Another Seattle Area Tech Worker | Pronouns: He/Him
Lessons learned about life; pearls of wisdom I’ve gleaned through pain, failure and honest reflection
I’ve known Scalar Theorem for several years and do find his bass rich perfect for focus. Techno styled music (electronic, dub step, and the like) speaks to me. Plus, as he’s a friend, I delight to watch him succeed. He’s a regular at Burning Man!
Anyway, please go check out his new album, give it a like, and think about other ways to support his music. (If you’d rather listen on Bandcamp, here’s the link to him there).
I’ve accepted a new position with Matt Steel, a Bellevue-based broker with EXP realty, who’s a decade or two of real estate experience. I’ll manage their digital marketing. This excites me greatly. I did this for C&K real estate team a few years ago. I loved this part of my job, even though I”m a bit rusty. My interest in digital marketing goes many years back and it aligns with my interests in web design, writing and social media.
Also, I’ll be managing this team’s transactions, which is another thing I’ve done (both for C&K, and also with Eagle Country construction). I’m excited to be continuing in the real estate and housing sector. I discovered how much I know and understand, and how much I bring to the table. As I’ll be renewing/rebooting my real estate license, I’ll dive deeper into this sector. I’m not entirely sure what I will do with this part of my career, but there are so many options, so many good ways to earn a living. I’m not sure which path is the right one. But as I’ve been listening to Gary Vee the past few days (updating my digital marketing knowledge), I see a need to experiment, take some risks, try some ideas out and see where they lead. I won’t get anywhere I want to go by seeking the easiest path, the easy way forward.
I’m excited to get back into the fray. And very excited to add the official title of “digital marketer” to my resume. And I’m really pumped to put all I’ve learned, and am learning, to work. Time to hit it hard!
So, one of my current projects is helping a non-profit get up and running. One of the things we need is an EIN (Employer Identification Number…the organizational equivalent to a Social Security Number). So, I go to the IRS page to request this, and keep getting the old “Can’t connect to the website. Please try again later” error. I don’t think too much of this, but after a couple of hours, it’s getting to me. So, I explore a bit and find this.
Really? A website that’s only useful during “business hours”? It’s a WEBSITE! Why on earth is this not available 24-7? I guess that there’s some manual approval that happens during the process. Even so, I should be able to apply and be dropped into a queue that’ll be checked Monday morning, or whatever. A website with office hours just boggles my mind.
Ok, this clearly is a 21st Century problem. But it’s just so antithetical to the zeitgeist.
Here’s a new Twenty First Century challenge I ran into today.
I need to mail a check. Nothing dramatic here. I know exactly where the check book is, address, etc. However, it took several minutes to:
a) find my envelopes
b) find a stamp (I think it’s the last one in the house, btw)
c) I never did find the return address labels that I’m sure I have
What strikes me with all this: at one place mailing stuff was so commonplace that I not only knew where these things were, I had used them recently. I realized today that I have mailed anything in months.
Subtle changes, these things. But substantive, nonetheless.
Last week I wrote about my transition from my current job to my next thing (see Transitions and Next Steps). The process of exploring what’s out there, what I’ve done, what I’m good at and a number of other things has refined my focus. Instead of “communications”, my focus will be on business administration (things like Executive Assistant, Business Administrator, Office Manager, Administrative Assistant roles). I do love this kind of work. And one of the things I did a few days ago was pull out a career assessment that Keller Williams runs on all their staff. And those administrative roles are ones I got 100% alignment with. Most of my career was focused on this kind of work. Mainly because I’m good at it, and like being good at it.
My focus right now is finding a role that I love. I want more than just to like my work, definitely more than tolerate it. No, I want to love it. As I know what work I’m good at and want to do, this next step is to figure out where. There are solid elements of the where. I want to work in a positive environment. No passive-aggressive dysfunction, thanks. Nor rage. Nor convoluted and confused leadership. I’m terrible at confrontation, and have no interest in putting up with unpleasantries for the sake of a paycheck.
I also want to work in a aesthetically pleasing space. Sunlight! It may seem shallow, but it’s important to me. It shows a deep commitment to staff, for starters. Anyway, I don’t need to be right next to a window, but lots of natural light. I’ve worked in many spaces like that over the years. Starbucks, Microsoft to start with. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen from my meetings at the Snohomish County Admin Building.
My focus currently includes many local powerhouses:
I’m also considering local government, Snohomish County, Cities of Lynnwood, Edmonds, Everett, Mountlake Terrace.
Anyway, that’s where things stand. If you have any advice or counsel, please leave a comment below.
Thanks!
Currently, I’m on a six-week plan to change roles. Permitting and feasibility process (what I’ve done for the past 2.5 years) is not what I want for the rest of my life. And it’s time to do what I love. Mike, the owner of Eagle Country and I worked out the 6 week plan, giving the company time for a transition and me a window to shift. I find this a glorious win-win and am deeply grateful.
I’m working on transitioning from construction to, ideally, communications. Writing is my first love, and I’ve appreciated every opportunity to do so. I’m also love photography and video. And connecting people delights me.
I define “communications” as this overarching concept encompassing everything from marketing to PR to public affairs to internal comms. I love writing everything from newsletters to creating flyers to PowerPoint presentations.
I have a plan in place. This week I’ll get my resume out in front of key people, update LinkedIn, my website, Indeed and any other useful websites. And I completed most of all that yesterday. So I’m feeling pretty awesome right now. I need to research what other websites to utilize, if any. Also, I need to work on expanding my list of focus companies.
Boeing is first. As a boy, I fell in love with “space” and aircraft. Growing up in Navy based family gave me visibility to all kinds of aircraft. And at one point I could name off all the different military and civilian aircraft: A6, Tomcat, 707, 747….and on and on. I still get excited watching spacecraft footage.
As a professional, the scale of Boeing and their unique challenges fascinate me. As a truly global company I expect the myriad languages, cultures and time zones to make for interesting and fun challenges. That’s true with both internal and external communication. And I see many opportunities within the current OR challenges the company faces. Challenge presented opportunity.
Other local companies intrigue me, too. Whether Premera here in South Snohomish county, to places I’ve worked before (Microsoft, Starbucks). My goal now is to find work I love. And I’m in my way.
Any advice? Especially web tools and such would be great. Please leave a comment and let me know. Cheers!
I have some major changes in my career coming up. I’ll write more about this shortly. Endings, beginnings and transitions. Fear and excitement. Opportunities…
I’m in the process of reviewing, and refining, my goals and objectives. I need to pull together a vision.
Advice and counsel will be requested and encouraged. As one of my mentors outs it: no one succeeds alone. And I’m not alone.