I Quit My Job Today
10:34 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
Official reason: the business is growing and Rick needs my help. I will be attending classes to obtain my real estate license as soon as I am done. Classes will be 3 weeks (maybe a little more) and then I take my test and get my license. at that point I will be officially working for MacDonald Investments LLC, our business we started a little over a year ago. MacDonald Investments is a real estate investment company- basically we flip houses. Buy them cheap, fix them up, sell them for a profit. But another part of it is being an actual agent- bringing buyers to look for houses, negotiating contracts, listing seller's homes, negotiating contracts, etc. This is one of the part that I think I will be great at. The other part I know I will be great at, is the creative aspect of flipping houses. Paints colors, tiles, cabinets styles, which wall needs to be moved where. I will finally be in a career that I can really utilize my creative side! Plus there will be a million smaller, more boring details that i will help with on a day to day basis. All in all, with the variety of work, incredible flexibility of schedule, and challenge of new work i will have a TON of fun!
Another reason: Although I have loved my work, I have not loved the office politics. I have truly enjoyed working with foster parents and having been there for a while, I am very well versed in Child Protective Services and love helping the foster parents navigate this underworld. I have become a REALLY good advocate for them. I am not always good with deadlines, but I do kick-ass work. But my work has been severely overlooked. When I first started I volunteered for extra projects left and right. And my previous jobs gave me incredible experience- experience above and beyond the projects i volunteered for at the current job. And I felt appreciated and valued as an employee under my first supervisor at Arizona's Children Association. However, with the succeeding supervisor, everything changed. Office politics became nasty. There were some who didn't like me in the office and used the new supervisor's lack of confidence (brand new, plus I competed with him for that very job) to take me down. (Boy, that sounds dramatic doesn't it?) So, this new supervisor, who I once considered my friend, betrayed what I thought was friendship and permanently affected my standing in the company. I know it all sounds like a soap opera- it kind of was, actually- and I do not deny that there was some blame on my part. I have a strong personality and can rub some people the wrong way. But the way it was all handled effected me so deeply; I was hurt so profoundly. I second-guessed every relationship around me, truly felt like everyone secretly hated me, and was very depressed for quite some time. It's like it tore a hole in my heart that has only recently begun to heal. I had actual hatred in my heart towards him. Because of the way he so poorly handled it, I spent two more years sucking up and kissing ass to the very people who put me in this position. I had to- because if I wasn't uber-helpful/cheerful/friendly towards them, I got Letters of Concern from HR. Despite the fact that they were rude bitches to me on a daily basis... I was bitter and beyond angry and every time I spoke about poison spewed out of my lips. I wanted desperately to quit then. But not being able to find a job, and plain old pride kept me there. So now, finally, when I have started to get over the pain, the opportunity for me to leave has come. Funny how that happens isn't it? Maybe there was a life lesson in there somewhere... I will ponder that one for years to come, I am sure.
Another reason: Sometimes I would get plain old burned out. Really. There is only so many stories of child abuse that one person can hear before they become hardened to it and it no longer effects them emotionally. Probably there actually. I am sure that someone who has not been in this field for a while would think that I am cold and callus for not reacting when I hear certain stories. It is a difficult phenomenon to explain. It's not that you loose the ability to recognize that something isn't horrific. It's more like, you get better at cutting yourself off from those emotions, because if you don't you will go crazy. I would also get burned out at dealing some foster parents. With some people, it seemed that no matter how much you tried to guide them, they simply could not grow beyond the simplistic view that love will heal all the children's wounds. It is simply not the case. They need love- YES! But they need so, so, so much more than that. And those foster parents would give up on the child, only furthering the wound! Aggravating!
Yet another reason: the most recent debacle that has hit our office. An employee, who only 3 months prior was employed by the agency and by our program, made terribly exaggerated and false accusations against everyone in this office- to the PRESIDENT AND CEO! Oh gawd. She claimed we were all a horrible bunch of people- unprofessional, degrading to each other and everyone we came in contact with, we were all fraudulent and lied on legal documents, and NONE of us EVER did our jobs. So, instead of doing some fact checking, the most senior HR lady the company has, came into our office and basically carpet bombed the place. Remember Bush Sr's war in Kuwait? Remember the term he used: "shock and awe"? that was his plan in Kuwait- we will shock and awe them with our military prowess and they will be defeated before they even knew what hit them... Well, that's what Rebecca Hill did to our office. Came in on a Thursday, interviewed the two supervisors and sent them home. She then proceeded to "interview" every person in the office over the next two days. I use the term "interview" loosely, of course. I don't think that HR should ever make people actually cry. In my understanding, Hr should at least pretend to be on the people's side. Win them over with gentle cooing and gingerly coax information out of them. HR has a reputation of being bland for a reason- think of Toby from The Office. And you would really think that a Senior-most HR manager would have ameliorated some mad skills in this arena. I am "shocked" and "awed" and the aggressive, accusatory, and overall amateur way that she dealt with all of it. I'm not kidding when I say that she made people cry. Nice people. Sweet-natured people.See, if Recebba Hill had done her research before she began her campaign, she would have found out that Regina Morgana has a hsitory of accusing people of things. She has, on four separate occasions, sued people for harrassement. Clearly there is something psychotic in this bnehavior. Clearly she is someone who "goes looking for it." ..........
Well, in any case. I think this has finally out me over the edge. There is too much of a history of lack-of-justice. And I am exceptionally fortunate that I am in a position to be able to leave when I have finally had enough.
