened up the group to other friends we knew who were looking too and even some of our "still employed" former co-workers started coming (more around lunchtime) for the camaraderie, and to be proactive.

It now seems like the group will be coming to an end. February and March have been good for our group as for getting results from our search efforts. There are only a couple folks left and they are the ones who just joined in January.

So, I strongly suggest, if you find yourself in a similar situation, don't be too proud and suffer in silence. Find others in your same boat and help each other. And if you don't know enough people to start your own group, then tap into local job search groups in your area. A lot of churches seem to have regular group meetings that anyone can attend. But don't go it alone. Your search can only be helped by tapping into and expanding your network.

When it rains, it pours!

So, the same day that I started to get an inkling that I was going to get an offer from Company A (I got contacted by HR to complete an employment application) I also got a call from a recruiter at Company B. He and I chatted and he told me he wanted to set up a phone interview with the hiring manager for a position I applied for after I had interviewed at Company A.

The next day, I was called by the recruiter at Company A who asked me if I would consider an offer that was a little lower than my requested salary. I told her that I would consider it and she said that she would have to get special approval for the offer and would plan to send me an offer in two days.

Day 3, I had my phone interview with the hiring manager and I started to get excited about that position. Although it was not a consumer-facing business, it would be working on a product that had a lot of exposure and could include some international travel. The hiring manager told me that I would be contacted to schedule a round of in-person interviews in a week and a half. I also got contacted by a recruiter at Company C who had encouraged me to apply for a position at her company a week or so back. She wanted to talk to me more about the position and some of my past experience. Now, I knew when I applied for that position that it was a good fit from some of my prior experience but not really something I wanted to continue with in the future. I still applied though because any job is better than no job, okay! But, now that I knew that I was getting an offer, I declined to go any further with Company C.

Day 4, I was supposed to get the offer. Instead I got a call from the recruiter at Company A going over the offer. While I didn't quite get the money I wanted, I reasoned that given their historical propensity to payout well on the yearly bonus (something that didn't really live up to it's potential at my old company) I would end up at about the same as what I was making before, if not a little better. But, you should always negotiate. Women historically are afraid to negotiate, and black folks as well. It seems to be drilled into us that we are lucky to have a job. But, traditionally, white men aren't hindered by the same viewpoint and just about always negotiate. So remember, always negotiate --- they will not take the offer from you! In fact, they expect you to! If you don't, you will be leaving stuff on the table. And there are more things that you can negotiate on besides salary. I was able to get a few more vacation days out of the deal.

Day 5, I got the offer. It was like we discussed but I was confused that there was not anything to sign and send back. So I sent an email asking about that.

The weekend was pretty quiet, save a yummy dinner that I cooked and a Brazilian party with a few too many caipirinhas!

Day 8, the recruiter from Company A saying that email acceptance would be fine for the offer. When I was just about to send the email accepting the offer, I got an email from Consulting Company D. (are you confused yet??) A great friend of mine who lives in the city I used to live in works for Company D and when he heard about my situation at the beginning of the year, he offered to submit my resume as an interal referral. Now, I was not all that excited about the travel associated with consulting but like I said before, a job is better than no job, okay! To be honest, I had forgotten all about it until the recruiter contacted me. Now Company D has done some really exciting projects in my industry and it was very flattering that a senior director there was interesting in my resume. But what do I do?!

Well, I tried to find out as much about Company D from my friend as I could and I called back the recruiter there the next day. I also called a guy I knew in the group at Company A to ask some more specific questions about what it is like to work there on a daily basis and what it is like to work for my potential new boss. Then, about 45 minutes later, I got a call from the recruiter at Company A telling me that she was hearing rumors that I was going to reject the offer. First of all, rumors?? It was a little bit of a strange conversation. It was like she was trying to do the final sale, telling me that there were 300 applicants for the position and how great my manager would be, and also trying to put the screws to me. So, I don't know if someone actually talked to her or if this was just a final negotiating tactic but it sort of worked. After the conversation I knew that I would not be able to effectively stall Company A until I could get anything tangible from the other companies. I called Company B and declined to interview further.

I did still follow through with a call with a principal at Company D, just to find out more about the company. And I made a decision. It was rather flattering to have multiple companies competing for me, even if the timing wasn't right. And, while I got the position that I wanted, this situation underpins the need to continuously network, even when you have a job, so that you won't need to start from scratch when "things happen." I am the kind of person who really dedicates themselves to their job and the group that I work in but there are no guarantees, no matter how big the company is. So, while I will continue to be dedicated to my job, I will still keep my eye out for the next opportunity.

