Deincentivized

So I'm feeling a little trepidatious about tomorrow.  For the first time in a VERY long time, I have a job interview.

I didn't even have to interview for the job I have now.  I graduated from university and happened to be dating the cousin (by marriage) of the guy who hired me.  The fact that that particular relationship dissolved rather painfully half a decade ago is a small pink elephant that he and I have silently agreed never to speak about.  I stopped working directly for him after the first ten months anyway.

This interview coincides, very nearly, with the roll-out of this fiscal year's salary increases.  A bone of contention of mine for a couple years now.  Problem there being that I've reported to four different supervisors over the past two years and therefore the level of constructive feedback I've received has been sad to non-existent.  Not that I mind working almost completely autonomously - I rather enjoy the freedom from Big Brother - but it would be nice to know that there is someone who can claim to have been monitoring my progress to some degree and can report on the fact that I'm the Best Employee Ever!

So the reason for testing the depth of the employment waters tomorrow will be to gauge my appraised worth outside of the relative stagnation of the progress I've been making here recently.  The results of the interview, combined with the impending knowledge of what my services will be worth under the new fiscal budget of the company I work for now, will allow me to better determine how much, if any, additional effort I ought to be putting into seeking gainfully elsewhere.

It will undoubtedly be a strange sensation being on the other side of the table when I've become accustomed to conducting interviews the past couple years.  I've done the requisite perfunctory research into the company so I can pose impressive questions when it comes my time to query the interviewer(s).  And, seeing the available job postings on their website, I have a pretty good idea what spot they have in mind for me.

Still, all else being equal, I'd really rather not leave where I am.  I have a good position, reasonable compensation, pleasant co-workers (I already mentioned the autonomy), and I see a potential developmental path ahead of me towards upper management.

This is tempered, perforce, by the fact that my family does, and always will, come first.  Being the ostensible sole bread-winner in a burgeoning young family requires that the needs of the family, of which I am of course an integral part, remain uppermost in my mind.  Very much along the same lines as Spock's thoughts to Kirk in The Wrath of Khan.

Tomorrow's just the first step, but we'll see where this little stroll takes me.  I just hope it doesn't have me on my knees shouting voluble imprecations with white-knuckled fists raised in ire.

"KHAN!!"

By the way, I know it's not a good idea to blog about work.  I seriously doubt anyone here has stumbled upon this site, and I do have the benefit of knowing that a search on my full name will be bombarded with university sites and others regarding a famous fella whose moniker I share. 

Obfuscated by ubiquity!!

Comments

[Paula]

I'm sure your reputation as 'the guy who can do anything' has preceeded you :) Good luck!

Paula

[Tina]

Good luck to you, Simon. I hope it all works out for the best. Tina

[daisy]

I did a very similar thing recently, for the same sort of reasons. Upshot is I stayed put and feel much more motivated and appreciated and more importantly san now see how I want to develop in my present company. Ironically I was then offered opportunities to put that into effect. Good luck and Make It So!

[Penny]

If for no other reason than to benchmark your viability, this is a good idea. Money is really important, but it is not the end all. Keith took a sizeable cut to come here, but the rewards of quality of life far outweighed the smaller paycheck. Good luck, whatever you decide.

[Simon]

That's exactly the main reason why I'm doing it, Penny. Six years in one place can breed a certain degree of complacency. I don't intend to wake up one day and find myself stuck in a rut!

[coach handbags]

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy