Get my shit together.

When I tell friends that I am looking for a job or have gotten a new job, I always get asked the same question...


"Why are you looking for a new job when you are working for your Dad? Aren't you planning to take over the company?"


 ... and I've always known the answer to that question but have never really been able to articulate it verbally, so most of the time, I just tell them my Dad isn't planning to hand it down and let that be the reason, but of course, it's really not so simple.



When I think of a child taking over their parent's business, I would think of rich families, big companies with over a hundred employees that needs to be managed, or small businesses like bakeries and supply stores, what these type of companies have in common is a strong business foundation, one that has been laid out by the founder before they pass the mantle down to their children to take over the business, these foundation could be things like workers, recipes, suppliers or clients, things that a person could actually take over, manage and allow the business to remain successful or at the very least, keep in running.


In my case, my Dad company doesn't have any of those, my Dad's company isn't something I could take over and manage because my Dad IS the company. He doesn't sit in his office all day and wait for projects to come to him, clients don't come flocking to him with business proposals for him to sign, he is the one who goes out and look for projects to do, he is the one who meets up with potential clients to discuss business proposals. The clients don't make business deals with him because of the company's reputation, they agree to the do business with him because they trust in his ability to get the job done.



If this was a big company, then it wouldn't just be the reputation of 1 man that would make the company a reliable company in the eyes of the client, it would be the reputation of maybe a dozen experienced senior project managers that would make the company reliable, it would be the company's brand, so even if the boss left the company to his child, the company would still have it's reputable brand in the form of the senior project managers that are still working under the company.




But let's assume that I  take over my Dad's company one day, what will I end up doing there?


Look for and manage similar projects he has been handling all this time? Architectural projects I have no business or interest in dealing with, me, an Interior Design Diploma holder? Fuck No.



I'm not being groomed by my Dad to take over his company when I was working for him, I'm just there to do miscellaneous admin work such as help the accountant tabulate company finances, preparing PowerPoint slides for my Dad to present to his clients and in the rare occasions, do some Interior Space Planning for the residential projects he would get once in a blue moon. I'm there as the errand boy, the kid who goes to his Dad's place to work so he could earn some extra money during his down time.



He has asked me to return back to his company since I told him I had left my previous design firm, telling me he would probably train me up, but it training me to become his successor, it's training me so I can cover the job for one of his employee who is leaving the company next month, an employee who submits approval forms online. I mean should I choose not to return, he has told me that he will just hire another foreign worker to do the job.



There's really nothing for me to take over, he really has no intention to groom me to take over his company one day and vice versa, so I really don't see why I should stay there any longer, sure, it may bring me a steady and generous flow of income every month, but this won't be long term, he will have to retire one day and what skills would I have gained from working for him when he does choose to retire at the age of 70 and I'm out of a job at my mid-thirties to early-forties? I will end up be looking for entry level administrative job at at age and it's honestly a really really sad thought, positions that are normally applied by mothers who are looking for a job to bring in some extra cash while their children are at school.



That is why I am choosing not to return to his company anymore, I have become too comfortable with my life the past 2 years and it's really time to buckle up and start looking for a real job like a 26 year old should.





Job Update.


I have recently found another job and have gone for 2 rounds of interview with that company. So far it has met every criteria I have set and the only thing left is for them to give me a call and let me know my starting date.


Third time's the charm? I hope I won't leave this new job in a record breaking time of 2.5 hours.