Where do you see yourself in five years?
Interviewers ask the question, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" all the time. Usually I am tempted to respond with the old joke about being ruler of the underworld, lord of all I survey. But today I woke up thinking about the question. And specifically, how different is my life than my answer would have been five years ago. You see, five years ago, I (we) had not yet made the decision to move to London. I was working for the San Diego Union Tribune and the answer to the above question on a good day would likely have been, "I want to be managing a Classifieds Sales Team." On a bad day, it would merely have been, "Not here!".
My how things have changed... By January of 2005, we had decided that we should try something completely different. I began the process of becoming a citizen of the EU and a few months later, I had my British passport. We went to the UK in May of that year for my cousin's wedding and had an absolute blast. We made a trip down to London and I interviewed for a job and while walking around, we took a picture that has had so much meaning in my life. "Take a New Look" has pretty much defined almost every year since we took the picture. By the end of September, we were living in London, right next to Hyde park. By Thanksgiving, I was working for Carphone Warehouse and learning to love managing again. But then, you can read most of this blog to get a picture of our time in London. A year later, we were home again looking forward to the birth of our lovely daughter, Emma.
While I would not have picked North County as the place for Emma to spend her first two years, it wasn't a bad time, but it certainly wasn't an exciting time for the three of us. I jumped in to my work at By Referral Only and learned to hate being management at times. Making the decision that is right for the team, right for the individual, AND right for the company is never an easy thing. Two years went by with the only vacation and change of scenery being a trip to Grand Junction to see Suzanne's family. While it was a blast, it wasn't really anything new. I learned a lot about myself, my job, managing projects, implementing new technology, and then once I learned what there was to learn, I was laid off from my job without warning. That was a year ago today I and didn't know what came next. After I found out my fate, I then helped to tell my entire team their fate too. NOT the easiest meeting I have ever been in. While I didn't know what came next, what I did know was that something wonderful was around the corner. I walked out of By Referral Only for the last time as an employee and found myself looking forward to a fresh, new tomorrow. A couple of days later, I stopped back by to pick up some paperwork and saw Meshell, the director of events. She expressed her condolences and when I said, "It'll be alright. I am sure that the next door I walk through will be even better!" she responded with an odd look, "They told me you thought that." To this day, I can't figure out if she thought I was crazy for thinking it or just amazed. I'll have to ask her.
I spent the next six weeks enjoying the preparations for my sister's wedding in a way that would have been impossible while working more than full time. Thanks to some help from family, a university course I was teaching, (some of my 401k) and the dole, we were able to stay afloat while I job hunted and enjoyed all the family that came to town. I also got to spend a LOT of time with my gorgeous wife and wonderful daughter. I think that bonding time was as good for the three of us as the day Emma was born. By the middle of November, Andra was married and by the end of November, I had a job offer from a company that really intrigued me. The other two opportunities that had arisen were both in real estate and while both were jobs, neither excited me. ESET, on the other hand, sounded like it was right up my alley. And BOY was I right.
So I find myself working for a company I love in a job that has me excited about work every day and wondering, "where do I see myself in five years?" I don't know, but if it's anything like the last five years, I am REALLY going to enjoy the ride. And if there is one lesson I have learned over the course of the last five years, it's to keep your mind open to the possibilities of change. Every now and then, you have to take a look around, conjure up your best John Cleese voice and say, "And now, for something completely different!" May your different be as wonderful as all of mine have been.
posted by Unknown at 9:47 PM
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