| 1 Year at the Law Firm Earlier this week marked my 1 year anniversary of employment at the law firm. Although I have only worked here for 1 year, I still feel that IÂ’ve gotten to know the people, culture, and the environment very well – So, I figured now would be a good time to recap what I feel was the biggest difference switching between a position at Verizon Wireless to my IT position here at the law firm. The most obvious change, which we wonÂ’t get into cause that could be a forum post on its own, is the difference in the type of work I encounter throughout the day. WeÂ’re not even going to get into that! So the main thing that IÂ’d like to note is that my initial impression of my first year here at the firm is the complete change of environment it is compared to where I was at previously. The mood is usually very quiet throughout the day (with the exceptions of keystrokes and business calls) along with a more serious feeling. With over 110 employees that span 2 floors (almost 3), interaction between employeeÂ’s might be limited between 4 or 5 at the most. Luckily for me, being on the IT team, I interact with a ton of people between all of our floors. If I had to sit at my desk all day I would die – just because IÂ’m a very interactive and social person. With that being said, a majority of the employeeÂ’s are pretty sociable, to the extent that their work will let them. If youÂ’re not working with someone, most of your daily interaction with others you pass by is just small talk or the standard “Hey, howÂ’s it going?Ââ€. But again, being on the IT team, interaction levels with other co-workers is higher than normal since you are making visits to dozens of people throughout the day which makes it easier to carry on conversations – rather than just small talk in the hallway. The one thing I do tend to miss is the more laid back environment at my old job. Granted, the small yet closely-knit employee roster could have lent to that type of environment, but regardless, it was very comfortable and made it easy to work there – even with the stress of random customer complaints. The law firm environment is a bit more on the straight laced side and tensions seem to fluctuate between departments and employees now and then. But again, with the type of work thatÂ’s being done in this office, the quiet uptight tension is to be expected. And the last thing IÂ’d like to mention is the turn-over rate for the secretarial staff. Being at my old job for 5 years, IÂ’ve seen at the most, 5 or 6 people come and go (including seasonal employees). IÂ’ve seen us go through that many secretaries, if not more, just the past year. But for the most part, all other departments tend to stay stable. Only a small handful of attorneyÂ’s have left and moved on since I started here, and the IT/Financial/Facilities staff has been pretty consistent. So at timeÂ’s itÂ’s hard to see people come and go, especially after you spend days training them. Either way, itÂ’s just a few adjustments that you have to get used to. IÂ’m still here plowing through work and continuing on with another year! |