Some of you may remember my old boss. The one with a list of people she wanted fired, who used to tell me I'm stupid and blah blah blah all the time.
She got fired/quit recently.
And I realized thinking about it, that I learned so much about people from her. I think about her almost every time I'm having any sort of work issue. I recognize competitive people because of her. I am immune to being yelled at because of her. I can even appreciate her good points more, now that I'm not being accused of losing her keys every other morning (HER keys. To her own damn house/car/whatevs. Why would I have them?) I mean, she was a tiger, but NO ONE messed with our department. She got a lot of resources. She pushed for what she wanted. I admire and appreciate that more now that I'm older. Also, I realized how bad and sexist and bizarre the organization she started out in was. So it gives me a little sympathy too.
Anyway, I hated working for her and she made me cry, but I think she ended up being a huge advantage for me. Plus, I got the job because they wanted someone who could work with her. And it's been a great thing to have on my resume.
Anyone else recognize something similar - a bad work situation that ended up being a good thing in the long run?
Yes! That hideous company that I worked at prior to my current job taught me so many things. I know how not to run a company. I also learned exactly what to look for when looking for a new job- benefits, complete job description, are there women in management, etc, etc, etc. I obviously knew these things were important before my previous job, but I took it for granted that I would have to look for gender equality in 2007. But, now I know that I do.
I also learned tons of things about every area of marketing/advertising and realized that event planning sucks (for me anyway) and I really prefer just doing the creative stuff- creative strategies and concepts, creative direction, graphic design and writing. Because of that, I figured out the exact path I plan to take with my graduate education- I'll be concentrating in multi-media/interactive design, which I may never have gotten into without my previous job.
Oh, and I met my SO at my old job, who is now unofficially FH, but there isn't a ring yet, so if I had never been employed there, I never would have met him. So, yes, even though that job sucked immensely and I was so stressed out that I couldn't see straight, I still learned a lot about what I want, what I don't, how to run a company and how not to. I also wouldn't be at my current job if it were for working in hell for a year and a half.