Extension

After  being lulled by the security  of 20+ years at Boeing it is amazing how  much my expectations and fear levels have changed or maybe it just a change in my time horizons.  Today, I was informed that my 6 month position at UW has been extended to 10 months.

To me this is great news from a couple of perspectives.  The first is that I don’t have to focus on getting a new job until after the summer is over.  So I can continue to focus on the getting ready for the STP and I can get back to focusing on completing our remodel.  Over the last few months my increased focus on work and biking has translated into not making much progress on the remodel.

The second area for which this represents good news, is that they are recognizing my value for helping with what they are trying to accomplish.  I am enjoying what I am doing, and feel truly valued for what I am able to accomplish. 

I’m not sure that this will turn into a permanent position, but I think that the possibility is a step closer.    This is where I’m feeling my perspective is changing.  Getting a permanent position would be icing on the cake, but it isn’t as so all fired important as it was before.   Getting through the fall is enough for now.  Not having to look for a job is a great benefit.  Being able to do something that I’m enjoying and feel valued for is a great benefit.

I’m feeling better able to handle whatever happens.  I may need to go back on unemployment, be without work for a while, or go for work with a whole new company;  but I can handle it and it won’t be the end of the world.  In fact, I can thrive through this situation and come out better in end.  At Boeing, I fooled myself into thinking that I was in a secure situation when I wasn’t.  Being a little more secure would be nice, but  isn’t as important as I thought it was.

Sharing what I’ve learned

Two teachers have informed me that their contracts will not be picked up for next year, basically getting their warn notices.  For one, I put what I learned into a letter.    As state governments deal with their short falls I fear there will be many more layoffs.  And then if the federal cuts  come quickly another wave of layoffs will follow.

I thought I would share this here and it might give some ideas on helping others.

So sorry and so excited to hear your news. Our times of growth happen in interesting times, in times when the rug is pulled out from under us. Times when each step you take, unsure of the footing, you have to gingerly test to see if it will hold.

Life goes on–2 months and counting

Well it has been two months of the six at UW-IT.  The job is going great, though the time is speeding by.    My job is divided  into two parts.  The first part has to do with Bench marking and metrics.  In this, I am gathering the inputs to complete two surveys which will enable UW-IT to evaluate itself against many different university IT departments.  This will be used to determine strategy and for determining where to focus improvement activity.  Also here, I have been looking into developing metrics, actually a dashboard type concept for IT.  So far this is in the research stage, with benchmarking being the current focus.

The second part of the assignment is in helping with the implementation of ITIL.  ITIL is a set of international best practice processes for IT.  I worked for many years at Boeing in the implementation of process management and ITIL.  This has several facets and has been very interesting.  I designed and held a world café conversation involving 45 fresh ITIL foundation certified individuals.  This was designed to promote a community of change agents and to discuss the strategy of ITIL implementation going forward and was a great success.  I have been asked to design another conversation as the next two certifications classes complete.  For this first conversation I invited 60 people, so getting 45 to attend is a fabulous turnout.   For the next one I will be invited over 100 individuals.

Networking VII -Gone but not forgotten.

Image via Wikipedia

It has been great.  I haven’t even thought about searching for a job.  I haven’t touched my resume.  The break has been good.

The state of Washington was a bit late getting into this recession and is late coming out of it as well.  The state budgets are constrained beyond belief and the cuts they are looking at are truly draconian.   With this backdrop, I’m thinking that the possibility of having my current 6 month UW position morph into a full time permanent position is pretty slim.  I’m not burning any bridges though, the work is there, and my skill set is very helpful for where they are as an organization.  A permanent position is like a carrot dangling just out of reach.   I will be working hard to get to the carrot and at the same time I will need to be looking for work.

Time passes by so quickly, I have already been in the position for 5 weeks.  I want to go at least another 3 weeks before I get serious about job hunting again.  This will begin with adding information about my current position to my resume and getting that all ready to go.

Finding the Time

Well it has just about been a month at the new job.  It is going great.   The campus doesn’t look like this yet, but it won’t be long before it does.

It has been very nice to get a reprieve from job hunting.  I don’t remember the last time I used Simply Hired and it has been weeks since I rewrote my resume in order to send it out.  The news on the job market seems to be getting better.  I hope that when this 6 month position is done, I will be entering a hot job market.

I have been approaching this job in two ways.  The first way is as a 6 month interview—a way to fully bring what I can do to the job.  And then with that understanding, they can make an informed decision about whether I would be good fit for the organization.  I have been cramming to learn all I can as fast as I can to make a good impression.  Since I have been riding the bus to and from, I have been using this time for studying.  It’s been nice being able to devote this extra time.