June 15, 2005

  • Help!

    I’m looking for a bit of professional advice today. If you have ever applied for a job within the same institution that you work for, can you fill me in about how you did that gracefully?


    I appreciate my employment in the marketing department at the MCA (that stands for Museum of Contemporary Art, folks) endlessly—my coworkers are great and I couldn’t ask for a better first out-of-college job—but a position in the MCA media relations department opened up and I couldn’t pass up applying for it. If I score this job in media relations, I would be writing a lot more (press releases for exhibitions, special events, and the museum social scene) and I would have more responsibilities (I’d be the point person for the press), both of which would be dreamy. Plus, the position in media relations would be full time, so I would not have to juggle a million jobs to create a full-time schedule (I’m part-time in the marketing department now).

    The only downside to this position would be that if I got it, I would have to forfeit my position as a tutor at the Writing Center, which is my favorite job of all. But the pay there is crap, and it’s getting increasingly difficult to survive on it. I’ve secured a position teaching writing workshops for a few weekends this summer, so hopefully that job alone will quench my thirst for teaching English composition. 


    So, after handing over my carefully crafted cover letter and resume to the director of media relations at the MCA yesterday, my question is this: what now? Do I tell my boss, the director of marketing, that I’ve applied? Do I tell her after I’ve secured an interview for the other position? Do I tell her after/if I get this other position? Will it be weird? What if I don’t get it—will I feel like a freak? Yikes!


    Your comments are much appreciated.

    A note that is relevant only to those who know me “offline”:
    If you are wondering, “why are you applying for jobs in Chicago, aren’t you moving in September?” No, we’re not moving this September. After mourning the fact the Scotland is a no-go, Shaun wasn’t pleased with the craziness and disorganization of California State, so we’re staying put. This year we’ll squirrel away more money and keep on keepin’ on. Shaun-san is going to be taking a few more classes at AIC, free thanks to his awesome work benefits, and I’ll just keep getting more work experience. We’re happy here, but the world is calling! Shaun’s going try again–applying to more programs this time–and he’ll be starting somewhere next fall. We will be moving out of our rancid, hellish apartment once the lease is up in September. The window sill in the bathroom is rotting away and there are weird buggies and mushrooms growing on it. Besides creating a space to conduct a biology experiment, why would anyone build a bathtub and shower next to a big window with a wood frame? Grotesque!


    edit later this morning:


    With my pulse throbbing in my neck, I did it. And it was no problem at all—my boss was lovely about it and said she would give me a stellar recommendation (thanks for that insight mydogischealsea!). Oh, what would I do without my peep’s giving me such good advice? ::smile:: Now, it’s back to work for me—I never blog at work, but our network is down this morning, so we’re all slacking a tinsy bit.  



     


     

Comments (5)

  • one of the truths about any organization is that they are really small towns. by this i mean that they have their own politics and unspoken rules. at the one i worked at, no supervisor would “hire” away someone from another department w/o that person’s permission. which meant that your current supervisor was always asked his/her opinion about you. i don’t know about yours, but i suspect that there is a lot of that kind of thing going on most places. i recommend that you talk to your supervisor about the job and why you feel it is a good match for you and reassure him/her that your current job was a great experience, and that while you’re not actively looking, the opportunity was one you needed to try for… yadda yadda yadda… rule #2- burn no bridges, you never know who you’re gonna need in your corner someday. anyway- that’s my opinion, for what it’s worth…   :) good luck!

  • Not that I have ever been in your situation, but my advice is this: wouldn’t it make sense to tell your boss? Your boss might know the people over in media relations and could put in a good word for you. I’m sure she will understand the draw of a full-time position in a department for which your skills are more suited.

    RYC: How about Wet Hot American Summer? Hilarious camp movie spoof. Plus, I love Janeane Garafolo.

  • Awful selfish me – i nearly fell off my chair with excitement that you’re staying!

    I really want to see you this weekend,

    Linds.

  • the tattoos of two dolphins…

  • Aw, I’m sorry you and the hubby and the kitty aren’t going to Scotland in the fall.  Something better will come up anyway, you know what they say…well you do, so I won’t bore you with a cliche. 

    Now about your window sill, people are dumb and don’t plan well when they are building houses.  My house is about a hundred and some years old and the rooms are terribly organized.  The window sill in our bathroom was wooden and yucky before we put in new windows.  Eww.

    * I went back to the store to buy myself a doggie album, for the preciousness that is Baloo, but they were out.  The sad thing was not only were they out, but that I was going to buy a photo album for the pooch when I still have prom and graduation photos in disarray.

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