It’s almost official. Barack Obama is the incoming president tomorrow. And, I’m the outgoing (cranky) project manager as of today!
For many of you this isn’t coming as a surprise. You’ve read about my 12-16 hour work days and Saturday schedule. You’ve heard me complain about the lack of creativity required on the job. You’ve experienced my constant state of crankiness over the past 6 months.
For those of you who just started reading this blog, you may be surprised. Just a post or two ago, I wrote about scaling up our project!
No go, obviously. What happened? Well, I thought long and hard about this commitment and I knew that I couldn’t sign off on a 6 month plan knowing how dissatisfied I’ve been with work over the past several months. I knew that it wouldn’t be fair to myself, to my team, to my management, and to the client. I thought of trying to stick it through and muddling through the 3-4 more months of growing pains. But I realized that I did this the last time we were asked to expand – I stayed to see the team grow from 3 to 20 – and felt miserable. In the end, I told myself that 1) there is never a good time to quit and 2) I can’t stay in this job for other people.
So what’s next? Good question! It’s a risky move. Or is it more foolish? Dumb? Arrogant? Totally freakin’ scary?! Probably the riskiest thing I’ve ever done. (Perhaps, tied with that time I dived into a rain swelled river in Indonesia and had to be pulled out by a fast-thinking Spaniard!)
Well, here’s the plan. Start polishing up the resume tonight. Tell my mom about it on Sunday when I’m back in the States for a visit. Refresh and draw out a 6 week plan to land a contract job in social media/ social marketing for upstart internet-focused company in HCMC.
I’ve got the month of February to finish up my tasks and train a new Project Manager. During this time, I’ll be networking like a mad women. As work keeps me busy most of the day and early evening, I’ll aim for 3 informational interviews a week. Attend a weekly happy hour to get my mingle on. Pick the brains of some really smart and trusted friends/contacts. Begin identifying a minimum of 5 companies I’d really like to work with and learn from. Research the need. Refine my pitch. Get in touch with the decision makers. Rinse and repeat, until I land myself a short-term gig.
And some time between all of the above and the next move, there’ll be some time for a visit back to Indonesia 
Wish me luck!
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Tags: Cranky, Project Manager, The Client, Job Search
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