Breaking News on the martini front.

[martini]

Well fock. Sorry for unloading laundry here folks.

I've been unceremoniously dropped of my position. Reason? Through a round-a-bout answer "I'm too much of a free spirit to be boxed in by the beauracracy of the City."

Huh?

Now I fully admit that I was in a bit over my head. I mean, I'm in...er was in....a directors position as a new grad. Kind of intimidating to say the least. None-the-less, I thought I was getting the hang of the position and its nuances. The past 8 months I've been tying together projects from my predecessor that were, to say the least, complicated. I was finally able to start a project of my own, and getting full support from the Council to pursue it. The administrator thought the project was 'fluff', and not worthy of my time pursuing. The project was gaining an eco-municipality designation for the City. Something that would have required community-wide involvment and action. Not 100%, mind you, but it needed to see a majority, like most things of this nature. It was my feeling that invovling facets of business, citizens and government would be a good thing in terms of development and planning.

And to top it all off, in May, I bought a house here in town. Now what?

[Jaxspra]

I don't know what to say, so sorry. Are they giving you compensation? Some sort of package? That really sucks. Sorry I can't say much more. Could they possibly "demote" you ad give you a different position, considering you just bought a house and are living there? or is there a nieghboring city/town you ar einterested in working for?
That is one of my biggest fears in accepting a new position and relocating....

[nrschmid]

First of all, sorry for your situation.

I think it could be several reasons:
(1) new graduate in a planning director's position (although it sounded from an earlier post that you were hired as planner). Are you the only planner or the planning director, those are two completely different positions.
(2) purely political.
(3) maybe you really were too much of a free spirit and defied convention.

Personally, I would have held off buying a house in the community you work for until you have been at your job for a several years, so you know you are going to be there for a while.

Find out why you were fired, you have nothing to loose and they owe you at least that. If you were in a director's position, you should have a better compenation package. Judging that you are a recent planning graduate who was "at the top" or thought he was at the top, you might have to go a step or two down the career ladder and work your way up again. Unless you really want to stay in the community, you can either try selling your house (which will be a waste of money as you havent built the equity up) or stay in the house and commute to your new job when you get it.

Good luck

[donk]

Well fock. Sorry for unloading laundry here folks.

I've been unceremoniously dropped of my position. Reason? Through a round-a-bout answer "I'm too much of a free spirit to be boxed in by the beauracracy of the City."

Based on my career experiences, take this as a warning / sound piece of advice early on in your career and reconsider how you are going to use your education and interests. There is nothing worse that discovering this for yourself and realizing that you just "wasted" 10 years of your life.

Good luck with finding something new. the good news is that it is summer time, so you have more time to ride your bikes.

[Tranplanner]

Ouch, that sucks. Sorry to hear that and hope you are able to find something else quickly!

[Habanero]

Well, doesn't that just bite. Sorry about it, but I think in the long run you'll be better off. Are you in a larger metropolitan area?

[martini]

I think it could be several reasons:
(1) new graduate in a planning director's position (although it sounded from an earlier post that you were hired as planner). Are you the only planner or the planning director, those are two completely different positions.
(2) purely political.
(3) maybe you really were too much of a free spirit and defied convention.

1-yep, new grad hired as director. One part time staff. I was only full timer.
2-Could be - but the admin. is so evasive and round-a-bout talking its hard to pin him down.
3-could very well be, but I never felt the conflict.

Personally, I would have held off buying a house in the community you work for until you have been at your job for a several years, so you know you are going to be there for a while.

Find out why you were fired, you have nothing to loose and they owe you at least that. If you were in a director's position, you should have a better compenation package. Judging that you are a recent planning graduate who was "at the top" or thought he was at the top, you might have to go a step or two down the career ladder and work your way up again. Unless you really want to stay in the community, you can either try selling your house (which will be a waste of money as you havent built the equity up) or stay in the house and commute to your new job when you get it.

Good luck

Yeah, lesson learned, though its hard to go back to renting after being in the ownership circle. There's no doubt in my mind that if I go for another position, it'll be on the I or II level, simply to gain that experience. That being said, its been VERY enriching being in this position.

[mendelman]

I feel for you. That sucketh.

Where is your boss' car parked again?

[Brocktoon]

Sorry to hear about your bad news. Do you think your eco-municipality designation had something to do with your free spirit label?

Try not to beat your self up about it and move on.

Best of Luck!!!

