LibraryTechtonics

I’ve talked about what I’m looking for in a job, with a greater focus on how the organizational culture works as well as how that meshes with my work style, rather than how the job description reads. I found this video (~35mins, just under 3 time tokens) via a Lifehacker post this morning, and it really speaks to how I work in general, what I’m looking for in an environment in terms of excellent ways people can manage time and communications.

Video feedback highlights:

• Merlin talks about how you can control who has access to your time, how, and by which methods. It’s not impossible magic, it’s about choices you make according to the value you assign to tasks, meetings, interactions, and relationships. I make these choices all the time, by way of who gets access to me via which social networking sites, my status on chat, when I answer emails, and how/when I use in-person/phone communication. Just because I have Piper (my Blackberry) with me at all times doesn’t mean I’m a slave to her; she’s my right-hand gal, and I access her as necessary, not every time she makes a noise.
• Towards the end, Merlin tackles the tough bit of not being the only person who believes in these tenets, and how to figure out how it works in the group work dynamic in bite-sized pieces. I’m looking for a place that either a) already believes in these methods and is open to working through them, or b) willing to be open to experimenting and compromising on how things are done using methods like those Merlin outlines, where the bargain will work both ways.
• Learn to use tools better. Read Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home. Have the conversations with people about how you communicate, and don’t assume people use text, email, Twitter, wikis, Facebook, LinkedIn, chat the way that you do, or at all, for that matter. Understand when you should have a conversation with someone, and have it. And be mindful of other people’s time tokens.

First, let me address the “how’s the job hunt?” question: in short, it’s not.

Right now, I’m not actively spending my days pouring over job listings and sending out cover letters, and I won’t be anytime soon.  Instead, I’m spending way more of my time just talking to people, not in the “I want a job from you” kind of way, but in a “hey, we both do interesting things, and I have the time, so let’s chat” kind of way. If jobs come out of these relationships, then that’s super. If not, that’s totally fine, since the relationships are more important to me. If a job falls in my lap in the midst of everything I’m doing right now, and it’s the right job at the right place, I won’t say no. People I know are sending me links and leads to jobs, which is always helpful, as long as they fit what I’m looking for. But otherwise, I’ve eschewed the traditional job search for now.  More importantly, I’m resting, spending my time doing things I’ve needed and wanted to do, and just enjoying life.  I’ll let you know when things change in that respect.

So what am I looking for?

Better time: First and foremost, regaining and maintaining a sense of work/life balance is of the highest priority.  When I was freelancing in technology many ages ago, I did a much better job managing my time and preventing work time scope creep, but it was still a bit crazy. When I was working in librarianship, the freelance work seemed to never end, and between the crazy library hours schedule and side work, I was working all the time, and I could never do things at night (which I really like to do).  So, a more normal workday (Monday through Friday, 9am-ish to 5pm-ish, occasional nights and weekends), is my ideal situation.

Not in a library:  I don’t want to work in a library or for a library vendor.  If you want clarification on this, you’re welcome to leave a comment.  (As a side note, at some point soon, I may be changing the name of the blog, so that it will no longer be a misnomer.)

Easier commute: This includes walking distance, T (Boston area public transit subway), bus, or any combination thereof, at less than 45 minutes one-way.  I’ve done the driving commute in the Boston area, and it’s really just a stress generator for me.  I think I’d do it for the right job, though.

Excellent organizational culture: I’m looking for a place full of a good number of people who are smarter than me, with a professional, collaborative nature.  I want to work with people who understand technology, and I’d love to work with some geeks again.

My position? Well, that’s the interesting bit.  At this point, my firm belief is that I’ll know it when I see it, but I’m open to suggestions.  I think that I’d do well in a consultant (internal or with a consulting company, not on my own) or client services position, and tech support/management, but I’m not limiting my options to that. My nature is to be a problem solver.  I can plan, I get human behavior, I can Geek-English translate, I work well with others in a team or as an individual and/or leader, and l learn quickly.  I have hands-on tech skills, everything from configuring and tinkering with WordPress (although I will admit there are a few things I haven’t gotten around to fixing with my theme, too busy living ;D) to fixing computer problems, and I’m a natural tinkerer.  I’m never afraid to say “I don’t know.”  I’m really good at using, planning, teaching, and counseling on social networking technologies.  You can get a full run-down on my experience and skills on my LinkedIn profile.

That’s where it’s at.