It's over!

Well, it looks like, after 5 months, my sometimes paid vacation is coming to an end! A few weeks ago I was finally contacted by a company I was targeting to come in for an interview. In fact, that day I was contacted by two hiring managers at Company A to interview for two different positions that week. So I scheduled both.

Now one was in a group that I have been working on getting a position in since December. I had talked to a number of folks about the group and have a number of people forward my resume to the hiring manager. The other one, apparently some of the folks I know from job had recommended me to the hiring manager. I started doing a little research as I prepared for the interview and found out that both hiring managers sit on the same floor, around the corner from each other.

So I went to the first interview that week and it was organized for me to talk to 3 people, with the hiring manager being last. 45 minutes with each person separately. It was a rather long afternoon. 2 1/2 hours is a long time to talk about yourself. And to re-introduce yourself each time. I started to forget who I had said what to! I was also warned that the hiring manager was a tough interviewer and that she didn't really give much feedback at all during the interview. And it was the truth. Plainly put, I would not want to play poker with her! You cannot read any emotions on her face or in her voice during interviews. But I felt well prepared and thought I did pretty well.

The other interview was 2 days later, with only one person (Thank God!) The funniest thing was that I had to walk past the office of the other woman I interviewed with 3 times before the end and the third time she says "Hi RedDred (well not really but you get the point)!" with a big smile on her face and I had to say back "Hi Poker-faced Interviewer Lady!" right in front of the guy I was interviewing with. It happened to be a great segue to introduce to him that I had already interviewed with her earlier in the week. In fact, at the end of the interview he asked me when she said that she would get back to me and then he assured me that he would be making a decision a few days before when she said she would. So I left the interview feeling pretty positive.

Now, given my new dedication to positive thinking , I decided to alter my approach to how I thought about the interviews as I waited to hear word. I knew that I had done the best job I could in my interviews and I was not going to fret about what I could have said or done differently. I would only think positively about the experience and not let fear or worry get the best of me. So I took two post-it notes and wrote the titles of the positions on each one and stuck them to my mirror in my bathroom. Then, every time I saw them I would think, "I am going to get one of these jobs!" or " I am going to be working at Company A soon!" A few days I did something that I felt was a little corny but I figured it was not bad to send this type of energy out into the universe... I visualized, turn by turn, me driving to work at Company A on the first day with my box of stuff to put on my desk and then parking and walking up to the building and talking to the receptionist. I also decided to pro-actively buy a pass for the toll since I would have to pay a toll to get to and from Company A so I wouldn't have to carry quarters with me all the time.

Now, a pragmatist would say that these things really didn't make a difference and that the difference was made during the interview but I figured my attitude couldn't have hurt. And the punchline is, I got an offer last Friday for the second position I interviewed for, which was the one I had been tracking down since December! So I am returning to the realm of the employed and not a moment too soon and doing something that I think I will really enjoy!

Thanks so much to all of you for your words of encouragement during these times, especially Brunsli, BlackRussian, and Naturally, Sophia. You helped me keep my spirits and my resolve up. It is great to have a supportive online network of friends cheering you on when you need it the most. Thanks guys!!!

Job search update: Day 85 - the thrill is gone....

So I have been contemplating writing another job search update post for a while but to be quite frank, not that much has happened. I have gone to all the Tuesday morning breakfast sessions, reached out to tons of folks via email or phone, gotten replies from some, met or talked with others but nothing really substantive has come of it yet.

I have been keeping an open mind but it is all starting to get old. The novelty of being out of work is wearing off after 3 months and I am getting a little bored and frustrated. I even decided to do a little seasonal retail work to pass the time since things are slowing down on the job market and put in my application at a store where a friend of mine works. Turns out the store manager has been out for the past two weeks so she hasn't been looking at applications and the season is passing by.... I am starting to feel a bit of the whole Groundhog day syndrome. Every day the same thing.

I did take a few days off from the job search thing and bought Christmas decorations. I also did some cooking and my refrigerator is filled and I am getting sick of washing dishes. Even with taking time away from the job search, a couple balls that I had in the air kept on moving so I have a few folks to contact next week. Eventhough it is slim that I would even get an interview between now and next year, it is still a good idea to get on people's radar ahead of time. I know that a couple of companies I am targeting are planning expansion starting in January so i will need to hit the ground raring to go!