January 26, 2006
Flux
Are you busy right now? We need to talk. I... um... have some news. I'm leaving you for another job. No - no - it's nothing you did! Really - it's not you, it's me. You've been nothing but perfect. It's just this new job - it's just more right for me. I hope we can still be friends.
There are a lot of analogies that can be drawn between breaking up with someone and quitting a job. The sense of loyalty, betrayal, the nervousness at having to do it...
And now here I am, in the midst of leaving my job of only 3 months at a small software development firm to go be an in-house senior designer at a major publishing company. I feel like, in the break-up scenario, it's like Reality Bites. The current job is the Ethan Hawke character - fun, casual, not to be relied upon for consistent and steady advances but more likely to have sudden bursts of brilliance. The new job is the Ben Stiller character - a little stiff and stuffy and not much that isn't predictable, but reliable and fairly guaranteed to move up in the world at a slow and steady pace.
But leaving a job does have one distinct difference from ending a relationship - the factor of emotion. In a relationship, it (at least should be) all about emotion. At work it should be devoid of emotion. So that's why this doesn't end like Reality Bites.
When faced with the offer for a new position, I had this dilemma - thinking "but - I really like where I work!". In the end, I had to weigh it out, make a mental list of pros and cons, and realize that what I like most about where I am now is the people and the sense of comeradery and working toward a common goal. And, tho it doesn't always work out, I can hope to at least keep a few friends from there.
And maybe the new job will be in a stuffy corporate environment, but - I've done that before, I know what to expect. On the other side it is a promotion, it is at a big company that has a lot of name recognition, I'm interested in their products, the work sounds good, I did like the people I met who I will be working with, and it's more money and benefits. In the end, I think (and hope) I've made the right decision. |
There are a lot of analogies that can be drawn between breaking up with someone and quitting a job. The sense of loyalty, betrayal, the nervousness at having to do it...
And now here I am, in the midst of leaving my job of only 3 months at a small software development firm to go be an in-house senior designer at a major publishing company. I feel like, in the break-up scenario, it's like Reality Bites. The current job is the Ethan Hawke character - fun, casual, not to be relied upon for consistent and steady advances but more likely to have sudden bursts of brilliance. The new job is the Ben Stiller character - a little stiff and stuffy and not much that isn't predictable, but reliable and fairly guaranteed to move up in the world at a slow and steady pace.
But leaving a job does have one distinct difference from ending a relationship - the factor of emotion. In a relationship, it (at least should be) all about emotion. At work it should be devoid of emotion. So that's why this doesn't end like Reality Bites.
When faced with the offer for a new position, I had this dilemma - thinking "but - I really like where I work!". In the end, I had to weigh it out, make a mental list of pros and cons, and realize that what I like most about where I am now is the people and the sense of comeradery and working toward a common goal. And, tho it doesn't always work out, I can hope to at least keep a few friends from there.
And maybe the new job will be in a stuffy corporate environment, but - I've done that before, I know what to expect. On the other side it is a promotion, it is at a big company that has a lot of name recognition, I'm interested in their products, the work sounds good, I did like the people I met who I will be working with, and it's more money and benefits. In the end, I think (and hope) I've made the right decision. |