Someone from my team just got laid off. He had been here for almost ten years, and while his work was spotty and he's probably the person I would have chosen had I been making the decision, it's always hard. I feel bad for anyone who has to find a job in this economy, and I wish him well.
I've been asked to pick up another sizable state and a major global strategic partner. It will be more work for me, but since I won't be here long, it doesn't matter too much. It's worse for my manager, who will have to reshuffle again very soon and worry about training a new person while everyone on the team is picking up the slack. Our team has now shrunk two people since I joined, so the stress level isn't going down. Also, everyone leaving, voluntarily or not, seems to be attorneys, so when I leave, there won't be much in-team legal support for the front-line negotiators. When I started, we had 5 of 11 attorneys on the team. When I leave, if I'm not replaced by an attorney, that number would drop to 1 of 9.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Texas bound
As most people who read this blog probably know by now, yes, I am moving to Texas. I got the call last Friday with a verbal job offer, and the written offer followed in the mail. All I have to do is pass a background check (please, no identity theft) and a drug test, and I'll be headed to Houston. The job sounds very interesting, the company is on sound footing, and the salary is more than I expected--quite a bit more.
This will be a new chapter for our family. Between school, work, and internships, I've spent time in Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut--every region of the country except for the South. And Texas. Because I'm not sure whether to say Houston is in the South--they were part of the Confederacy and it's hotter and farther South than almost the entire South except for Florida. On the other hand, Texas has influences from the Southwest and Midwest. Houston is also very cosmopolitan, as there is a very international influence from the many global companies--especially oil companies--located there. In the end, maybe the old saw that Texas is a whole other country will prove to be correct.
I will very much miss the mountains and deserts of Utah, and I will especially miss my family members who live here, as well as some very good friends. But I feel like this opportunity is too good to pass up. More importantly, my wife and I have made it a matter of careful discussion, thought, and prayer, and we both feel like this is where we are supposed to be right now.
And, to my wife's family members in Kansas City, at least we're moving a little bit closer.
This will be a new chapter for our family. Between school, work, and internships, I've spent time in Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut--every region of the country except for the South. And Texas. Because I'm not sure whether to say Houston is in the South--they were part of the Confederacy and it's hotter and farther South than almost the entire South except for Florida. On the other hand, Texas has influences from the Southwest and Midwest. Houston is also very cosmopolitan, as there is a very international influence from the many global companies--especially oil companies--located there. In the end, maybe the old saw that Texas is a whole other country will prove to be correct.
I will very much miss the mountains and deserts of Utah, and I will especially miss my family members who live here, as well as some very good friends. But I feel like this opportunity is too good to pass up. More importantly, my wife and I have made it a matter of careful discussion, thought, and prayer, and we both feel like this is where we are supposed to be right now.
And, to my wife's family members in Kansas City, at least we're moving a little bit closer.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Not yet
Well, another week, and no call yet. I told myself it would likely be next week, but I was hopeful. In the meantime, my wife has a concert tonight, so I can go enjoy some good brass music with the older children and my parents. Plus, tomorrow is football day, including a big game for one of the schools I attended, so the weekend should be nice.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
A little more waiting
The hiring manager from the company in Texas emailed me yesterday thanking me for coming down and saying they hoped to make a final decision by the end of this week. Hopefully, that means I'll have a definitive answer within a week or so and can either start packing or stop thinking about packing. I feel good about my odds, but I don't know what other candidates I might be competing against, nor what kind of compensation will be on offer if I am offered a position. So, for now I'll keep plugging away.
In the meantime, my department is being reorganized and my director will be under a different functional area. We've had a close professional and personal relationship, so I'll miss him. I also worry that our department will be diminished in the corporate pecking order within the legal function.
On Sunday, our ward (congregation) was also realigned, so I'll have many new neighbors at church and many old neighbors attending a different ward. The combination of a work and a church realignment the same week makes me feel change is in the air. It also weakens the social barriers I may have felt about leaving for a new opportunity. If change will be forced upon me anyway, why not try to make something of it?
In the meantime, my department is being reorganized and my director will be under a different functional area. We've had a close professional and personal relationship, so I'll miss him. I also worry that our department will be diminished in the corporate pecking order within the legal function.
On Sunday, our ward (congregation) was also realigned, so I'll have many new neighbors at church and many old neighbors attending a different ward. The combination of a work and a church realignment the same week makes me feel change is in the air. It also weakens the social barriers I may have felt about leaving for a new opportunity. If change will be forced upon me anyway, why not try to make something of it?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
TX Trip
My lunch in Texas went well. One of the three attorneys was out sick with the flu, but he was the one I had previously met. The two women I met with were both pleasant, and I could see myself working with them. I had noticed one of them was involved with an open-source technology industry group. Since my current employer is heavily involved in the open-source movement, I used that as an opening to talk shop with her. She seemed pleased and said at the end she enjoyed the exchange of ideas. Lunch was on the top (43rd) floor of a downtown building. Too bad I was too focused on the conversation to much enjoy the view.
