Z-BlondieC

What's around the next bend...

It’s been an overwhelming few weeks, for many reasons, but things have begun to calm down. I just spent the entire day at the hospital with my boyfriend who had surgery on his shoulder for a torn labrum. That’s the perk of unemployment; I have all day everyday to do whatever I want. Also, appointments don’t interfere with my schedule, since I do not have a schedule!

Another perk is that I am able to focus more on my course work. I don’t feel rushed to complete my homework or stressed about the time I have to spend in class. With the stress of work removed, I am able to study leisurely. I am finding my studies much more enjoyable as a result and I think that I will get more out of my education as a result. (wow, I sound like suck a dork!)

But on a more serious point I am beginning to get slightly nervous about my job situation. The job market is not at a good place because of the economy/impending recession. I have been officially out of work for two weeks, but I have been applying for jobs for about four, with very little leads. I’ve had one interview, for a sales job, and I am completely uninterested. I know that beggars can’t be choosers, but I also don’t want to end up in another job that I despise.

When I’m applying, I position myself as an MBA student who is looking for a company to grow with. I figure this shows that I am young, with some real world experience, and I am improving myself so that I am able to bring my best self to a company. I think that companies look for employees that they can retain, watch grow and then they can promote those employees within the company.

Since now solid job leads have presented themselves yet, I am playing with the idea of getting a part time job (hopefully with benefits). By doing that, I can focus more on school, take more classes at a time and finish faster, or at least definitely on time. So, I don’t know what my future holds, but it is exciting to have the world at my feet. I like not knowing that I am doing every day. It makes like more of an adventure ☺

End of an era, beginning of new ventures

This is going to be a short post today. It is my final day as the grant writer at work. It is a bittersweet day. I have become so close with the women I work with, yet the environment is no longer conducive to my development. As I said in my last post, it was a hard decision to make, but one that had to happen, sooner rather than later.

I have been job hunting, with little luck yet. I don't mind taking some time to myself, I really need to sit back and evaluate what direction I want to take my career. I have applied for several internal positions at the hospital. I am hoping to stay with the organization. I enjoy it here, just not the work I am doing.

My classes have been going well, but I have not paid as much attention to my studies as I would like to (because of the turmoil in my professional life). I am excited to put more focus on my graduate studies, since that is what will get me where I want to end up. One of my close friends said to me, "You're not going to be truly happy in any position until you finish your degree, which will enable you to land the job you really want."

Thanks to everyone out there who has been supportive during this tough transition. I can't wait to see what is in store next for me :)

When one window closes, another is opened...hopefully

It has been quite a few months in the making, but I am leaving my job. I put in my two weeks yesterday, and it felt AMAZING! I had hoped to stick with this position/organization for the duration of my MBA program, but that is not possible. It is not worth my happiness or sanity, both of which were slowly disappearing as a result of stress. I also wanted to look for a new job once I was further along in my MBA studies, so that I could use that as leverage in my job hunt or salary negotiations.

So after a weekend that included a mini-meltdown over what my steps should be, my mind is clearer. I am either going to switch to a position internally, where I will be an assistant or a coordinator to a director, which still positions me well within the hospital. Or I am going to take some time off for a few weeks, job hunt and re-evaluate what I really want in a job and in a career. Either way, I am going to do what's best for me. perhaps by taking a job with a little less responsibility, I will be able to take more courses and complete my degree quicker :)

This experience has taught me a few life lessons. A cushy position doesn't equal happiness. It is more important to be happy each day, find fulfillment in what you do and keep your integrity, than to get a decent paycheck and have a lovely office. A business world lesson it taught me is how much management style can effect an employees morale. And once it has gotten to a certain point, there is not easy fix to the lack of motivation in a position.

Moving forward in my career, I hope not to forget how I feel sitting in this seat. One day I plan to be at least where my manager was, and I never want to make a direct report feel as I did. I must say, walking in and handing in my two weeks, was a very empowering moment, one that I'm not sure I would have had the knowledge or guts to do if it wasn't for all I am learning right now.

Love what you do... is it a dream?

So I have found my curriculum very stimulating lately. We’ve been discussing motivation a lot, intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. It has really got me thinking about my future and what career path I want to follow. It seems as like just when I think I have figured out my goals, they change again. But that’s part of the fun of it all right? I hope so.

