A Lament of a Job Search
• Mark Eschbach
Although spending time at home in November and December was great, my honey do list has run out. As well as most of my reasonable to do list. I am still making forward progress on many of my projects however at this point I was hoping to find something. The manner in which Emerlyn and I separated was not a nice or health one, however that speaks to the general work culture there anyway. I was done with the 12+ hour work days.
Several companies courted me for about two months. Courting me in the not so good sense. Multiple interviews to the point I was asked back to interview with the same popel several times. One eventually killed the deal by demanding I be on site 100% of the time describing it as a dark dungeon with no natural light without any chance to advance my career goals. Antoher asked I sign away significant rights while aslo prying for information like my personal vehical insurance. Reminds me of a large auction house who demanded I sign away the rights to have not only my car searched at any time but also my child and other person I could possibly give permssion to.
Then there was the company who acted like a crazy lover by demanding to speak with at least one coworker for every company I have ever worked with. In addition to spending another half hour on the phone with those they had already reached out to. When I declined they began accusing me of paying people to lie for me. Probably should have cut the conversation before that, however that was definitely the last straw.
Bright side
Even in dark times there are lessons to learn! Here are some of the lessons I’ve learend:
- I am really truely tired of moving between job. If there was a job I could remain at for 3 or more years that would be awesome.
- Remote is very important to me. As long as it is not paired with 10+ hour days no the regular then I am willing to even go in once or twice a week. The freedom to work from where I need to be is great, and affords me the flexiability to be a member of my family. As apart of my expierence asynchronous workflows for organization is also really important.
- Well lit environments are important for my mental health. This falls on me when working remotely. When in the office though I do not desire to live in a basement without windows. Some people really thrive in a sensory deprived environment, and I wish them the best. Just not my bag of tea though.
- I like feeling well treated, including being well paid. It’s funny searching for remote work as the for part time remote my market is definitely the bay area. While full time everyone lumps me into Sacramento. There is a large pay descripency between the two and I think this has caused a couple of companies to pass as a result.
Overall I am hoping this becomes a positive change for me. I hope to find the job I can deliver awesome value for several years before desiring more or needing to move on. Time will tell though.