I was still horribly sick when I got back and visited my primary care doctor as soon as I could. She gave me the party line about how she couldn't really prescribe anything since I was pregnant, but gave me a tip that I could take Claritin or Mucinex safely. Fine, that helped a little.
The next day I had an appointment with my awesome OB for a usual checkup on BabyX', who finally allowed us to hear his/her heartbeat on the Doppler. She scoffed at the *3* doctors I saw who wouldn't prescribe anything and finally gave me sweet relief with a prescription for Zantac which cured the nausea and puking after the FIRST DOSE, and an inhaler which FINALLY got rid of the cough I've had for 4 freakin' weeks. I love my doctor.
 |
| this one goes out to the ones I love |
So as I am prone to doing, my inner project manager go to work and went into frantic job-search mode. I'm a pro at searching for internal jobs, having switched roles 5 times in the almost-10 years I've been there. The unsettling thing about this is that it wasn't my choice. I like my current team, and of course LOVE my part time schedule.
But after a week or so of freaking out and talking to people across the company about potential jobs, I'm not as unemployable as I thought. Let me tell you, it's awkward to bring up the fact that 1) I am pregnant and will start my maternity leave in October, and 2)I work part time and would love to keep it that way. I figured no team would want that.
Keeping the part-time schedule is going to be a challenge. Most of the interesting jobs I found are not ok with it. I had a few managers tell me outright "this team does not have good work-life balance." Yikes.
I *could* theoretically go back to working full time, because TJ is home now. But I also want to enjoy the time with him. Today we went to the Children's Museum in the morning, and it was a beautiful thing - easy parking, no crowds.
Our team got merged into a larger team, so I went to talk to some folks there. My last meeting was with the director of the team we got merged into, and I was a little nervous about that. And then she presented me with what sounds like a really awesome job. Project management. Bringing order to chaos. Helping other teams go through a process to release their code.
And not only that, she's totally cool with the part time schedule. I wouldn't have to go through the usual gauntlet of 5-7 interviews for this role. They need someone right away. I have the option to go full time later.
I know, I should be all "where do I sign up?", right? But I'm apprehensive. Every time I look for a new job, I worry about whether I'll make the right choice. Will this be a good or bad manager/management chain for me? Will this job disappear without warning in 8 months? Are there environmental factors that will make performance review a miserable thing? Is this work going to make me happy? Could I find a different position where I would earn a bit more? If I take this one, am I moving too fast? Should I consider more options just for the sake of time? (We did buy the first house we saw because we LOVED it...)
Does the "perfect" job even exist?
Sigh. I am grateful to have these questions, and not "how will I put food on the table?" Any words of wisdom here?
1st, yea for having a good option. I have a few bullets points that are dying to come out.
ReplyDelete1. I don't think that the perfect exists. Although some are pretty good.
2. I'd rather have a mediocre job with a team I love working with rather than a stellar job with a team I dislike. The interchange with like-minded people I respect at work is what makes it worth going to.
3. If the job goes away in 8 months then you'll have to find another job. If I've read your posts correctly, that take you about a week. No biggie.
4. I'm not a fan of over-optimizing these things. When there is no perfect option, and a lot of cost to additional research (such as losing your first option) then I'm a fan of going with the first option that seems good.
5. I'm faking more confidence in these pithyisms than I actually feel.
Haha at #5, and all good points, which are similar to the advice I'm getting for TJ. Overoptimizing is my specialty ;D Thanks for the comment - that was really helpful.
DeleteI like these, especially 3 and 4!
DeleteI'd take it - but I'm lazy when it comes to job hunting! Seriously though, if you've got a good feeling about - it's worth jumping in. If it doesn't work out, you'll have a chance to take a break & re-think in October.
ReplyDeleteJust stay waaay away from a team that says they don't do work-life balance. That's bad news, no matter how cool the job sounds.
I know, it's scary they'd mention it, but good to know up front I guess...
DeleteSorry to hear about your job disappearing but fantastic that you're so employable.
