September 2, 2010
Dear Everyone:
Racing all week.
Racing to the office.
Racing to meetings. Racing
to the dentist (semi-annual cleaning, checking, and scolding).
Racing back to the office.
Racing to more meetings.
Racing to meet with Supervisor over what jobs to
“pick” in the ROM. Racing to
meet with Manager over what jobs have been “picked” in the ROM.
The Dreaded ROM continues.
Rumors are running rampant, scurrying through the hallways as
quickly as their little rumor-feet will carry them.
We got an email message at the beginning of the week, announcing
that one high-and-mighty manager had “traded” jobs with another
high-and-mighty manager.
This is sort of like hearing that the
Archangels
Gabriel and Michael have traded fiery swords.
Interesting for them, but of very little concern to “us peasants
down here on the ground”. We
aren’t concerned with the high mucky-mucks.
Their jobs are secure.
The title may change, but the bucks will continue to roll in.
As for us “little people”, the ROM is kind of like
a strange job fair. One in
which only the people “in the ROM” can participate.
On the one hand:
Imminent unemployment. On
the other hand: An
opportunity to “apply” for jobs you might otherwise never have known
existed.
So you go to a special website and fill in
particulars. Pay Scale Group
(PSG). It doesn’t “pay” to
try out for a job way above what you’re getting now.
Aim low, but not too low. Location:
In our case, “Bay Area” or “Bay Area/Plant”.
The latter means you’re willing to consider a job in “Martinez”;
that’s where the “plant” is.
Then you can try keywords.
I tried “training”, since I actually enjoy helping people learn.
But the hits were in the hundreds.
So then I tried “IRM”.
Dozens of hits in my pay range.
Lots of possibilities.
(Even the Manager said one of them looked like it had been
“written just for you”.)
So what’s “IRM”?
“Information Risk Management”.
Used to be “Information Protection” (IP), back when it signified
making sure computer applications had enough safeguards in them to
protect the company. Like
“password required”; or “password changes every 90 days”.
But when “Information Management” got added to the
mix, it changed IP to IRM.
Still looking to protect the company, but as much through behavior as
through software coding. And
every department is required to have at least one IRM Coordinator.
It’s often tacked onto some other job, but the need
is out there, which means the possibilities are out there.
And having that “CRM” after my name may just impress some people.
So between races, I’ve been searching, printing and
reading job descriptions. We
get to select up to five jobs.
A co-worker pointed out one she had found that specifically
mentioned the software that I’ve been using to create the
Computer-Based
Training (CBT) for the electronic
document management software.
Every little bit helps.
The actual “nominations” have to be in the system
by next Wednesday, the 8th.
But our supervisor is going on vacation, so she has to get
everything by today (more racing.)
And the manager is also apparently going on vacation, so we all
have to meet with him because he’s our official “Sponsor”.
The Sponsor represents you in the ROM
decision-making process, which will take place the week of the 20th.
I can’t begin to imagine what kind of a free-for-all that will
be. So I turned in my “five
picks’, beginning with the job I have now (please and thank you) this
afternoon.
I’m off next week.
For some reason, “Frankie” picked that week for all of us to go
to Ashland for the
Shakespeare Festival.
“Frankie”, her two daughters, our nieces, “Rosa” and “Liza”,
“Jeannie” and me. I will
spend the time not thinking
about work.
Which means:
No Letter next week.
Possibly no Letter the following week, since I will be up to my eyebrows
in alligators. Stay tuned…
Love, as always,
Pete
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