Let me back track, for any of you who don’t know what intrinsic and extrinsic are. Intrinsic motivation is what drives people to succeed, create things and do the things they love, regardless of the pay off at the end of the road. Extrinsic motivation is the motivation to do something because of a pay, such as a promotion or pay raise. There is a correlation between the two. When extrinsic goes up, the intrinsic goes down. Here is an example, when an artist has a smash debut album, their extrinsic motivation (or factors) increase such as publicity, wealth, fans and pressure from their record company to hit one out of the park again. This is where the term “sophomore slump” comes from in the recording industry. The beauty of their creativity and self expression now has a price tag and pressure on it, where before all of the extrinsic motivation, it just came naturally.

So all of this relates to motivating one’s self in the work place or when motivating those you manage. If you performed well when you were first hired, just because you loved your job, when you’re giving more money and responsibility, perhaps a promotion, will your intrinsic motivation take a nose dive? Possibly.

At what point do people sell out? Does everyone have a price tag, or is that very condescending to think? I like to think that my generation doesn’t, or at least most of us don’t. After reading many articles about the differences of the generations, they say that my generation is least likely to give work their all. This is because of the events that shaped our youth (Columbine, 9/11, etc.), they showed us that what matters is family and friends, not necessarily giving our whole lives to a company and a career.

So the best of both worlds, the ideal, the dream to strive for – do what you love, and get paid for it! How often do you hear that now a days? It’s practically a buzzword. But it’s true. Unfortunately it is easier said than done.

Better late than never...

My weekly post is only slightly late, and I apologize to all of you out there who were on the edge of your seats waiting. Between work, school and attempts at keeping up a social life, I've been semi-swamped.

Regardless of that, I am very happy to report that classes are fantastic! There is a lot of work involved, but it is so interesting. I am taking Effective Career Planning (1 credit), Organizational Behavior (3 credits) and Stats/Econ (3 credits). Unlike during my undergrad work, I am actually doing all of my homework and reading. Having spent some time in the working world, I can see where everything I'm learning will actually be put into use, so I don't mind doing the work.

In my Organization Behavior (OB) class, I'm already putting my classroom discussions into use! We are currently learning about Emotional Intelligence (EI). Working for a hospital, I have to deal with all types of people, with all different education and experience levels. EI is necessary to "keep the peace" sometimes. After reading about it last week, EI seems as if it is just a combination of good manners and a knowledge of your surroundings. It's just being understanding, compassionate and respectful!

My Stats course is what is going to give me gray hairs this semester. As my professor put it, I fall into the category of "liberals arts major who avoided math at all costs." So, to be learning business statistics in a seven week course, with no stats background, barely any Excel background, on-line, is the formula for learning stats the hardest way possible. But really, when is it ever better to take the easy road?? You won't learn as many lessons that way. And boy... am I learning some now.

So far, I am a huge fan of the on-line class. I am literally earning my MBA while in my pajamas, either on the couch or in bed. What is better than that??? The class really interacts as if we were in a traditional, brick and mortar classroom. There are inside jokes, people can "raise" their hand (well click a button...), debates break out, Power point presentations are shown, etc. People need to let go of the idea that it's not the same, cause it is! And this is the new wave of learning coming at us all. Jump on board people!

T-minus one week...

Welcome to my blog that will be following my life as an MBA student at Suffolk University. With only a week left, I must say that I can't wait to start my coursework. For anyone out there who knows me, I've been talking about and pursuing this dream for over a year now. Honestly, I'm so sick of talking about it, I just want to jump in and do this. I have been completely sucked into the business school way of thinking already.

I can not pin point the moment this occurred. When I somehow switched from a keg-party, beer pong playing, bar hopping party girl, to a young woman in B-school, with her focus now on how to improve the companies that surround our daily lives (and hopefully do something for the greater good along the way).

When I began studying for the GMAT, I was warned that this would occur. That my life, as I had known it, would be changed as a result of my decision to get an MBA. Now, you’re probably saying, “Obviously it would change, you decided to better yourself, and further your career…blah..blah..blah.” That’s not what I mean though. My thought process and patterns have changed. Over the past year I have been reading many books on leadership and business, (my personal favorites have been Our Iceberg is Melting, The Tipping Point and Managing the Non-Profit Organization), those are what have changed me. My informal interest in business practices. How I get upset over un-ethical CEO’s, slow processes that are senseless, and the old time mantra (and I cringe to say this, but it is even said where I work) “that is the way it has always been done.”

Possibly I am thinking as an over-eager young person who is wants my goals to have been achieved yesterday, but I think it is important to spread the knowledge and new ways of doing business. I think that the fundamentals are still the same, and my generation will still make the likes of Peter Drucker proud, but we’ll put our own twist on business. To sum it up, I’ll add in another tired (but true) mantra, “Only time will tell.”