Putting the Past Behind Me

Today will be the end of my two year long career in IT staffing. Next Tuesday will mark the beginning of my new profession. Even though I am leaving an industry I know was never made for me in the first place, I felt it necessary to capture what I've learned in written form.

To be an Account Manager is to be someones bitch (I'll elaborate on this later). I know this won't come as a shock to most of you but for those of you who aren't aware; the AM role is stressful, demanding and unrewarding (except monetarily if you last that long). After analyzing the past two years of my life and breaking down the top lessons I've learned, I saw that they were easily categorized into 'the good, the bad and the ugly'. Ironically enough, the staffing industry does depict a violent, western industry of organized business crime; and no that is not a direct parallel but I got a chuckle that it was comparable.

The Good:
1. The Power of Listening- Anyone who knows me, knows I am a talker. And anyone who meets me, will know I am a talker with in a matter of minutes. While a part of this is my infatuation with the power of communication (which I know will never go away); the other part is my immaturity- An easily correctable factor. Over the past couple years I've realized I want to be known as a good listener rather than as a good talker. This is not to say I place any less importance on the ability to speak well but it does reverse my original prioritization. People enjoy being around those who listen. People do not enjoy being around people who talk incessantly, or better yet those who are so transparent that the other party is aware he/she is not listening but rather waiting for their turn to speak yet again. I have such high goals for my future in business that I have no doubt this little gem of listening more than speaking will help carry me further in my career.

The Bad:
1. I've realized I was in the wrong industry fairly early on. But just because one has a revelation doesn't mean he/she has the ability to act on it right away. So up until this point, I've been doing my job to the best of my ability, meeting incredible people, learning and seeking escapes. When I really sat down and asked myself "What is it exactly that you can't stand about being an AM?"... my answer came: It is devastating to be blamed for another persons action's that I have absolutely no control over.

In this business, the AM gets blamed for any Joe Schmoe's decision about taking a job or quitting a job, lying about other interviews/opportunities she is exploring/his criminal background, etc. The list goes on for days! In others jobs, jobs I desire, you take responsibility for yourself and for your team (if you are a manager of some type or really just a leader in general). But you should not/would not get punished for another humans actions that were unavoidable by anything you could've done. When I mess up, I will always (eventually) own it. But if there is an occurrence that happens as a result of something I have absolutely zero control over, I have a hard time swallowing the lecture handed my way. In this industry, this occurs at least once a week... really starts to eat away at your spirit.


The Ugly:
1. Attention any and all managers that hire and use agencies to do so...the staffing industry is deceptive & dirty. This is not to say that all companies (and I've experienced both sides of that spectrum in my short two year stint) in staffing are as described, but rather a large portion. I am a very morale person, always have been. The handful of moral mishaps that I've had in my life haunt me and haunt me well. So, knowing this about me, you will deduce that I have extreme cognitive dissonance in the AM role. Always being pressured to raise rates or to push for this or that or whatever just continued to hang over me day in and day out. Knowing that I wouldn't give in earned me respect among clients and anger from my superiors in the business.

No matter the category, I'm grateful for the wisdom and even more grateful for the opportunity to embark on the beginning of my new career.
Before this transition takes form on Tuesday, I'm headed to Seattle with the big guy.

Grateful and Ready,
Aubs

Interim

I am working at 'Company A' presently, I am starting at 'Company B' in a week.

I just had lunch with the CEO of Co. A having him convince me that I should stay with Co. A. I asked him why he was spending his valuable & limited time with me; I'm inexperienced, have a mediocre amount of deals closed, and don't like selling in the least. He said I wouldn't be spending time with you unless you are worth it, unless I saw all the charcteristics in you that I want as a future leader in my company, someone worth having on my team.

How do you deal with that? Walking away from an industry you are not satisfied in, with a leader who believes in your potential almost more than you do yourself...to a company where you will take a different path, hopefully (*fingers crossed*) leading you in the right direction for you career where the CEO will not know your name for a good 5-10 years let alone have lunch with you...

I have goals. All these goals I want to reach. I can see them; I can see them in clear view. But the path to getting there is fuzzy and ever so slowly divulging itself. I need it to divulge itself faster. Or at least I think I do, maybe I don't. Who really knows the correct timing until it reveals itself. When it does I will assuredly take a big sigh and say "Ohhh, that's what was meant to happen. I see". In the mean time to discovering my future, my utopia would entail taking my present CEO to my industry/company.