I Quit My Job

I gave my seven week notice yesterday. In August, I'm officially leaving my first full-time job as a newspaper reporter.

For weeks I'd struggled thinking about how I'd tell my immediate boss the news. And then it just happened - I pulled her into my office after she put a frozen meal in the microwave and said that I'd been offered another job. She knew it was a possibility, since my new employer actually interviewed her a few months ago before I was officially offered a position. She said she didn't expect that me leaving would happen so soon. And that was really all there was to the conversation.

I hoped that by giving early notice I could help prepare my materials for my successor. What concerns me is that our publisher is probably not going to hire a replacement for me, meaning that my editor will have a whole lot more work dumped on her. I know this isn't my problem. But it bothers me that this company's product, the newspaper, takes a back seat to marketing and networking. I think it will be a real shame if they don't bring a new editorial person in. Especially if they hire a new sales person instead of putting that money toward a new reporter.

Other than that, I feel pretty good. I'm writing my third and last cover story this month about people over 50 who use social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. I'm taking more than five weeks of vacation between my new jobs, too, so I hope to write, spend time with my family, and travel. My tentative plan is to be willing to travel just about anywhere a friend will offer me free lodging (and in exchange I will cook!).

So yes, that brings me to the fact that I do have a new job lined up as an editor. It's a much more lucrative job with a lot of potential for advancement. How much I will enjoy it remains to be seen -- as is the case with any new endeavor -- but I'm excited to take this next step in my life.

I kind of feel like Lauren Conrad in the Hills season finale (I haven't watched the whole thing yet!Couldn't bring myself to...) when she says that for once, she doesn't know what comes next. It's scary, it's exciting, and a few weeks from now, it's where I'll be. :)