Newletter Never Sent, Now Blogged

This is a newsletter I wrote describing the past year of my life, and asking for help finding a new job. I never sent it, but I did get a job! I start tomorrow, and today I turn 27. GOOD CHANGES! (I may still use big parts of this for my holiday newsletter, so my apologies if you somehow read this blog and get my newsletter.)

Dear family & friends,

I hope this email finds you well! Although I normally try to save all the exciting news for my annual holiday newsletter, this year has just been too action-filled to wait until December to fill you in.

I.
We left off with yours truly working at an ad agency in SF as the assistant to the CEO & COO. My normal duties included HR paperwork, booking travel for the whole company, and doing whatever the CEO told me to do (like create a comprehensive travel guide for his 6 week trip to Corsica and running his vineyard). I also took on overhauling the company intranet and helping with a big software transition.

II.
The fit wasn't great with my CEO-assisting parts of the job — I never quite got the knack for doing what would help the CEO without him ever telling me his needs. So when the dean of Oberlin Conservatory called me in February and left me a cryptic voicemail about "an opportunity," my interest was piqued. He wanted me to run a development campaign in order to increase the the percentage of Conservatory alumni who give to Oberlin. After some heming and hawing, I accepted the offer and moved back to Oberlin for four months, from March to the end of June.

I had an amazing time in Oberlin. I reconnected with old friends and made some wonderful new ones, and my job gave me a lot of flexibility and responsibility. In the end, we went from 27% participation in 2010 to 43% in 2011. Working with the dean was great, and creatively attacking the problem from as many angles as possible was really fun. They tried to talk me into staying at the end, but since I'd discovered how amazing urban life is, I had to gracefully decline and hop back on a plane to SF. (I did try to talk them into opening a remote office in SF, but that hasn't yet panned out.)

III.
July was very exciting — I went to Death Valley, Zion National Park, and both rims of the Grand Canyon with my family during the second week of July, then to San Diego with Travis for his grandmother's 92nd birthday the next week, then on a bike trip from SF to San Luis Obispo along Highway 1 the following week. (Nina, my sister, flew out to SF and drove one of the cyclist's cars along with us, so we got to ride unencumbered and have tents to sleep in.) It was a great set of trips, and I'm now very interested in more camping and long bike rides.

August has been job application month, and having had no nibbles so far, September is looking to be job application month as well. I've been nannying a couple days a week for some nearby families and that's been delightful. I've come to appreciate spoken language much more, as the 2 year old gets her needs across much clearer than the 12-month old. But they're all cute and make me smile a ton.

IV.
I'm trying to get a Project Manager or Producer position (or assistant/junior variations on either) at a design firm, ad agency, or other creative place that needs PMs. While I was at the ad agency in SF, I definitely saw myself fitting in best as a PM. I love organizing things and talking to people, and helping designers & developers do their thing & do it awesomely. I hope someday to start an Internet-y company, but at the moment my list of entrepreneurial ideas is terrible (if not hilarious).

I've been reading What Color is Your Parachute, and Richard Bolles highly recommends talking to extended family and friends about companies at which they know folks. So, for posterity, here are a few companies I would give my right arm to work for: Pixar, Apple, IDEO, frog, & Square. There are a lot more places I'm trying to get into, but these are ones that I'm really excited about right now.

Finale.
If you have family friends, or cousins, or a college roommate in the Bay Area that are connected to any of the following industries, I would love to take them out for coffee (or just exchange a few emails on the state of what they do): design, advertising, software & all-things-computers, web technologies, publishing, or entertainment. (Or any other neat companies in the area that aren't in those categories.) I'd also be thrilled to send you my resume to send to potential connection!

Thanks for your help, and as always, come visit SF!

love,
Lillie