From Biscotti to Bagels

There is a difference between biscottis and bagels.  Biscottis are considered elegant and high-class.  Biscottis are a treat that you have with the morning coffee or hot drink, and a special food that you do not have all the time.  Well, until they called them cookies.  

I do not know of any biscotti stores unless they have some in, say Italy.  I did not check online.  You can do that.  You can find them in 7/11's which should ideally bring down the high-class ideal.  What I am saying is that the idea of a biscotti cookie is not a high-class treat anymore. 

Bagels on the other hand, are not as high-class or special, yet they have specialty stores.  They come in a variety of flavors and can be made into other types of food-sandwiches, pizza, even dessert.  Both of these items come from a cultural backgrounds that are very different.  I prefer bagels over biscotti. 

The reason I am bringing this up is that I am reminded of my previous job the first four months of this year.  I was happy to have a job, but I was not happy to have a job that would not get me to my career goal.  When I was offered the job, the owners were looking for someone who wanted to stay 5 to 10 years.  I thought about staying, around the first week, excited to be with the company.  After seeing what the company was really about in the first week, I thought that maybe I would stay for at least five years.  I remember speaking to my best friend about staying there.  The following week, I thought maybe I would stay two years, just long enough to finish my degree and get started on my next educational goal.  By the third and fourth week, I was thinking that maybe I would just stay until I finish my masters degree.  Around two months, I started having second thoughts about the job.  After the second month going into the third month, I relunctantly started looking for another job.  I had hoped that I would find a job before the company let me go, but that was not the case.

I was happy to be free of the confines of that mess, but even then, I learned a lot about myself and what I wanted in a career.  More importantly, I knew what I did not want. 

I am not really go into what happened there.  I have my side and they have their side.  All I know is that I was not happy after two months, realizing that my potential was not going to be used according to my own desires.  I did not feel that I would grow with this company.  I felt there was a lack of connection between the owners and employees, which is vital to keeping employees happy.  I should have really listen to my first intuition with the company when I was being interviewed by the owner.  He said, in his own words, that he does not think of anybody in the office after he leaves.  I laughed because I thought it was just an old man making a joke.  Little did I realize, the comment was more than true and conflicted with my personal beliefs in employee engagement, transparency, being honest and open with employees.  I soon realized that everything I believed in business conflicted with how this business ran.  The business does well moneywise.  But while I was there, two people were either fired or left, and there are only three employees.  That is two thirds of the workforce.  If you count me, it is 100% turnover.  I had heard that turnover was pretty bad before I joined. 

I struggled looking for another job, but I decided that I would not take a position that I did not feel comfortable with or just because I needed a job.  This time, I wanted a position with the company that I knew I was in for the long haul, or at least until I finish my next education goal. 

The reason I brought up the biscotti and the bagels is that my new job, started about three weeks ago, gives us bagels on Fridays.  Bagels are actually more expensive than biscotti.  A bag of bagels, which holds six in a bag, cost three dollars and up.  A box or container of 25 biscottis cost between $18 and $20.  Not even a dollars worth for each.  I remember having a conversation with the owner of the previous company.  I was asked to find something else for clients to snack on while they were waiting, because the owners thought that biscottis were too much to offer the clients.  I offered ideas like fortune cookies (I thought that was a cute idea and they were Chinese) and other things but nothing satisfied them because it was either too expensive or it was not classy enough.  I really do not consider biscottis classy.  They are breakfast food.  Just like bagels. 

I'm really happy where I work now.  I am in human resources for mortgage company.  I love the idea that I am working in a region that I want to live, which is beyond the hills of San Francisco bay area.  My goal is to move over that way.  The current school that I attend, is in that area, also.

Even after three weeks, I am still in the process of being trained.  The majority of work in the human resource department is payroll and benefits.  Because there are commissions to be paid, payroll is a little tricky.  But I like tricky because I get to learn something new.  I really like the group, too.  It is a very big company to me.  There is an opportunity to learn from a lot of different people and opportunity for me to grow in my human resources studies and career.

One of the best perk is that I get health insurance within 30 days.  That was the clincher for me.  I did not get health insurance at my last company because I was hoping to find another job before I made three months.  The day I was going to turn in my insurance papers, I was let go.  

Another cool thing that I get to do is a lot of research for human resources.  It is upping my game.  I am learning all about the different compliances, laws, and other things that probably do not interest others, unless it has to do with their pay or taxes.  I had to do some major research on a couple laws that recently changed.  I get to be in charge of looking out for when they actually come into affect.  This is critical because after my Masters degree, I am going to study for my California certification.  I kind of like the idea of having certification.

I can say I am happy here.  My best friend keeps calling me, asking me if I am still happy.  Although I do not act overly excited, I am happy here.  I look forward to sharing the skills of my job and the new life ahead of me.   I truly hope that this is the end of looking for a job for a long time.