I felt good about the interview and my chances, but I won't find out for a few weeks whether I will be offered the job. There are actually two positions available, but only one open headcount, so they are trying to decide which to fill first. I think I might enjoy the capital project procurement attorney position more, but the IT job would be a better fit out of the gate.
On the flight home, the pilot pointed out Canyonlands n.p. as we passed by. After being in Texas, it looked so dry, but it was also stunningly beautiful, even from 36,000 ft. It's easy to see why the section they call the Maze is so named and is one of the most remote and inaccessible areas in the United States. Then, a few minutes later, I could see the abrupt edge of the Colorado Plateau in a way that you don't see from the ground. It looked like a vast table for a feast of the gods. A few minutes after that, the Wasatch Mountains came into view. We flew up Highway 6, passed some giant wind turbines near Spanish Fork Canyon, flew almost directly over my home, and along the Wasatch Range.
I've visited many states and have found natural beauty in each one, from the Berkshires in New England to the sand dunes along Lake Michigan in Indiana. However, I think that only Oregon and California can match the variety of different types of beautiful scenery in Utah. We have everything from lush, rainy subalpine forests to some of the most inhospitable deserts. And the state is a geologist's paradise. The Colorado Plateau and Grand Staircase (including the Grand Canyon, just outside the state, of course) have exposed more layers of rock than probably any other place on earth.
So, with all that, why would I move to east Texas? Not for the scenery. Texas has its own beauty, but for me, geography is a barrier to overcome, not a selling point. Nevertheless, I'm very impressed with the company and the career potential there, so I may end up moving away from the mountains I love so much, as well as many dear friends and family members.
It's not something I'm considering lightly. For me, as a believing Mormon, the decision will be a matter of prayer and careful pondering, weighing it out in my mind, but ultimately relying on my heart to tell me where I believe the Lord would have my family at this time. Maybe I won't be offered a position and I won't have to make that decision, but I am preparing myself all the same, savoring every opportunity I have to be with family or enjoy the natural beauty around me. On Sunday, for example, we went for a ride up a nearby canyon and enjoyed the changing fall colors. It was beautiful, and a part of me hopes I end up staying here. But I am also excited about the positives that could come with a change.
Soon, I may have a new place to write about and new cultural or geographic wonders to enjoy, but for now, Utah is home, and I think it will always have a big piece of my heart.
I felt good about the interview and my chances, but I won't find out for a few weeks whether I will be offered the job. There are actually two positions available, but only one open headcount, so they are trying to decide which to fill first. I think I might enjoy the capital project procurement attorney position more, but the IT job would be a better fit out of the gate.
On the flight home, the pilot pointed out Canyonlands n.p. as we passed by. After being in Texas, it looked so dry, but it was also stunningly beautiful, even from 36,000 ft. It's easy to see why the section they call the Maze is so named and is one of the most remote and inaccessible areas in the United States. Then, a few minutes later, I could see the abrupt edge of the Colorado Plateau in a way that you don't see from the ground. It looked like a vast table for a feast of the gods. A few minutes after that, the Wasatch Mountains came into view. We flew up Highway 6, passed some giant wind turbines near Spanish Fork Canyon, flew almost directly over my home, and along the Wasatch Range.
I've visited many states and have found natural beauty in each one, from the Berkshires in New England to the sand dunes along Lake Michigan in Indiana. However, I think that only Oregon and California can match the variety of different types of beautiful scenery in Utah. We have everything from lush, rainy subalpine forests to some of the most inhospitable deserts. And the state is a geologist's paradise. The Colorado Plateau and Grand Staircase (including the Grand Canyon, just outside the state, of course) have exposed more layers of rock than probably any other place on earth.
So, with all that, why would I move to east Texas? Not for the scenery. Texas has its own beauty, but for me, geography is a barrier to overcome, not a selling point. Nevertheless, I'm very impressed with the company and the career potential there, so I may end up moving away from the mountains I love so much, as well as many dear friends and family members.
It's not something I'm considering lightly. For me, as a believing Mormon, the decision will be a matter of prayer and careful pondering, weighing it out in my mind, but ultimately relying on my heart to tell me where I believe the Lord would have my family at this time. Maybe I won't be offered a position and I won't have to make that decision, but I am preparing myself all the same, savoring every opportunity I have to be with family or enjoy the natural beauty around me. On Sunday, for example, we went for a ride up a nearby canyon and enjoyed the changing fall colors. It was beautiful, and a part of me hopes I end up staying here. But I am also excited about the positives that could come with a change.
