This Business and Moment...

[Maccy]

So it's a month today that I've been over here in Sweden and taking the jump to contracting. Am I still enjoying it? Well.....no not really. IBM and Capgemini have a big presence here, mainly with offshore resources, so getting anything done or getting access to anything takes ages. The work isn't that interesting and I seem to spend a lot of my time trying to keep busy. I also think I'm missing family and friends back in the UK and the mrs is getting rather bored doing nothing whereas she had a lot of things planned with her time off in the UK.
I'll last the 6 months but don't see myself hoping for an extension/renewal come August!

 

[mrbazmondo]

I'm trying to keep my head down, with the intention of doubling up this year, as it were, but it's tough to keep motivated. I, strangely, feel a bit lost/empty at this point... but in a very happy way!

That weird empty feeling you get when you achieve all your goals? It doesn't last long until you come up with more.

 

[randomshenans]

First parts are always the hardest and when you miss people and things. You get used to your time being wasted too haha I didn't get a login / windows account for over a week. I just read some stuff and tried to get up to speed. I thought people would be like wtf but no, all very normal.

Last couple of days at work and I put my back out at the weekend, so working from home. Was hoping to be in the office to sort my stuff out but will see how I get on with being a cripple.

Sounds like you've just had enough of the place - also, from reading your previous posts, it looks as if you've exhausted all possible angles to remain or pursue new opportunities internally. We speak to many candidates who have hit the same point - especially those with going concerns elsewhere, like you do with Path and emotuit - and a large number feel as if the chains have been lifted off as soon as they step out of the building on their final day. If you got irons in the fire elsewhere, there's no point sticking it out at a firm that makes you miserable simply by being there. Hope you find something you enjoy doing more soon!

Yea, I always said I'd not do this amount of time in one place and this is part of it. I really enjoy the work I do outside of that; Path and emotuit are now keeping me really busy, I just need them to keep my bank busy at the same time really! haha The work is really interesting, I love the challenges and the technology is great, too.

 

[randomshenans]

Edit - I'm well aware of how self-congratulatory the above sounds , but I don't really have many people to share it with, as iit's not the sort of thing I'd bring up with most of my mates!

Haha that's exactly what I like about in here... no one else really cares, and people here might not but it's a nice outlet! Need more details on the huge deal though... sounds immense! Well done and keep smashing it out!

 

[Phate]

So it's a month today that I've been over here in Sweden and taking the jump to contracting. Am I still enjoying it? Well.....no not really. IBM and Capgemini have a big presence here, mainly with offshore resources, so getting anything done or getting access to anything takes ages. The work isn't that interesting and I seem to spend a lot of my time trying to keep busy. I also think I'm missing family and friends back in the UK and the mrs is getting rather bored doing nothing whereas she had a lot of things planned with her time off in the UK.
I'll last the 6 months but don't see myself hoping for an extension/renewal come August!

Stick it out. I can speak from experience that setting up in new countries is TOUGH as balls. You're annoyed at IBM & Capgemini making things take a long time. Where for people who live there, its the norm. Every country has its own way of doing things. Its very difficult but you need to work hard to adapt as best you can and make the most of it.

Some suggestions from me:

- You say you have time. Look up some touristy stuff, it sounds cheesy but you'll begin to enjoy the country more
- Museums, research into the countries culture. Drop yourself into it
- On the note of the above. Get into local food & drinks. Research some dishes and try cooking them.


New countries are all about the new experiences and embracing what that country has to offer.

Believe me, I've been there. I came so close to calling it quits here in Portugal multiple times due to language barrier, and other various reasons but I stuck it out and I am glad. I had the doubts you're feeling and the lack of motivation many times. Now...I am in love with the place.

Make it your own, and you won't regret it.

 

[Maccy]

Aye I get what you're saying @Phate, the country itself isn't the issue it's more the workplace and I guess it's just adapting to this slow way of working!

Haven't properly had a free weekend to do some touristy stuff yet, but it's on the agenda

 

[Phate]

Aye I get what you're saying @Phate, the country itself isn't the issue it's more the workplace and I guess it's just adapting to this slow way of working!

Haven't properly had a free weekend to do some touristy stuff yet, but it's on the agenda

If you want to know slow you should try your hand at some Portuguese red tape rubbish with public workers. My god, have you seen Zooptopia with the sloths?

 

[Maccy]

If you want to know slow you should try your hand at some Portuguese red tape rubbish with public workers. My god, have you seen Zooptopia with the sloths?

True, I guess it's not all bad. I did a few months subcontracted out to Accenture in Milton Keynes a few years ago, red tape central with that lot!

