The Big Shift

In the last few weeks I was faced with a major fork in the road. There were three choices and all of them I love dearly. It was hard to choose so I reached out to my Kuya for some guidance. He immediately responded to me and gave me an exercise I should go through.

I didn't go through the exercise and chose the easiest logical choice before Christmas.

I thought I was okay with the choice but it didn't sit well with me. I felt I had gotten emotional and chose only based on the conditions. I had not taken into consideration other facets of my life that were equally important. I had been carrying a heavy heart for a few weeks.

Going on vacation does wonders for a person. I had been so busy the last few months and everything was just about work. I didn't have a weekend for 3 straight months and I badly needed rest. It took a few weeks for me to get out of the zone and when I did I realized that I should've done the exercise my Kuya had sent me.

The exercise allowed me to make my choice based on what I like doing, how it will affect my family and my health, my future plans, personal growth and service to my community/faith. I had mistakenly made my original decision based on logic and what would've been easiest to do. It was a very selfish decision and I realized that it wasn't my current mission.

So 2014 is going to be a big shift for me in my career. It's going to be a challenging year!  

Changing Jobs and 100 Plurk Karma

No, not me. That thought has not crossed my mind for several years now because I am where I targeted myself to be.

Anyway, the thought crossed my mind because a number of my friends over at Plurk have been thinking about moving jobs. Yesterday I found myself at the  building where I used to work 10 years ago. And that made me think, what made me decide to change jobs throughout the years?

My very first job was as a student assistant/do-everything-you can for a research institute and that's where I experienced helping out organize a conference with dignitaries as guests. My 

beloved boss was a fire-breathing dragon who used to throw around landline phones when in rage. I learned discipline. I quit because I had to finish my thesis and had to manage my time being EIC of our literary publication.

My second job wasn't so bad. I freelanced as a writer for a petroleum company. It was pretty exciting and opened up a whole new world to me. My boss was really great and she kept feeding me (thought I was too thin). I had to move though from her department to the another one for my OJT. I learned job dedication. I could've stayed, but I was advised that there was a glass ceiling for women in the company. 

I took my third real-not-student-assistant-or-freelance job a few weeks before I graduated. I was willing to work even just for the free unlimited calls mobile phone. LOL. It was for a telco and I was part of the first 500 employees (they have thousands of employees now). I was happy working in our sardine-cubicle, sharing a table with 4 other girls. I acquired people skills. I left because they were demanding for us to have 7 p.m. meetings everyday. The job paid well, but it was a choice between quality of life vs. quantity of money. It was my first job heartbreak.

After getting traumatized I helped my parents in their export business while I was taking my MBA. I lived and breathed what I learned in school through our business. I learned the reason why you have to employ people - because you cannot do everything for your business! I learned the value of being a stakeholder. I eventually moved because the orders we got from other countries did not push through because of the financial crisis. 

I worked for several companies after that and thought that I had the worst luck in the world when it came to immediate supervisors. I encountered 2 more fire-breathing dragons who never seemed to be satisfied with anything or anyone. There were days I'd find myself under my table crying, but their screaming-rages, insults and lies never deterred me. Why? Because that was the time that I really loved my job and no amount of kicking waned me from learning more. I eventually left because I thought I might lose my self-esteem. I learned to keep learning.

And just like finding the right person for me, I had full appreciation for the next job. I could not help but shed a few tears when I arrived at campus 3 years ago. Because I had found the right one. And I felt I belonged. I felt I was where I was supposed to be. And so here I am a happy worker. 

Oooohhh this post has become very long! I was just supposed to give some food for thought on why you should change jobs:

1. Don't let it be because you hate your boss. Always try to learn something from them (even if they are fire-breathing dragons).

2. You have to love your job. So if you and your job don't fit. Find another one.

3. It's also not good to move jobs every few months. Best do it every 2-3 years.

-----------------------

I've reached 100 karma on Plurk! Woohoo!