A couple of years ago, I got a job with a medium sized marketing company. They had some office space in Des Plaines, and were running about 40 people in the office—which was a maze of cubicles and offices. It was my first introduction to the corporate world of cubicles, computers and voice mail. It was, coincidently, my first computer job, too. I remember being all exited about the voice mail—I gave the number out to tons of people, but never got a message. Somehow, I knew that there would be a day in which I would dread voicemail.
It took a while, but it finally happened. I was surprised to find out the size of my current employer when I showed up for the interview. They had two large buildings containing almost 1500 employees. They had floor upon floor of cubicles on top of a humming data center. I remember being the only person who showed up in the new employee orientation wearing jeans, and I remember the vice president I reported to saying on the phone “and give him an extra large voicemail box.”
And with that, my life in corporate America took off, and I found myself in a window seat in Schaumburg, Illinois.
The pace was slow at first, but picked up suddenly. I was told that they were planning on hiring a clerk, to assist me with the paperwork. I quickly found my groove, and began to take on more work. Soon, my clerk moved on, and I had to find a new one—but not just a clerk—an assistant. Soon I had two people working under me, and I was on my way to building a department. I would step out for an hour and find, upon my return, that I had 8 voicemails, and over 30 emails, not counting spam. The office was so busy that I didn’t have to resort to some of the tricks I know to increase my exposure.
But companies change, and my current employer was no exception. There was an even larger office on the horizon—the corporate office. They attempted to control my regional office excessively, Schaumburg resisted. I was a major pawn in this battle, working between the two offices. After several years, I was told that I was being transferred to the corporate division. I kept my window seat, but lost my staff. I went from being the big fish in a little pond to being a small fish in a big pond.
But I still worked hard. I wasn’t going to get mad at the changes forced upon me, but worked to grow in my new role. I quickly worked to find out what my new corporate masters wanted, and worked to deliver them.
So when my boss, who is based in California, added a line to an email last week, I took notice. He said, ‘We’ll make time to go over this on Monday. I’ll be in Schaumburg.’
Hmm, I thought. Why is he coming here? I went to talk to several members of the IT staff to see if they knew why. Much to my surprise, none of them were going to be in. They were all going to the corporate office.
So, I’m a pushy person, when I need to be. I finally called my boss on Friday morning. I asked him directly as to why he was coming out. He’s a poor liar. I called him on it, knowing that the people he’d meet with weren’t going to be in that week. So he told me the real reason.
It appears that a new vice president has taken control of my corporate department. She has determined that she doesn’t want me in my remote office. So I’m being sacked.
It doesn’t sound that bad: Monday, when my boss tells me ‘officially’ isn’t my last day—I’m expected to put in several more weeks of work before termination. I’m also encouraged to apply for other positions within the company. in addition, the IT organization that hired me is all ticked off at losing their personal corporate advocate. So something might still happen.
Comments