And so, my change in career path. Despite all my various reasons for resigning and changing career directions, this has not come about without some serious soul searching. All my experience is related to social services. I graduated college determined to get my Masters in Counseling, and then my Psy.D. I went home to Minnesota over Thanksgiving and saw some friends I graduated college with, who had actually continued on that path and accomplished all the dreams I once had. It was hard for me- I felt like a cop-out and a slight failure. I started second guessing all our discussions about me working full-time for MacDonald Investments. Sigh. I think there will always be a part of me that will regret not going down that same path. However, a very wise woman (i.e. my dear mother) reminded me that, just because I may change career paths, does not mean I would stop making a difference in people's lives in my own way. That was like a light bulb for me! I can make money and do good!
So I am making the leap!
Another reason: Although I have loved my work, I have not loved the office politics. I have truly enjoyed working with foster parents and having been there for a while, I am very well versed in Child Protective Services and love helping the foster parents navigate this underworld. I have become a REALLY good advocate for them. I am not always good with deadlines, but I do kick-ass work. But my work has been severely overlooked. When I first started I volunteered for extra projects left and right. And my previous jobs gave me incredible experience- experience above and beyond the projects i volunteered for at the current job. And I felt appreciated and valued as an employee under my first supervisor at Arizona's Children Association. However, with the succeeding supervisor, everything changed. Office politics became nasty. There were some who didn't like me in the office and used the new supervisor's lack of confidence (brand new, plus I competed with him for that very job) to take me down. (Boy, that sounds dramatic doesn't it?) So, this new supervisor, who I once considered my friend, betrayed what I thought was friendship and permanently affected my standing in the company. I know it all sounds like a soap opera- it kind of was, actually- and I do not deny that there was some blame on my part. I have a strong personality and can rub some people the wrong way. But the way it was all handled effected me so deeply; I was hurt so profoundly. I second-guessed every relationship around me, truly felt like everyone secretly hated me, and was very depressed for quite some time. It's like it tore a hole in my heart that has only recently begun to heal. I had actual hatred in my heart towards him. Because of the way he so poorly handled it, I spent two more years sucking up and kissing ass to the very people who put me in this position. I had to- because if I wasn't uber-helpful/cheerful/friendly towards them, I got Letters of Concern from HR. Despite the fact that they were rude bitches to me on a daily basis... I was bitter and beyond angry and every time I spoke about poison spewed out of my lips. I wanted desperately to quit then. But not being able to find a job, and plain old pride kept me there. So now, finally, when I have started to get over the pain, the opportunity for me to leave has come. Funny how that happens isn't it? Maybe there was a life lesson in there somewhere... I will ponder that one for years to come, I am sure.
Another reason: Sometimes I would get plain old burned out. Really. There is only so many stories of child abuse that one person can hear before they become hardened to it and it no longer effects them emotionally. Probably there actually. I am sure that someone who has not been in this field for a while would think that I am cold and callus for not reacting when I hear certain stories. It is a difficult phenomenon to explain. It's not that you loose the ability to recognize that something isn't horrific. It's more like, you get better at cutting yourself off from those emotions, because if you don't you will go crazy. I would also get burned out at dealing some foster parents. With some people, it seemed that no matter how much you tried to guide them, they simply could not grow beyond the simplistic view that love will heal all the children's wounds. It is simply not the case. They need love- YES! But they need so, so, so much more than that. And those foster parents would give up on the child, only furthering the wound! Aggravating!
Yet another reason: the most recent debacle that has hit our office. An employee, who only 3 months prior was employed by the agency and by our program, made terribly exaggerated and false accusations against everyone in this office- to the PRESIDENT AND CEO! Oh gawd. She claimed we were all a horrible bunch of people- unprofessional, degrading to each other and everyone we came in contact with, we were all fraudulent and lied on legal documents, and NONE of us EVER did our jobs. So, instead of doing some fact checking, the most senior HR lady the company has, came into our office and basically carpet bombed the place. Remember Bush Sr's war in Kuwait? Remember the term he used: "shock and awe"? that was his plan in Kuwait- we will shock and awe them with our military prowess and they will be defeated before they even knew what hit them... Well, that's what Rebecca Hill did to our office. Came in on a Thursday, interviewed the two supervisors and sent them home. She then proceeded to "interview" every person in the office over the next two days. I use the term "interview" loosely, of course. I don't think that HR should ever make people actually cry. In my understanding, Hr should at least pretend to be on the people's side. Win them over with gentle cooing and gingerly coax information out of them. HR has a reputation of being bland for a reason- think of Toby from The Office. And you would really think that a Senior-most HR manager would have ameliorated some mad skills in this arena. I am "shocked" and "awed" and the aggressive, accusatory, and overall amateur way that she dealt with all of it. I'm not kidding when I say that she made people cry. Nice people. Sweet-natured people.See, if Recebba Hill had done her research before she began her campaign, she would have found out that Regina Morgana has a hsitory of accusing people of things. She has, on four separate occasions, sued people for harrassement. Clearly there is something psychotic in this bnehavior. Clearly she is someone who "goes looking for it." ..........
Well, in any case. I think this has finally out me over the edge. There is too much of a history of lack-of-justice. And I am exceptionally fortunate that I am in a position to be able to leave when I have finally had enough.
And so, my change in career path. Despite all my various reasons for resigning and changing career directions, this has not come about without some serious soul searching. All my experience is related to social services. I graduated college determined to get my Masters in Counseling, and then my Psy.D. I went home to Minnesota over Thanksgiving and saw some friends I graduated college with, who had actually continued on that path and accomplished all the dreams I once had. It was hard for me- I felt like a cop-out and a slight failure. I started second guessing all our discussions about me working full-time for MacDonald Investments. Sigh. I think there will always be a part of me that will regret not going down that same path. However, a very wise woman (i.e. my dear mother) reminded me that, just because I may change career paths, does not mean I would stop making a difference in people's lives in my own way. That was like a light bulb for me! I can make money and do good!
So I am making the leap!
