I started writing this in May. It's now August 20th. I turned 45 this year. I honestly cannot believe it.
Holy shit! It's been over a year since I sat down and wrote. Not sure where to even begin. I suppose I start with the biggest new. I got a new job!
When I started working at my last job which was a law firm, my intent was to be there until my boss retired. I was not sure of my plans after that. Unfortunately, the changes within the firm over the last year were not a fit for me. I am Type A. I follow the rules. I do what I am supposed to do. I work my ass off. While I realize other employees' actions did not and more importantly should not affect me, they did. The lack of leadership and accountability had always been an issue, but recently had gotten worse. The biggest change came when the firm decided to use a case management software. I (we) became data entry clerks. Every task from simply getting into a client's file to generating documents, slowed me (us) down and made it impossible to manage the workload. The number of emails sent, conversations, tears shed, and asking for help and advice all unnoticed. I spent hours and hours fixing mistakes due to lack of accountability and laziness.
I knew more money or vacation time was not going to expand my bandwidth of being able to handle the work and lack of leadership. I was exhausted from trying to be heard. I felt I could no longer do my job at the level I know how to do it and at which I do it well.
I graduated college in 2001. Aside from working at Verizon and Tippmann Construction for a brief time, I have always worked in a law firm. I have worked in collections, insurance defense, family law, adoptions, real estate, estate planning/administration, personal injury, and bankruptcy. What were my options? Start over at another law firm? I knew finding another law firm that I had not worked for, knew someone, or an area of law I was interested in would be like finding a needle in a haystack. I like being a paralegal. Did I want to give that up? What else could I do?
I found my search to be very narrow. Perhaps I could get into recruiting. I could be a contractor and take on paralegal jobs while working from home. WFH simply is not an option for my mental health. I could get into a corporate job. I updated my resume on Indeed and changed my profile on LinkedIn. I applied for a couple of jobs. A few law firms and other companies reached out but nothing that I felt was a fit for me.
I had a recruiter reach out to me on Indeed. He said, "Would you happen to be interested in an Executive Assistant position? My client is looking for someone with paralegal experience to review contracts as well as other duties. Any interest?" We set up a telephone call. He stated it was a new position for the president of an architectural firm. He wanted a paralegal to help with contracts, etc. He didn't have much of a job description since it was going to be a new position. An interview was scheduled which went really well. A little over two weeks later, I was offered the position.
I put my notice in at the law firm. I busted my ass those two weeks too. I had originally planned on working two weeks and one day and decided that an extra day was not going to make a difference. I wanted to get as much done as I could in order to alleviate the stress on my legal assistant and other co-workers. But mentally I was done.
In less than two months after my leaving, two others left. What frustrates me is that this didn't have to happen. Having left I now see that no matter how many emails I sent, conversations I had, or tears shed was ever going to make a difference. In fact, after I left, I found out management said, "I don't know why Rachel left." That is simply untrue. I explained why I was leaving. If you still didn't know, why wouldn't you have asked me? My guess is that they did know why, but it was easier to bury their heads in the sand. I learned a lot working there and I grew in my career and as a person. I don't regret my decision to leave. It's just sad that a few of us felt there was no other option.
As I said above, I have so much on my mind, but I think I'll end this post here. Leave this chapter behind.
No comments:
Post a Comment