Soon, I may have a new place to write about and new cultural or geographic wonders to enjoy, but for now, Utah is home, and I think it will always have a big piece of my heart.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Labor market
I posted this on another forum and thought I'd repost it here as a partial summary of my employment search over the past year, year-and-a-half:
The conversation on the awful labor market made me think of my own employment situation. I have a decent job, but have decided that my long-term career development will be served by making a change. I've been selectively looking at opportunities for over a year now. Three personal anecdotes show just how cautious companies have been about hiring lately, at least in the legal market.
Company #1: A financial services company contacted me over a year ago. I had a couple of interviews with them, but then the financial market blew up. Nothing happened for many months, but in June they contacted me again and asked if I was still interested. Several more phone interviews followed (seven total in-person and phone interviews to date), and I was told that everyone liked me and they want me to interview in person when the manager comes to my city for a super candidate day (they are growing a team from scratch and need several people). But they've given no indication when that will be or even when they will be able to tell me anything definitive, and it's been 2.5 months since my last interview. I think they sincerely want to staff up in this city, but they are apparently in no hurry to do so.
Company #2: A tech startup interviewed me for a general counsel job last fall/winter. I went on-site three times for interviews, signed an NDA, got loads of their confidential information "to get up to speed so I could hit the ground running," and was told by the CFO that he was meeting with the compensation committee to decide what they could offer. All of this took about three months. Then, nothing. The CFO didn't answer numerous calls or emails, the promised offer never came, and the company never contacted me again. It was bizarre. Given that and the shape of their financials, I'm glad I'm not working there.
Company #3: I spoke with a Fortune 100 company in mid-February and flew out for an interview in March. They were to get back with me in April, then that was pushed to May, June, August, and finally, "we still like you and have you on file and will contact you if a position becomes available." Just when I had concluded that things seemed doubtful to go anywhere, I got a call last week. The company wants me to fly back next week for another interview, after which they will supposedly quickly make a decision. So, even if things proceed in that fashion, it will be eight months from first contact to final decision.
For those of you looking for a job, good luck, keep your chin up, and don't count any birds before they hatch. If I knew someone with a suboptimal job offer and an "interested" company that was early in the recruiting process, I'd tell them to take the first offer available, because the one might take a long time to develop. I feel very blessed that my search has been from a position of full employment.
The conversation on the awful labor market made me think of my own employment situation. I have a decent job, but have decided that my long-term career development will be served by making a change. I've been selectively looking at opportunities for over a year now. Three personal anecdotes show just how cautious companies have been about hiring lately, at least in the legal market.
Company #1: A financial services company contacted me over a year ago. I had a couple of interviews with them, but then the financial market blew up. Nothing happened for many months, but in June they contacted me again and asked if I was still interested. Several more phone interviews followed (seven total in-person and phone interviews to date), and I was told that everyone liked me and they want me to interview in person when the manager comes to my city for a super candidate day (they are growing a team from scratch and need several people). But they've given no indication when that will be or even when they will be able to tell me anything definitive, and it's been 2.5 months since my last interview. I think they sincerely want to staff up in this city, but they are apparently in no hurry to do so.
Company #2: A tech startup interviewed me for a general counsel job last fall/winter. I went on-site three times for interviews, signed an NDA, got loads of their confidential information "to get up to speed so I could hit the ground running," and was told by the CFO that he was meeting with the compensation committee to decide what they could offer. All of this took about three months. Then, nothing. The CFO didn't answer numerous calls or emails, the promised offer never came, and the company never contacted me again. It was bizarre. Given that and the shape of their financials, I'm glad I'm not working there.
Company #3: I spoke with a Fortune 100 company in mid-February and flew out for an interview in March. They were to get back with me in April, then that was pushed to May, June, August, and finally, "we still like you and have you on file and will contact you if a position becomes available." Just when I had concluded that things seemed doubtful to go anywhere, I got a call last week. The company wants me to fly back next week for another interview, after which they will supposedly quickly make a decision. So, even if things proceed in that fashion, it will be eight months from first contact to final decision.
For those of you looking for a job, good luck, keep your chin up, and don't count any birds before they hatch. If I knew someone with a suboptimal job offer and an "interested" company that was early in the recruiting process, I'd tell them to take the first offer available, because the one might take a long time to develop. I feel very blessed that my search has been from a position of full employment.
Flu shots
Yesterday, my employer offered flu shots on campus. They were free for employees and $10 for dependents, so we brought the whole family. When we got to the large, crowded room, though, they had one line for employees and another for dependents. My younger kids were already nervous about getting a shot, so it was poor planning to make me stand in a different line on the other side of the room for 20 minutes while my wife tried to corral and reassure them. Especially when my four-year-old got poked and started crying loudly and I couldn't do anything about it because I was still in line.
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