Although I didn't receive any promotions today I did go to an "executive dinner" from a major supplier.
Does that make me an executive?
Hmmm.
Anyhoo, like the last grown up dinner it was nice.
A diary based on my latest attempts to get a job; this time in Munich. I'm an engineering graduate (and chartered engineer) with more than 10 years' experience in IT. Over five of these years have been spent in team leading and project management roles both in the UK and abroad.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Unusual
Normally I have to explain what my company does.
This cannot be done in an elevator pitch fashion.
Then I explain that anyway I run their infrastructure.
On Wednesday I went to a business-type meeting organised by meetup.com.
And being cool/lame I took my Surface Pro to write notes.
Whilst eating the person on my left saw the company logo on the laptop, recognised it and told me he knew the company well, including my ex-VP, and had worked with its sister companies.
Then the girl on the right saw the company logo and told me she knew people in the IT department. In fact she gave off quite a few names.
I then talked to a third person who had never heard of us and needed the usual long-winded description of our business and then the short description of what I do.
This cannot be done in an elevator pitch fashion.
Then I explain that anyway I run their infrastructure.
On Wednesday I went to a business-type meeting organised by meetup.com.
And being cool/lame I took my Surface Pro to write notes.
Whilst eating the person on my left saw the company logo on the laptop, recognised it and told me he knew the company well, including my ex-VP, and had worked with its sister companies.
Then the girl on the right saw the company logo and told me she knew people in the IT department. In fact she gave off quite a few names.
I then talked to a third person who had never heard of us and needed the usual long-winded description of our business and then the short description of what I do.
Monday, October 06, 2014
Grown up
A couple of weeks ago I told a friend that I had had my first grown-up dinner.
"I thought we had grown-up dinners" said the mother of two and business woman. I shook my head.
What had happened was that my boss - VP of IT - had been invited to a security dinner at a very posh restaurant.
As I am nominally involved in security at work he asked the organiser, by email, if his Director of Infrastructure could attend.
So apparently I am now the director of infrastructure.
A few hours later the organiser replied that they would be delighted if his Director of IT came along.
So apparently I am now the director of IT. Two promotions in less than four hours. But no pay rise.
By the time we received this message I had little time to quickly go home and change into something less comfortable: trousers rather than jeans, a dress shirt (but no tie, this 2014) and a blazer.
Then went to Käfer (which means something if you know Munich).
Champagne, a private dining room and good wine and food - good Bavarian food (not a typo).
The conversation was very erudite and was moderated yet in a relaxed way. I tried to hold my own.
And unlike my normal dinners I kept a brake on the alcohol consumption. Well, a bit of a brake.
It was actually a very pleasant evening.
In a couple of weeks' time I will be going to another grown-up dinner from a cloud provider.
Good for the tummy, good for the ego and good for networking.
"I thought we had grown-up dinners" said the mother of two and business woman. I shook my head.
What had happened was that my boss - VP of IT - had been invited to a security dinner at a very posh restaurant.
As I am nominally involved in security at work he asked the organiser, by email, if his Director of Infrastructure could attend.
So apparently I am now the director of infrastructure.
A few hours later the organiser replied that they would be delighted if his Director of IT came along.
So apparently I am now the director of IT. Two promotions in less than four hours. But no pay rise.
By the time we received this message I had little time to quickly go home and change into something less comfortable: trousers rather than jeans, a dress shirt (but no tie, this 2014) and a blazer.
Then went to Käfer (which means something if you know Munich).
Champagne, a private dining room and good wine and food - good Bavarian food (not a typo).
The conversation was very erudite and was moderated yet in a relaxed way. I tried to hold my own.
And unlike my normal dinners I kept a brake on the alcohol consumption. Well, a bit of a brake.
It was actually a very pleasant evening.
In a couple of weeks' time I will be going to another grown-up dinner from a cloud provider.
Good for the tummy, good for the ego and good for networking.
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