Monday 12 October 2009
Absence makes the heart grow fonder?
It has been nearly two months since my last post. TWO months....well, I did say that I had three HUGE things coming up, so I knew it would be some time, but I at least thought I would have the chance to post in September. Well, I did have the chance, and, for a not great reason, chose not to. I chose not to as, for the first time in a year, I did not want to write about what was going on in my job. I am not really sure why this was (though I may hazard a guess a bit later).
Any way, the three things that were going to distract me were:
1. Going to Ibiza: This was amazing. 8 nights... probably about 8 hours sleep in total? it was a great holiday, but hardly the most relaxing. And, if you will allow me a sentimental moment, it was a great way to sign off my first year in the bank - bumpy ride (blame easy jet), often challenging (blame the Spanish language - duos cervezas pour favor was all I knew) and really rewarding (blame the night clubs - some of the most amazing places I have been). So, a good time was had by all....and I arrived back to...
2. Move flats: Not even I can turn this into something exciting. I moved flats. It was successful. Well, actually, there is a sort of exciting story about it, but I cant begin to relate it to business, so out it goes. I am now living 15 mins from work. This makes me happy! But, more importantly, I had one more big step to make...
3. New Job: Just like that, I started a new job. And I am now a month into it, but rather than be overly reflective, I am going to try and give belated first impressions. I wanted to write the post that I wished I had written about 3 weeks ago. So, please spare me a few indulgences if I am a little rusty....
a) Back to School: This was my first impression - it felt like I was back to square one. My new role was totally different than anything I have ever done, and in a different environment. Working in HO immediately felt hugely unfamiliar, but ultimately welcoming. In many respects, during my first two weeks I felt like I was back at Uni, in freshers week.
I dont know about you, but my freshers week was a moment of realisation - where I suddenly realised how little I knew about the whole business, challenges and expectations that were to be placed on me. The new environment was huge, but rather than lectures, I had meetings, instead of mad old philosophy lecturers, I had articulate, business focused colleagues and, instead of cheap university shops, I had amazing coffee for breakfast. How very strange....
b) But wait a moment! : Should I not have expected this? Well of course, I knew it was going to be different, but just like when I joined and moved to London, I didn't realise how different. This time round, I honestly remember thinking "I've been with the business a year, it wont be a big shock", but to be honest it was. The reason for this, I believe, is two fold.
First of all, I am still very new to the corporate world, and only have a limited understanding of what is really going on. Secondly, the one thing I did underestimate, or at least, misunderstand (or 'misunderestimate' were I G.W.B), was the magnitude of the change. In some respects, it can be more startling when you think you can anticipate the change, and then when you actually realise the change, you begin to think ' how could I have been so far out?'.
And when I say I underestimated the change, what I am directly referring to is the skill level required to succeed. All of a sudden, I realise that I have jumped into a pool with many people with skill levels and experience that far exceed my own. But, then again...
c) Nothing wrong with a challenge: This has to be a good thing. The best place to learn, is from people with more experience and more skills than you. And thankfully, I am surrounded by such people at the moment - what a genuinely rich environment in which to learn. The trick, is just to make the most of it.
The HO environment is genuinely interesting - from a people and work point of view it is is a fascinating place to work. The great thing is that this time round, I don't have the same shock to the system I had when starting afresh. Over the last year I have accumulated knowledge, experience and other tools that will hopefully allow me to succeed - this time round I am, hopefully, better equipped for the challenge. No time for being home sick - no time for mad land lords or rubbish letting agents - no need to start from scratch - just lots of opportunities and challenges ahead.
The only last thing to add about my first impressions is related to my first point, about being back to freshers week. The best thing about freshers week was the people I met. Indeed, the people I met at Uni were some of the most interesting I have ever met, and that made my university life enjoyable. Currently, I can say the same for the business, and that really encourages me.
Those are my thougts as of two weeks ago - things may have changed slightly, but I feel that gives a fair representation of my first impressions.
--
Last few things I wanted to say relate to a few random points that have come up over the last month... may as well throw throw them in!
1. Some have departed: I know some of the grads have moved on to full time permanent roles, SB and JB two I have spoken too - good luck and congratulations to both of you and everyone else who has departed!
2. A book is for life... Myself and two other fellow keen beans are currently involved in a sort of book reading / reviewing thing....if you are interested drop me an email....we generally aim for one book every two weeks and take it in turns to pick. This weeks read is "Let the Right one In" and we have so far read "Tuesdays with Morrie" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". I'll post the amazon links at the bottom if you are interested.
3. Old? No way Jose! I turned 26 in September (amongst other things). If any one has any advice on how to deal with the rate at which I appear to be rocketing towards 30, then please contact me.
4. MA presentations: These took place two weeks ago, but I plan to write a post on them, Maybe not as long as I would have originally thought, but I definitely have a few things to say.
--
Thats it from me....its been two months in coming, and I do plan to write monthly updates (at least) depending on how things go.
Cheers!