 

[AHarvey]

Been a while since I posted in here. Seems everyone is doing well

I've been in my new role for nearly 8 months, lots of complicated work, challenges, a good team of people. The company is relaxed and forward thinking but there seems an inability for my section to move forwards. No training, I've taught myself most of what I know and my team answer questions but they have been here 4/5 years each and both say they don't know everything yet, which I find frustrating as after that time I'd want to be at the top of the department. I'm also doing the same work as them, some of it they don't know due to how varied it is and they are earning 13k a year more than me, but I can accept that while I get more experience.

I'm still looking at starting my own business, one a leisure idea but needs a good chunk of land and probably £300k to invest. The next idea is a web-based service for the general public and companies to use. There's already a market leader in this field and a few wannabe's but I believe with the extra idea's I've got it'll be a winning idea.

How in the hell do you even start to get something like this off the ground? Working full time, paying a mortgage and being a dad (which is the most important thing to me) and then starting new things.

Any good websites/info sources for creating a startup idea? funding etc?

I'm fed up of having ideas and doing nothing with them, it's time to start acting and I know there is a wealth of knowledge here as well as experience.

 

[randomshenans]

Any good websites/info sources for creating a startup idea? funding etc?

You want to start with knocking out a business model canvas. Read the book actually, it's very good. https://amzn.to/2GjjcCH
Business models in this way are very easy to build out, but work on the framework of lean startup. Helping you build out your business model and answering any assumptions you might have along the way. They get you to test interactions and validate what you have, so when it comes to answering the questions, you have concrete answers. For example; you might think in this ABC business model that your customers are 18-35yr olds, and you can reach them through facebook as a customer channel... now, how can you validate that assumption? You can run some mock adverts to analyse the demographics of the audience, or you can bust out a survey to people on the streets and get results that way. Either way, at the end you can show figures around the assumptions you have made. So if someone asked you "who's your target market and how do you plan on reaching them" you can say these people and using that, I know this because we surveyed over xyz number of people worldwide and 80% said bla.

I'm a big fan as you might have guessed. Happy to help. It can be used for new or existing businesses and for whole new models or just changes in existing ones.

I ended up in hospital this afternoon as I was having pains in my chest and **** breathing. I was hoping I wasn't going to drop down dead, and I didn't so that's OK. Heart is fine too. Just stress. Blood pressure is a bit high so need to just sort out some exercise and try not to be stressed... which is easier said than done.

 

[AHarvey]

You want to start with knocking out a business model canvas. Read the book actually, it's very good. https://amzn.to/2GjjcCH
Business models in this way are very easy to build out, but work on the framework of lean startup. Helping you build out your business model and answering any assumptions you might have along the way. They get you to test interactions and validate what you have, so when it comes to answering the questions, you have concrete answers. For example; you might think in this ABC business model that your customers are 18-35yr olds, and you can reach them through facebook as a customer channel... now, how can you validate that assumption? You can run some mock adverts to analyse the demographics of the audience, or you can bust out a survey to people on the streets and get results that way. Either way, at the end you can show figures around the assumptions you have made. So if someone asked you "who's your target market and how do you plan on reaching them" you can say these people and using that, I know this because we surveyed over xyz number of people worldwide and 80% said bla.

I'm a big fan as you might have guessed. Happy to help. It can be used for new or existing businesses and for whole new models or just changes in existing ones.

I ended up in hospital this afternoon as I was having pains in my chest and **** breathing. I was hoping I wasn't going to drop down dead, and I didn't so that's OK. Heart is fine too. Just stress. Blood pressure is a bit high so need to just sort out some exercise and try not to be stressed... which is easier said than done.

Thanks for the info, it'll give me some reading this weekend in between family time and little projects.

Take some time out for yourself, nothing is worth your health. Daft as it sounds, check out some mindfulness resources. Few mins a day calming your mind. Really helps with stress. be safe!

 

[Phate]

I ended up in hospital this afternoon as I was having pains in my chest and **** breathing. I was hoping I wasn't going to drop down dead, and I didn't so that's OK. Heart is fine too. Just stress. Blood pressure is a bit high so need to just sort out some exercise and try not to be stressed... which is easier said than done.

Honestly, I am not surprised. I don't mean to sound horrible but the amount you show us that you push yourself is probably but a small chunk of what you actually do. I've mentioned to you before that I was worried about the stress you were putting yourself through. Hopefully you are able to take a step back after this Rest up and get well soon man!

