Now

This is the permanent version of a "Now" update from 2024-03-30:

🔎 Job Search: I started moderating a Never Search Alone Job Search Council in January (JSC844). If you’re unfamiliar with the methodology, you get together with a small group of job-seekers and help each other to develop a candidate/market fit, network, prepare for interviews, negotiate offers, and land a job. Critically, you reconcile what kind of job you want and what kind of company you want to work for with the current market. In other words, “[find] the best possible job for you today given your goals, skills, experience, and what the market wants now.” (Never Search Alone p. 105) I’ve been iterating on my “Candidate / Market Fit Statement”, which is a narrow and concise articulation of what I’d like to find. I’ve included it below. My gut is that it’s too narrow for this market, but it’s a place to start. I’ve put together a Job Search page with some more information on the kind of help I’m looking for in my search.

A Head of IT role at a growth stage, SaaS climate tech company in Boston or remote.

💼 Consulting: On January 1, 2024, Coven Collaborative LLC came into existence in the State of Massachusetts. That was kind of cool! I’ll still be doing business as The IT Witch for now, but wanted some flexibility if I decide to change up the name. More importantly, I brought on my first few clients. It’s been a fun (and challenging) learning experience to navigate the world of starting a business. I’m looking forward to helping other organizations over the coming months and years. Next up is adjusting my marketing materials. If you look at The IT Witch now, the information is technically true, but I don’t think it speaks the language of my target customers. People don’t care about IT per se, they care about solving problems.
🧘🏼‍♂️ Exercise: I’ve been enjoying Heather Brittain’s online studio over the last few months. My favorite class is the 75 minutes “Yin & Meditation” session on Sunday evenings. It’s a sleepy yoga situation where we’re mostly on the floor, working into fascia and connective tissues. It’s gentle, but it’s still challenging. Other than that, I’ve been at the Boston Bouldering Project a few days a week for yoga and indoor rowing. My goal is to get some strength training back into the mix.
📚 Reading: I’ve been reading The Secret History for fun and Just Enough Research for professional development – and fun. Of course, there is also Never Search Alone, which I’ve been reading as part of my job search.
🎮 Video Gaming: I’ve been spending more time on my job hunt and other activities, so haven’t been gaming as much. I’m doing a slower second play-through of BG3, and I’m playing a monk for the first time. I’m enjoying it a lot more than I expected!
🎧 Podcasts: I just finished up the second season of Dungeons and Daddies (a D&D podcast, not a BDSM podcast). It’s hard to believe that the second season has been going on for over two years! I love the team’s commitment to building fun characters and telling an interesting story, even if that means losing characters that you love or making silly decisions. I’m also wrapping up The Big Dig podcast, by WGBH. It’s a really fantastic exploration of how the project came to be, the politics, and the impact. I’d highly recommend to just about anyone.
🪵 Woodworking: I finally finished constructing my Shaker Hall table. It still needs some final sanding and then a stain, but you can see pictures of the (mostly) finished product on my Other Projects page.
🏺 Ceramics: I’m finishing up my third semester and first handbuilding class at Mudflat. I didn’t get to spend as much time in the studio as I would have liked this term because of consulting and job search work, so I don’t think I gave handbuilding all the time it deserved. It’s been fun learning the foundations of handbuilding and I’m excited to take what I’ve learned and incorporate it into my wheelthrown work. If you’re interested in seeing some of what I’ve been working on, you can check out my Ceramics Portfolio page. I just signed up for wheelthrowing classes for the Spring / Summer term. I’m committing to taking Fridays afternoons off from job search and consulting time so that I have at least studio day per week.

Permalink: 2024-03-30
You can check out an archive of my "Now" updates in the Now Archive.