DD
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Let-Right-John-Ajvide-Lindqvist/dp/1847248489/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255384335&sr=8-3
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perks-Being-Wallflower-Stephen-Chbosky/dp/1847394078/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255384357&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=tuesdays+with+morrie
Any way, the three things that were going to distract me were:
1. Going to Ibiza: This was amazing. 8 nights... probably about 8 hours sleep in total? it was a great holiday, but hardly the most relaxing. And, if you will allow me a sentimental moment, it was a great way to sign off my first year in the bank - bumpy ride (blame easy jet), often challenging (blame the Spanish language - duos cervezas pour favor was all I knew) and really rewarding (blame the night clubs - some of the most amazing places I have been). So, a good time was had by all....and I arrived back to...
2. Move flats: Not even I can turn this into something exciting. I moved flats. It was successful. Well, actually, there is a sort of exciting story about it, but I cant begin to relate it to business, so out it goes. I am now living 15 mins from work. This makes me happy! But, more importantly, I had one more big step to make...
3. New Job: Just like that, I started a new job. And I am now a month into it, but rather than be overly reflective, I am going to try and give belated first impressions. I wanted to write the post that I wished I had written about 3 weeks ago. So, please spare me a few indulgences if I am a little rusty....
a) Back to School: This was my first impression - it felt like I was back to square one. My new role was totally different than anything I have ever done, and in a different environment. Working in HO immediately felt hugely unfamiliar, but ultimately welcoming. In many respects, during my first two weeks I felt like I was back at Uni, in freshers week.
I dont know about you, but my freshers week was a moment of realisation - where I suddenly realised how little I knew about the whole business, challenges and expectations that were to be placed on me. The new environment was huge, but rather than lectures, I had meetings, instead of mad old philosophy lecturers, I had articulate, business focused colleagues and, instead of cheap university shops, I had amazing coffee for breakfast. How very strange....
b) But wait a moment! : Should I not have expected this? Well of course, I knew it was going to be different, but just like when I joined and moved to London, I didn't realise how different. This time round, I honestly remember thinking "I've been with the business a year, it wont be a big shock", but to be honest it was. The reason for this, I believe, is two fold.
First of all, I am still very new to the corporate world, and only have a limited understanding of what is really going on. Secondly, the one thing I did underestimate, or at least, misunderstand (or 'misunderestimate' were I G.W.B), was the magnitude of the change. In some respects, it can be more startling when you think you can anticipate the change, and then when you actually realise the change, you begin to think ' how could I have been so far out?'.
And when I say I underestimated the change, what I am directly referring to is the skill level required to succeed. All of a sudden, I realise that I have jumped into a pool with many people with skill levels and experience that far exceed my own. But, then again...
c) Nothing wrong with a challenge: This has to be a good thing. The best place to learn, is from people with more experience and more skills than you. And thankfully, I am surrounded by such people at the moment - what a genuinely rich environment in which to learn. The trick, is just to make the most of it.
The HO environment is genuinely interesting - from a people and work point of view it is is a fascinating place to work. The great thing is that this time round, I don't have the same shock to the system I had when starting afresh. Over the last year I have accumulated knowledge, experience and other tools that will hopefully allow me to succeed - this time round I am, hopefully, better equipped for the challenge. No time for being home sick - no time for mad land lords or rubbish letting agents - no need to start from scratch - just lots of opportunities and challenges ahead.
The only last thing to add about my first impressions is related to my first point, about being back to freshers week. The best thing about freshers week was the people I met. Indeed, the people I met at Uni were some of the most interesting I have ever met, and that made my university life enjoyable. Currently, I can say the same for the business, and that really encourages me.
Those are my thougts as of two weeks ago - things may have changed slightly, but I feel that gives a fair representation of my first impressions.
--
Last few things I wanted to say relate to a few random points that have come up over the last month... may as well throw throw them in!
1. Some have departed: I know some of the grads have moved on to full time permanent roles, SB and JB two I have spoken too - good luck and congratulations to both of you and everyone else who has departed!
2. A book is for life... Myself and two other fellow keen beans are currently involved in a sort of book reading / reviewing thing....if you are interested drop me an email....we generally aim for one book every two weeks and take it in turns to pick. This weeks read is "Let the Right one In" and we have so far read "Tuesdays with Morrie" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". I'll post the amazon links at the bottom if you are interested.
3. Old? No way Jose! I turned 26 in September (amongst other things). If any one has any advice on how to deal with the rate at which I appear to be rocketing towards 30, then please contact me.
4. MA presentations: These took place two weeks ago, but I plan to write a post on them, Maybe not as long as I would have originally thought, but I definitely have a few things to say.
--
Thats it from me....its been two months in coming, and I do plan to write monthly updates (at least) depending on how things go.
Cheers!
DD
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Let-Right-John-Ajvide-Lindqvist/dp/1847248489/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255384335&sr=8-3
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perks-Being-Wallflower-Stephen-Chbosky/dp/1847394078/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255384357&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=tuesdays+with+morrie
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