Searching for a new job

Hey Guys!

So since moving to North Dakota, I had to give up my old job that I had working for our local County back home because they would not let me go remote unfortunately and it was also just becoming a toxic work environment for me and I needed to say goodbye anyways. But it has been about 3 months now and I still haven't really gotten many hits. I haven't had a single interview either. I have had a couple companies reach out to schedule one and after reviewing the job posting, the company on Glassdoor or just emailing with person who reached out to me I didn't end up taking the interview for various reasons.

Getting A New Job - Prior to Moving

 Hey guys!

I'm not entirely sure why I wanted to write this post since it's kind of irrelevant now that I am no longer working in that position but I like keeping you guys informed about my life a little! So probably like this time last year, I was approached by my boss that there could be a new opportunity for me in a different department. The County hadn't fully made up their minds if the position was needed but they wanted to test me out and see if I could be of extra help. The new role would be in the department that I had wanted to work in for probably like a year or more at least but at the time there were only two spots in this department. One of the spots was going to be empty soon because someone was retiring and I was hoping that I would be getting that position but they ended up approaching someone else about it and not even offering it to anyone else. At the time I thought this was extremely unfair but then again when my turn came I thought it was totally fair and I was super happy that I was the only one being suggested for the position.

Job Update: 6 Months In

Hey guys,

So I know it's been a while but life has been a little crazy, especially as of lately! But happy Friday! Today is my 6 months working at my job which means that after my next paycheck, which will be on Wednesday, I can have access to my PTO and sick time. I've finally made it and I am so excited. I still love my job, however they changed my hours and I'm definitely not the biggest fan. I go in later and get out later and the time I get out is right in the middle of rush hour so it's pretty awful. Before I used to beat it and was able to make it home super quickly and now it takes almost twice as long. But who knows maybe they will change it back someday. Fingers crossed!

I have definitely learned a lot more and I feel pretty comfortable with most of the stuff that I do, however, there is still so much I have to learn. I still ask questions pretty much everyday! But it's surprising how many of my coworkers that I have been there for years that still ask questions everyday. We all kind of talk stuff over before we really make a final decision on something. It's great because w're a team and it's nice to have the support of your coworkers when doing something. We're basically like a little family and it's great!

This past 6 months have flown by and I feel like it's going to be a year before I even know it! I'm still so shocked and amazed that I was able to get this job. I have learned and grown so much as a person just in the past 6 months. I've learned that you can have a job where people are actually genuine and care about the people they work with. They don't try to start drama with you or get you in trouble. They handle their problems like real adults do. I know that every job isn't like obviously but I feel very blessed that I was able to find a job that was. 

Thanks for stopping by!

XO, Steph

Job Update: 4 Months In

Hey guys,

I thought it would be a fun idea to give you another update on where I am with my job. I'll probably do a couple more of these, like once I hit 6 months and am no longer on probation and also when I hit a year. Which will be February 30th and then August 30th, consecutively. Just to give you a reminder, I am a customer service specialist in our building department for our local county. So basically I deal with our online permits. I take them in and make sure that our contractors gave us all the necessary documents before we send them on their way to get reviewed. Then once they've been reviewed they are sent back our way so we can issue them and give back to our customers. 

So I am still very much in love with my job. It is absolutely amazing! I work with some of the most wonderful people I have ever met in my entire life. Everyone genuinely cares about each other. We all ask personal questions and give advice on certain things that are going on in our lives. We also discuss vacations and tips about places to go and things to see. We don't really get in trouble for talking too much sometimes they encourage it because they know that it makes for a better work environment.

I do have to say though that I know the stereotype for government employees is that we get paid to not work but this is so not true. We definitely work our butts off and we also get yelled at by all of our customers and then Christmas comes around and we get lunches purchased for by companies that we work with and other random treats as a way to thanks for what you do and sorry for being a pain all year. It's very nice and funny all the same time. We also get emails thanking us for all of our hard work.

One of our main problems at work is that our system constantly goes down when we're trying to issue and work on peoples permits. It is very frustrating. We are currently dealing with one of our largest glitches since I started working there and it has been causing all of our work to get super backed up. We're really hoping that this issue will be resolved soon but we're not entirely sure when. We've been told that our system needs an update and that it will hopefully fix our problem, so fingers crossed!

Another thing I love about my job is that things are always changing. Rules are being created and taken away. We get new responsibilities added to our list and other ones taken away. It makes it very nice because then our jobs are never mundane or the same. It makes every day a new adventure. We also learn new things almost everyday. It's crazy how much there is to learn on a daily basis whether you've been there 4 months or 15 years! 