ReplyDeleteI'm not one for over-analysing things - when I find something I like, i go for it!
And like the other commenter, my work environment is verrrrrry important to me. If I love the team, I'm more likely to stay. This is [precisely why I've been in the same team for 7 years..... :)
Yes, it definitely makes a HUGE difference if you like your team/coworkers.
DeleteAnd yeah, I'm lucky that I work for such a huge company that I can just find a new job internally - I still have to interview (usually) but it just *seems* easier than looking elsewhere.
Oh, and my call is that the perfect job doesn't exist - there are good jobs, great jobs even - but not perfect.
ReplyDeleteYou sound like a pro at moving jobs. I envy you on that. It is really easy to feel stuck, but to also not feel like you have a way out.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I would step back, take a few deep breaths and go with your gut. Is it perfect? Probably not, but I don't think any job is perfect. Is it a good fit? I think so. You get to keep the schedule you like and you get to do what you want. If it doesn't work out, you can move on.
Of course this is coming from someone that has been at the same job for 10+ years (almost 11!).
(And it is the people that I work with that have kept me here through the thick and thin.)
"So once I got the puking out of the way, I could resume real life" ugh, glad you're feeling better.
ReplyDeleteDoes the new role expose you to more people with P&L responsibility? If it does, say yes. Having those relationships is the unspoken ticket to job security.
Try not to worry so much about getting laid off while you're pregnant; I know anecdotally your specific employer would bend over backwards to avoid sending the wrong message. So try to relax. If you get a good vibe from your new mgr and haven't hear any horror stories about her - go with it.
@Hush - great advice re: P&L responsibility and networking stuff. Thanks.
DeleteAnd yes to your second point, though I have at least one friend who was laid off during her mat leave :(
Being laid off while pregnant probably won't happen - mat leave is a completely different story though, esp if it is a longish one by US standards. If you're away for 12 weeks people might start to forget about you - or not, depends on the relationships you've formed. I think coming back from mat or pat leave slowly over time instead of all at once is generally a great idea.
DeleteI think 90% of our conversations are about the part-time thing :) From what you're writing, it seems like part of the appeal of part-time is the ability to spend family time together on weekdays, and do things during the 9-5 day (less lines, etc.) I wonder if there are any situations that want full-time, but would give a lot of flexibility? You could do 40 hours over 4 days, for instance, and have a weekday off. Or take 2 mornings off and work later on some days... that sort of thing. If you've got a great offer that is part-time, that's wonderful, but if what seemed like a great opportunity wanted full-time, that could be another way of making it work.
ReplyDeleteYep, I've thought about that - our company has a formal arrangement for 4x10 and 9x9 schedules. However a lot of teams have "core hours" from 10-4 which they typically expect you to be around, some more flexible than others.
DeleteThe problem is that most jobs are NOT 40 hours, and if you work full time, the expectation is that you'll "do what it takes" to get things done, which can mean 50-60 hour weeks on a regular basis depending on how close your team is to a deadline.
What I love about working part-time is that it sets my expectation up front. It's not "unlimited hours", it's 75% of a FT job, etc. Somehow that seems to be understood better by managers as a boundary. Even working a 35-hour schedule would be a HUGE reduction of expectations over full time. I'm not sure why it works that way, but it just does.
DUDE.
ReplyDeleteYou can always work full time. It is hard to find part time. Maybe you are spoiled at the big M but everywhere else, it is hard to find part time. Go back full time when you don't have kids. Take it while you can find it!
Yeah, that's my thought. Especially if I can find a part-time gig where I have the opportunity to increase my hours later.
DeleteI could swing a FT job NOW, before the baby, but with an infant in the house that part-time schedule becomes really important, so I can get enough sleep to function...
I think your apprehension is understandable, but don't let it paralyze you. There is no perfect job. Having a job you love is one thing, but a perfect job, I don't think exists. There's always politics here to deal with, always the question of management. But the security of having a job now, especially in this economy, is a good thing I think. I say go with your gut. Jump in with both feet.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to believe there's no "perfect", too.
Delete