 

[randomshenans]

Pffffft... I have had 5 days off, in the mountains. Nice and relaxing and a chance to have a look at my schedule when I'm back. I'm done as I would do working and blocked out my day with blocks, which should help me be more productive and get me fitter as well (I've blocked out an indoor ride each morning, and gym in the evening), so will see how that goes.

Need to iron out how I get unemployment benefit when I'm back, which would help

Applied for some GDPR PM contracts over in the UK, as it's something we've had to negate with emotuit I'm pretty clued up on it. Since there is such a need for this stuff at the moment, might be able to hammer out some work around that. Otherwise, will be hammering out some fundraising in the next few weeks and hope I can pay for my rent and mortgage

 

[Phate]

Sounds promising! Fingers crossed for you

 

[randomshenans]

I'll update in 4 weeks to see if I've been kicked out the house or not and we're all eating super noodles

 

[Lopéz]

It's been culture shock after culture shock for me over the last three weeks:
Cairo
Singapore
Guangzhou
Particularly Cairo to Singapore, you could not really get two more different cities.

Arrived in China on Saturday, I'm here for two months split between Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.
So far I'm enjoying it.
Basic observations on China so far:

Overall it's pretty cheap
Feels very safe
Very clean, the main streets and bins etc constantly being swept and emptied
Astonishing choice of food
English menus are far from common in Guangzhou
In fact English signage in a lot of shops and public places is completely lacking which makes finding stuff out tricky!
Never seen so many shopping malls
The metro is ridiculously cheap, organised, secure, fast and easy to use with everything in English too
My office has squatting toilets - no western bogs
Some awesome skyscrapers
They know how to illuminate things at night
People not as rude/pushing shoving as I was led to expect
On the other hand they have zero spatial awareness. ZERO.
Cantonese is a very loud and jarring language
Everyone spits, everywhere, and it's disgusting. And shoots snot out of their noses one nostril at a time
It's hot and humid but unfortunately nice cold air con when you step into a shop or other building really isn't a thing so staying sweat-free is a challenge
I expected a fast pace of life but overall it's very laid back here - trying to negotiate the metro when you are running late for example is just impossible - not so much because it's busy, but because 80% of the people are meandering about like half asleep pensioners so you get blocked by them as they weave about in an improbably chaotic fashion
Pedestrian crossings seem to be treated as advisory by most cars, and bicycles will NOT stop
A real lack of empathy or compassion - as an escape I saw a guy on a bicycle get run over in the middle of a busy area last night and nobody did anything, they just carried on with their business. I asked if he was okay but didn't understand any English and eventually staggered off on his own.
Paying for things can be awkward. You don't get much success with credit or debit cards, everyone pays for almost everything by using Alipay or WeChat using QR codes which I can't use without a Chinese bank account so I have to use cash
So far I'm definitely enjoying it, and glad I made the decision to accept the assignment.

 

[Rroff]

Particularly Cairo to Singapore, you could not really get two more different cities.

Hah I bet.

 

[Dunks]

Interviewed for a role last Monday, felt pretty good and was confident it went well! Been nervously waiting to hear back since, and just received a call today asking me to come back in! But this time for a more informal chat, chance to meet some of the team and a tour around the facilities etc etc.

Hopefully this is just a final check to make sure I'm not a complete moron before making a job offer! Eeeeek. Why couldn't they just give it to me off of the interview alone

 

[blairw]

Long time no update! Secured myself a new role working with one of our largest accounts in the UK. Really excited to get cracking and try make a difference.

 

[Phate]

I know we can all moan about our jobs. But I do like the regular feel good reward my one offers.

The scenario. Customer logs a case. It becomes the hot potatoe. Badly handled by another team. And then the engineer who was dealing with it (and not even following basic procedure) makes up some ******** excuse to need to transfer it so it ends up with me.

Ok. First I passively aggressively barate the guy for not doing X Y Z and then I call the customer to see what is actually going on as nobody seems to know.

It's the nicest guy you could ask for. He was either oblivious to how his case was being treated (the info is available if they manually check) or he was just chilled as anything.

Anyway, found out the issue. It's simple and straight forward WSUS problem. Other cases are quiet/pending other customers so I decide to prioritise this guy and get us in his good books and take action immediately.

Had a productive 1hr remote session and it got to his end of day and he asked when we could resume. I offered 9am tomorrow morning his time and you could almost hear him smile down the phone

In the meantime I double checked what we need to do so it should be a quick finish off and hopefully smiles all round.

Was nice to be able to help him figure out something frustrating. I think he's quite new to the product as well as he had to double check some things you generally know off the top of your head.

Celebratory Gin tonight I think