Here I was back in “the comfort zone”, where pay checks comes in every week.
First few weeks are always exciting at a new company. You get to meet new people, make new friends, start fresh.
I started working for Company A as a Project Coordinator, a job I felt, I could accomplished. Or could I ?
What I knew
I had already done “coordinating” in the past involving pre-construction.
Lot happens in pre-construction phase. This is the time of a project that the client’s vision is executed. With the help from an Architect, the client’s request is being written down on paper. A team of engineers are then but together; civil, plumbing, electrical and structural working together with the architect in order to create the clients next project! Meetings, challenges, clashes detections, issues needing to be solved, putting heads together to find solutions. It truly is team work, where everyone helps each other.
As a coordinator in the pre-construction phase, I would read plans, making sure the steel or concrete wasn’t interfering with the architects plan, and the ventilation had enough room inside the walls and clearance were respected.
How much different could a Project Coordinator in a General contractors company be?
I wanted to learn about the next phase, the actual Construction phase.
Comfort zone
I was giving a desk, laptop, a few screens and projects to work on, and was doubled up with a Project Manager. I didn’t get much explanation, so I asked lots of questions. I didn’t feel like much was expected of me, I still tried to get involved into the projects as much as I could, and with the knowledge I had. I felt like a puppy dog following behind the project manager. And it was NOTHING like I though it would be. It safe to say, I was not in my comfort zone.
I was then invited on job sites. One job was a multi-residential building where I met with the crew on site.
The site-super had been in construction for most of his career and was on the verge of retiring. I took advantage of his knowledge and bombarded him with questions. The crew was much respectful with me, I learned a lot from them as well. I didn’t shy away asking them questions. None of them ever made me feel like I didn’t belong. I felt like I gain their trust, and I did the best I could to provide them with missing answers for them to continue their jobs. I quickly became part of the team on site.
Back at the office, it was a different vibe.
I only had one good friend there, the receptionist, we’ll call here Jane. She had started at this company a week before I did, and because of this we shared common situation or struggles with our new positions. No one else, other than Jane, would mingle or laugh or ask how your weekend was. It was a very cold environment.
Not so Comfy
Being in an open cubical, you could often hear others talking dirty behind an individual. These individuals could be a the client, a crew member or even a co-worker, they were never really nice things. Then, when they would have meetings with the individual face to face, it was like they were best of friends and that their wasn’t any problem. It didn’t take long to know who you could or couldn’t trust.
I never heard bad things about me, but I can just imagine there was.
One of the worst person in the office that always had bad things to say about someone, was the project manager I was assigned to. Um, yea.
My project manager wouldn’t ask much of me, so I had to ask him what he needed me to do. It was a constant follow-ups on the projects as I wasn’t always in CC in the emails. I quickly felt like I couldn’t get the hang of it. I felt like I belonged on site with the rest of the crew!
I would ask questions to my co-workers in the office, I wouldn’t often get answers to my questions. I would get citations on how the questions being asked didn’t concern my position.
After about 8 weeks at the Company, I quickly realized this position wasn’t for me.
I started looking for work online again.
*sigh*