Updates slipped for a while.
That is because life got busy — mainly because I have been job hunting. It is a pleasant kind of busy.
This blog post really is just miscellaneous notes.
For the job change I have been reaching out to various people, hearing about companies, and asking for advice.
Even people I do not usually talk to responded kindly when I boldly contacted them, which I am very grateful for.
Job hunting reminded me again that the world is full of good people.
Incidentally, when I put out a call on this blog too, I got contacts right away and could talk with people. Reading the blog conveys how I think, so — oddly put — it was efficient. Even the first meeting could go deep, which was very worthwhile.
(I barely publish personal information, so even getting contacted was a surprise. I was glad I write this blog.)
What started the job hunt: I cannot go into specifics, but while talking with someone at a company they casually said, "If you are interested in us, I can introduce you to HR," and interviews lined up smoothly from there.
That was when I realized again that switching jobs was an option, and I began looking.
Soon I wrote out my work history and results, carried that, and contacted acquaintances, companies, and agents.
And since I was changing jobs anyway, I decided to define the person I want to become — scratched dozens of pages of copy paper with "this? that?" and cleaned it up in Google Slides. That work itself felt great. I could sink into it in something close to a flow state.
In the end, making that slide was absolutely the right call.
After a few weeks of job hunting, I felt glad I had taken work reasonably seriously until now.
It sounds unpleasant to say, but I had been conscious of doing things that could go on a résumé, so looking back I had a sense of self-satisfaction that felt good.
Whether I had done high-impact things is debatable, but at least I was luckily not in the sad situation of only doing what my boss said, only routine work, or writing team achievements as if they were mine alone.
Now — something I noticed while job hunting: recruiting agencies really are a peculiar industry.
Their goal is the fee, not that the candidate lands the job they wanted. Their involvement does not raise the candidate's value, so at least they must not lower it — that much I understand.
What was disappointing: when I was slightly involved in hiring on the company side, I was already sick of agents' self-serving work and mount-taking attitudes — and it was exactly the same on the candidate side. A distorted industry. It feels similar to real estate in that way.
Recruiting firms hold a license (authorization). The license itself is not that hard to get, but I wonder whether licensing is truly needed — whether, as a barrier to entry meant to keep the industry healthy versus a distortion that protects vested interests, it is actually working.
Same as real estate: they trade on information asymmetry, so if you have complaints, do not use them. Getting structured information does help, and that is mutual. One should be grateful.
(Well, including agents I dealt with on the company side, this is maybe n ≈ 20, so I am soaked in bias.)
Anyway, my job change will go well. I will do my best.
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