I was looking for a job and then I found a job

Well.

Having written a couple of times about what kind of things I wanted and didn’t want to do, and having decided to really take my time an opportunity came along that ticked pretty much every box I had.

I won’t be starting right away.  I’m going to finish up my contract and LS work at the end of June, and then I promised myself and my family that I’d take all of July off.  Kids are on holiday so its a chance to spend some time together as a family.  Its also the anniversary of Jane’s accident so we’re not sure how that will affect us… whether we’ll want to go away or stay home.

But this post isn’t about that.  Its about the job that I’ll start formally on August 1st.

I’m absolutely delighted to say that I’ll be joining Bohemian Coding to work with the team on the award-winning Sketch.

So what kind of job is it?  How does it manage to tick my various boxes ?

My key goal was to find a place where I could parlay my “senior” skills in one area to allow me to be a junior in another, and I think I specifically mentioned Mac development as a thing I hadn’t done much of and would like to do more of.  Thats what I’m going to get at Bohemian.

The role isn’t quite defined yet, and that’s by design.  I’ve described the kind of work I do as the spaces in between the moving parts of a team.  Sometimes its oil to reduce friction, sometimes its glue to increase cohesion, but in both cases its moving through the people who do the real work and figuring out ways to make the whole better than the sum of its parts.  Thats the kind of thing I’m going to be doing with Bohemian.  Not really quite a project manager.  Not really quite a team lead.  Not even quite a coach. Luckily Bohemian doesn’t have job titles so I don’t need to even give it a name.

I’m going to be asking a lot of questions, trying to understand whats working and what isn’t, and how to help this amazing team be even better.  Thats my day job.  I couldn’t ask for a better one.  I’m also hoping that by being involved in the day to day operations of a Mac development team I get a chance to try a few small stories, or pair a little on some larger ones.

Bohemian is distributed by design, with people all over the world.  This means that the day to day practicalities of my job won’t change.  I keep my small office a couple of miles from the house.  I’m close to Jane’s work and the kids schools in case I’m needed (which I am more post-accident).

I’m glad I waited.  I’m glad I didn’t panic.  I’m glad I took the time to have a lot of conversations and be sure about what I was looking for.  I’m glad I didn’t go into a single interview desperate for a job at any cost.

I was looking for a job and then I found a job, but heaven knows I’ve never been less miserable.