Hello everyone,
I have been out of the military about a decade now, finished my undergrad degree and then earned my MBA from UF in Gainesville, FL. Since then, I have been residing in the Miami area and I have had difficultly keeping long-term employment - normally for the most trivial of reasons: IE - always seeming to have one person who for whatever reason doesn't like me/attempts to sabotage me.
At this point, I am stuck wondering if the reasons are because of:
1) The field I work in - IT Project Management/BA work;
2) The area I live in - Miami/South Florida; and/or
3) Me
Undoubtedly, I am somewhat to blame for the brevity of my work and it is hard to know if I can expect more from other fields/locations.
Over the years I have come to learn that employment in Florida is fickle and I would like to know if there are places in the US where professionals are more apt to work out their differences and get the work done - as we would have all been forced to do in the US military?
Answers
Hi Charles!
I admire you and all Veterans for serving us! I am in Business role and I have changed jobs for 7 times in my career. I always come across team members who liked me and some of them didn't like me. What I did was staying focus on working my hardest and showed to Management that I delivered (got jobs done). For those you said that didn't like you, maybe it's good to ask them Feedback on how you are doing and what things that they want you to improve on. I did this last year (I sent emails to 29 people who work closely with me and ask them for feedback/criticism/room for improvement. Not all of them got back to me, 16 people submitted feedback to me and they are very useful). Maybe you can try this too.
If Project Management is your passion, please do not give up on making yourself better. If you think PM is not your passion, please find something else that you like doing. For me, I can't imagine working in other field than Supply Chain. If you do something you like, it won't feel like a job bcs you like doing it, it's your passion. Hope it helps! Stay positive Charles!
Charles, great questions. i was a director of project management for IT at American Express in Fort Lauderdale and found the people very collaborative and team players. I would recommend that you start by volunteering with your local PMI and the South Florida Agile Association to build some relationships with other project management professionals and then as you get to know people seek out a mentor through them that can give you more specific situational feedback. I have had a number of veterans work for me and their biggest challenge has been learning how to build relationships in a new job so that they can affect indirect influence. This can help you shift from short term to longer term roles. And your PM friends are great for finding the best fit jobs and companies for you pursue.
Hi Charles,
Thank you for your question! I think that you will find difficult personalities in almost any workplace that you will enter. It sounds like you have been somewhat unlucky to come across several folks who are not great team members. I can recommend a couple of great articles that have helped me out in improving my workplace relationships. You may want to take a look at:
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/good-relationships.htm
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/developing-effective-work-relationships-1919386
I can't speak to your particular industry or area but I am sure the rest of the community will be able to offer their perspective!
Best Regards,
Konstantin
Thank you both for the feedback. I worked in Project Management in the military, then transitioned into a BA role after getting my degree (after the military).
I will reach out to the local PMI and start making those connections. Thank you again!
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