All right that's it for now! Talk to when I've reached 6 months!

Talk to you soon!

XO, Steph

Job Update: 2 Weeks

Hey guys,

So I've officially been at my job for two weeks now! I can say that I have learned A LOT!!! Like so much its crazy! At first I thought my job was going to be boring and mundane but I was wrong! I actually really enjoy my job, it's a lot of fun to do what I do. Everyone I work with is so nice and working there does not make me miss my old job at all. Like I will probably never go back to working at DSW because it just makes me look back and think about how miserable I was there. I am so happy at my current job and I really can't wait to see what the future holds! 

So my official title is Customer Service Specialist. I haven't really gotten too much into the assisting customers portion yet because I don't really know that much yet but I've already taken 2 phone calls from customers that I have been dealing with and I was thankfully able to help both of them and both of them hung up happy so that's good! The first phone call was a little rough because I accidentally left the person on hold for 18 minutes! I thought she had hung up and then she called back but she told me that she had been on hold the whole time! Anyways I was able to solve her issue so thankfully it ended up working out just fine. The second phone call I was able to answer her question without even needing any help from any of the other women I work with so I was very proud of myself! 

So let me explain a little bit about what I do. Even though my title is customer service specialist, my actual role is a permit representative. So what I actually do is sift through all of the documents that our customers give to use when they send us their permit and I make sure that we have everything we might need before the permit gets sent onto the next department. Some permits have to go to different departments for approval before the contractors can start working on the project. It's actually all very fascinating! I really enjoy this job because I'm such a nosy person and this job allows me to find out about things that are being built around town before anyone else! There are also some other things I get to learn about before some people but I'm not really supposed to share of them because I'm technically a government employee now! 

This job also seems to never be the same thing every day! I get to look at the plans for houses that range from $200,000 to $2 million! I also get to learn what restaurants and stores are going to look like before they're even built! It's very exciting and I actually really enjoy my work! I also feel very privileged because I actually am allowed to issue quite a few permits myself. They don't have to be approved by anyone else other than me. It's not too big but I honestly can't believe how many people don't have shutters living in hurricane central haha! Actually my sister and I don't have shutters on our house and most of our neighbors don't either! It's crazy! But the permits that I get to issue include shutters, windows, and doors, certain types of fences, garage doors and there might be some more. I don't think I've technically learned all of the permits that exist yet! 

Crazy thing is that I was kind of on my own after about 3 days! I issued several permits with my supervisor and then once my computer was officially all ready to go I was on my own issuing permits, except my supervisor sits like right next to me so thankfully if I had a question she was right there waiting to answer it! Everyone I work with is so very helpful and no one really seems to have a bad attitude or seems to be negative which is so refreshing compared to my old job! It's like I'm working a real job rather than going back to high school! Anyways, I might do another job update once I'm like 6 months in but I think this is going to be it for now! I hope you enjoyed this post! I will hopefully have another one posted for you guys on Wednesday! Anyways, I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Thanks for stopping by!

XO, Steph

Shoes I Want to Buy for My New Job

Hey guys,

So you some of you may know that I work for DSW which has pretty much always been my favorite shoe store even before I started working there. But I get an amazing discount and I told my mom and sister that we need to do a big shopping trip there before I lose my discount because I will be very sad when I can't buy super cute shoes at a much cheaper price but I'm sure I'll get over it eventually!

Anyways, since I will be starting a new job soon I wanted to do a post on the shoes that I want to buy for my new job because a lot of the shoes I currently own aren't really appropriate for an office setting  and so I picked out 9 pairs that I thought would be a good fit. Granted I don't technically know what the dress code is yet for my new job so this list may change depending on what I am allowed to wear but hopefully I'm allowed to wear all of them!

So here is my list of shoes that I have complied for my new job!

1) Lucky Brand Sandal
2 ) Kelly & Katie Sandal
3) Rock & Candy Sandal
4) Franco Sarto Sandal
5) Kelly & Katie Wedge Sandal
6) Mercanti Fiorentini Loafer
7) Naturalizer Sandal
8) Crown Vintage Platform Slip-on
9) Bandolino Wedge Pump

Yes, I know that number 6 is a repeat from my last post but I think it would be a good work shoe and a good casual shoe! It comes in other colors as well and it looks super comfy!

Thanks for stopping by!

XO, Steph