Back to steady income - how did I find my new job?

Back to steady income - how did I find my new job?

Sadly, I haven’t found a money tree yet. A tree that could support my dream of location independence. Maybe I haven’t searched from right places? Maybe I just haven’t risk to start digging?

Anyway, after joyful Christmas with families and friends, my active search for a job in Estonia began.

I have never been in a position where I am “unwillingly jobless”. And I have never done any organized job search before, as previous positions have just “happened” for me. So, it was kind of interesting experience.

Thankfully, everything went well, as I am writing it now early in the morning before my workday starts.

How did I do it and what was my process?

Football or office?

My first dilemma was between following my passion for football or going back to an office job. At first, I was sure that it has to be football. I started to romanticize an idea about working in the football business while I was a coach in Malaysia.

But after Skype interviews with some Estonian clubs, I got discouraged. I understood that most jobs are rather low-paid or needed a very long time commitment. Which club wants a coach or a manager for only 1-2 years? Mostly, it takes many years to see the real process and development. After enjoying a location independent lifestyle for almost 10 months, I can’t see myself committing for so long right now.

So, it had to be the office job

Nice desk and free coffee. Tired eyes and flat butt. Steady paycheck and collared shirts.

I sent out 11 resumes to apply for different job openings in different companies. They were all related to purchasing, supply chain management and logistics. Some of them were above my level, some of them felt just about right, and some were probably too plain. I was unsure and didn’t know what are my real chanches in the market. I quitted my previous purchasing manager job so early that I didn’t know if I had a possibility to continue from the manager position or had to take a step back to the specialist level.

For my relief, 5 companies got back to me and organized an interview. Plus, I got 2 interview invitations from good people, who knew that I was back in Estonia and probably looking for a job. So, I had a total of 7 interviews.

Unfortunately (or thankfully?), I wasn’t chosen to be purchasing manager for an industrial electronic manufacturing company, where I would have had 13 subordinates. And I quickly said “no” to some other companies, as the job position they described in the interviews felt too mundane and easy for me.

In the end, I had 3 offers in my inbox. Each of them for a different kind of specialist position in a different industry in a different location.

How to choose the right one?

Answer = salary. That’s why I am going to work, right? If money wasn’t the case, I would probably continue travelling and living abroad.

But all offers had more or less the same salary and benefits package. That’s when it got difficult.

What else is important for me at work besides money?

After thinking for a while I came up with a following list:

  • Challenges – offers different problems to solve, takes me out of comfort zone, and helps me grow
  • Flexibility – there are usually many things going on in my life, I need to have a possibility to play with my daily routine (and I don’t know how to be on time)
  • Consistent with my big goals – can I learn something that helps towards location freedom and financial freedom?
  • Great boss and ambitious workmates – I would like to surround myself with inspiring people. I am an average of 5 people surrounding me, right? And some say that choose your boss, not your job
  • BONUS! Possibility to travel – Visiting partners, clients, conferences, summits, expos… Everything paid by an employer, who wouldn’t like it?

It was difficult to evaluate all those aspects after a single interview. So, I had to rely on my stomach feeling and on some reviews I got from friends who are working in these companies. Also, I found important information about companies (turnover, revenues, estimated average net wage, etc) on site teatmik.ee.

Another big decision point was either I want to continue my paused purchasing manager career and specialise on that, or want to start a new career in somewhere else as multipotentialite would do.

And my choice?

Product Manager position in an Estonian logistics company named Post11. The company offers logistical solutions for cross-border eCommerce market players like Alibaba, Wish, etc.

And what’s my job exactly? To come up with new services and assure excellence in exciting ones. Actually, I don’t know what my specific tasks will be and they will most probably change over time. Plus, I have no previous experience in designing services nor in eCommerce logistics. Challenging? Yes. ✓

The company is only 3 years old and really start-up like. Work looks to be flexible ✓, there should be a lot of travelling ✓, and after two weeks I can say that colleagues are friendly and professional ✓ .

But is it aligned with my big goals? I don’t know yet. I have thought about starting my own eCommerce company for over a year (which is another story). So, it kind of matches with my big goals by offering me an insight into eCommerce logistics side which could be beneficial for my future company. Although, I probably won’t learn many skills that could help me become “digital nomad”, “remote worker” or “entrepreneur” one day.

Overall, I would say that I am happy with my decision. I hope it’s not confirmation bias or usual excitement that I feel after starting something new.

Anyway, I wish myself motivation and courage to do work that matters.

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