Working Update

I had my performance review at the end of October, and they definitely still love me at work.  It actually had been a good year for me, between successful projects and also writing that technical paper, even if I could not present it.  My work was above average, and it showed.  I think what also helped me a bit with the review was that my supervisor does ask for self-assessments and even though I don't always find it easy to write them, I do it anyway.  If anything it does help organize what I have done over the last year, in case anything could have been missed.  It also helps that every month I write up a summary for my supervisor of what I have been doing over the previous month and what I plan to do during the current month.

So anyway, another good year for me, and I really do think it shows with the fact that the instruments I do work on have stayed pretty stable.  There was one big issue, but that had to do with some software on the new laptops we were rolling out, and we eventually fixed that.

Besides that, there is a project that just came down the pike for me.  I'm not actually coding, but doing integrating for it, and serving as a guide to the ones who will be coding it.  I was busy this past week helping assemble the files we thought the coders would need so they can create an instrument that matches our standards.

There's also a potential opportunity coming down the pike.  Recently one of the supervisors left my department because he decided to retire.  They posted his job and after much thought and some discussion (and arm-twisting) with some other folks, I decided to apply for his position.  I'm qualified for it, and I think I would make a good supervisor there.  One of the reasons some folks wanted me to apply for it is because I get along very well with folks in my department, and with our survey sponsors as well.  So now we'll see what happens.  I checked my application status and it was "referred to hiring official" so we'll see what the folks making the decisions decide to do based on it.

Admittedly when I filled out the application, it took a lot longer than I expected because I had several essay questions where I had to explain specifically some of the things I had done at work.  That is never easy because I want to make sure it is to the point, but also that while I show that I am qualified, I don't want to make it sound like I am exaggerating either.  Also, there is that question of how to approach it; am I writing this for someone who is not familiar with me work, or someone who is?  If they are familiar already, then I can easily talk about the big achievements and throw in more details of some smaller stuff, but if they're unfamiliar, they're likely to skim the question, so I would want to stick with the big stuff.

So with that, we'll see what happens.

Besides that, work is work as usual.  This is also the time of year where things will quiet down because of the holidays, so I will have plenty of time to get work done, and then do research as well.  I have a few things to work on, including a potential presentation for the next staff meeting.