[nrschmid]

One of the things I learned the hard way on my first job as a planner is that you have to listen and learn. In some ways it sounds like the administrator (village manager?) wanted things done his way and you were supposed to take direction from him. Did your predecessors projects need to be mixed together, or should they have stayed separate? Sounds like you also by-passed the administrator's advice regarding the eco project and got the council to approve it, which could be a reason for getting terminated.

Regardless of where you start: the bottom or the top (if we are even that lucky) is to observe and prove how you are fit within the company, and this does not happen overnight. I butted heads with a lot of the designers when I worked on a lot of heavy CAD projects and said a few things I now regret (fortunately my boss was understanding enough and realized it was a part of the learning curve).

Who fired you? Was it the administrator, the council, or someone else? Why did the last director leave (you should have found this out when you are interviewing for the position). How long was he in the position? (8 months? 2 days? 5 million years?).

I think it can be challenge for most graduates to do their first planning job, let alone take the reigns of a planning director right out of school. Listening is key.

When I came out into society I was 15. I already knew then that the role I was condemned to, namely to keep quiet and do what I was told, gave me the perfect opportunity to listen and observe. Not to what people told me, which naturally was of no interest to me, but to whatever it was they were trying to hide. Glenn Close, Dangerous Liasions

[gicarto]

I totally feel for you...Especially when it comes to the house. I bought a house and had to sell it quickly because of work.

[michaelskis]

Wow... that *there is a terrific metaphor that I would like to use, but it is not work safe or fair to goats.

How big is the severance package? As for the now what, take this opportunity to dive into another position. I think that you would end up with a II or even a manger level because many of the experiences that you had while director could be immensely valuable to another employer. Time experience is one thing, but the important aspect of experience is what you have learned and what you have been able to accomplish within that time period.

I would encourage you to look at the positive aspect of this!

[kjel]

Sorry to hear about your news. Not much more I can add to what's been said although for what it's worth it sounds like you might have a shot at unemployment if this came out of the blue. I saw something similar happen in an office I worked in with the old school administrators not liking the "free spirit" nature of the young woman who was a recent hire. To a degree it was political, but it was mostly in how she chose to pursue her job which ruffled feathers. Small town administration for you.

[martini]

Thanks for the thoughts all. I am keeping an upper style outlook to this. I have yet to really look at the classifieds, but I'll be all over them tomorrow. I may even make a cold visit to the town next door.

[Zoning Goddess]

Geez, that sucks! (Don't those people know they've incurred the wrath of Cyburbia? )

I can see where the job loss would be less of an immediate problem than the recent house purchase. You don't want to lose money there. Sure hope you can find something nearby. Keep us posted.

[Fat Cat]

That really bites, I am truely sorry to hear this.

[Chet]

I feel for you. That sucketh.

Where is your boss' car parked again?

... and do you know what a brake lines looks like?

My condolences

[SuperPenguin]

They may take our jobs, but they'll never take our freeeeeeeedom!!! ... Or something like that. Seriously, you got a director spot to begin with, which means you were a darn good applicant. And now you've got experience in the position. You'll get something else soon.

... and do you know what a brake lines looks like?

Brake lines? Why stop there? I know someone who would be willing to loan you a bulldozer for the afternoon...

[luckless pedestrian]

Sending condolences - I hope you are able to re-group quickly!

[Gedunker]

Being a Director is a lot like being a manager of a professional sports team: your first day on the job just puts you one day closer to the day you get the axe.

Sorry for the news, but when my day comes, I sure hope they describe me the way they described you -- a little too much of a free spirit.

(Methinks you should probably not put that on your resume unless you're apply for a job with, say, Google.)

[mendelman]

(Methinks you should probably not put that on your resume unless you're apply for a job with, say, Google.)

Or with Super Crunchy Granola, WI.

[Planit]

Sorry to hear about that Martini. Been there, done that (and for now apparent reason excpet for a personality conflict). Its okay to be pissed off for a couple days. But I like your attitude from your posts. You gained much experience and knowledge. Use it wisely. Best wishes.

[btrage]

So were you fired or was this the end of a contract or probationary period? I once declined a job because of an unstable situation among the elected officials. Great job, but I didn't want the insecurity. Turns out the community is OK now, but I'm in a much better position now.

I think entering a company/organization in a management position you need to be very careful about being a maverick. You need to first prove that you are able to be a part of the group before you go about trying to implement changes or new ideas. This can often take a year or two. It sounds like you may have been a little too eager to implement your ideas and may have stepped on the toes of the Administrator.

That being said, it sounds like you are a marketable candidate if you were able to get the job straight out of school. Good luck.