New Beginning

Posted 10/19/2006 at 3:42 pm in Friends, Life, Work

On Monday, I did something that I really didn’t know if I could do.

I gave my notice of resignation at Perceptive Software, the company where I’ve worked for the last six-and-a-half years.

For some clarity on how huge this is, read this post. It kind of sums it up, but I’ll go into a little more detail.

In the spring of 2000, I was just a young pup a couple months out of school who was getting married in July. I had graduated in December, but was really in no hurry to get a job at first. I didn’t do much through all of January. I kind of got things in order. I was living with my folks and driving up to Graceland to see Alli at least once-a-week.

February breezed by and I got an offer to be an editor at a bio-medical trade magazine which I passed on (why? 1. it was in Quality Hill, and 2. the pay was terrible). I thought to myself, Oh, I’ll just get a job at Sprint like everyone in Kansas City does. I’m not worried.

We got to March and I didn’t have anything. I started to get a little worried. I was 4 months away from being married and was yet to be gainfully employed. I got a little more vigorous at my resume-sending and a little more annoying at my networking. Still nothing.

In April, I did something stupid. I hired a company that was basically like a head hunter in reverse. I paid them (check that…my parents paid them) and exorbitant amount of money to help me access a “secret job market” as yet unseen by me. They retooled my resume, gave me a binder full of tips & tricks, mock interviewed me, and gave me a lot of other sage advice that I could have gotten at about 1/10th the cost by paying for the premium membership at monster or careerbuilder. The company has been subsequently sued by several states for their less-than-truthful practices. I’ve even heard of several people who sued them and got their money back.

Then I got a call from a company called Perceptive Vision, Inc.

At first, I thought it was some sort of Optometry conglomerate or perhaps an eye surgery center. Little did I know that it was an emerging document imaging and management software manufacturer, right smack dab in the middle of Shawnee, KS.

Since I’m a bit of a nerd, I fit in quickly. I have a decent understanding of technology, but nothing near what some of the people I was working with had. At first, it was a small company that had a lot of fun. There were initially about 20 employees there when I started (I was maybe #18 or so) and we used to play ping pong in the storage room to break up the days.

It wasn’t really busy initially. I was writing case studies and newsletters as a Marketing Communications Specialist. As the company grew, we needed someone to manage our trade show schedule, which, at the time, included about 80 trade shows annually. It was busy and it was at that time that I really ever first considered leaving the company.

I stuck it out though and moved into graphic design. I had been doing some of that all along, just not tons since I was self-taught and all that. I did a little of everything in design and eventually moved to a more interactive focus. I enjoyed working with Flash, but I wasn’t a huge fan of a really specific mindset. I’ve never been someone who wanted to specialize in one discipline. I’ve always considered myself kind of a Renaissance Man (not in the Danny DeVito sense).

But I love my job and I love the company that I work for, so the decision to go somewhere else wasn’t easy.

However, I think this opportunity represents a real step up for me. I wouldn’t say that I’ve gotten complacent, but I definitely believe that I’m ready for a change. I want more responsibility and I want to get back to writing, something that I’ve really only been able to do on this blog since I became a full-time designer. I miss it.

So off I go.

On the Monday following Turkey Day, I’ll be starting a new job at a financing company that specializes in heavy equipment. It’s a smaller company than Perceptive Software, but it’s growing and has the potential to be very successful. In my interviews, I met with some great, energetic people that I’ll be working with and they have lots of ideas as to how we can grow their business and I will be a major part of the marketing from strategy to execution, which is really exciting to me.

With that excitement comes melancholy. I have made (and brought) many friends at Perceptive Software and I will miss working with all of them. I have the utmost amount of respect for the members of the Marketing and Creative teams and I wish them and the rest of the company nothing but success.

One thing is for certain. There is no way that I could have made it through this process without Alli’s incredible support. She has been more than patient with me during this stressful time and she has always made it clear that the thing that is most important is that I am happy in my job and feel fulfilled. Thanks, honey.

It’s a new beginning for me…wish me luck.

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13 Responses to “New Beginning”

  1. Jen

    - 6:11 pm on 10/19/2006

    Shane, I wish you the best of luck in your new adventure. It is an exciting and nerve-wracking time when you go from something that you know to the unknown. I hope you continue to have this enthusiasm with your new position!

  2. Suzanne

    - 6:44 pm on 10/19/2006

    For purely selfish reasons, I was totally bummed to hear that you were leaving. How am I going to explain to Nate that “uncle” Shane no longer works with daddy? Who’s Kev going to talk to? Who is Lauren going to hang out with at company events that I don’t want to go to? Who’s wife am I going to “manhandle” at the Christmas parties? Damn you Shane…

    My purely selfish reasons aside, I am truly happy for you. From what Kevin tells me it sounds like a fantastic opportunity. It sounds like a situation that you can thrive in and I truly wish you the best of luck.

    I know Kevin will miss you terribly and I will be sad not to see you and Alli at company events. I’m quite fond of that wife of yours (an you’re ok too), so I hope you both keep in touch.

    Now go kick some corporate ass!

  3. Brian

    - 8:28 pm on 10/19/2006

    Good luck!

  4. rich allen

    - 8:03 am on 10/20/2006

    congrats Shane. i know you’ll do great things at your new job.

  5. Alli

    - 10:11 am on 10/20/2006

    Thank you for your last statement! I want you to know I did nothing but offer back the support you gave me when I came home one day saying “I am going to be an artist full time” You smiled and said “OK, what do we need to do to make your dream come true” and from that moment on that is all you have done - help me make my career dreams come true. I hope with this change, you will find what it is you are looking for. I hope you feel proud of the work you do and feel you are being utilized to your fullest. You deserve to be happy at your job! We spend way too much time there not to be! I can’t wait to go forward in this with you.

    Suzanne - you will never know what the friendship of Kevin meant to Shane all these years at PSI. He has inspired and taught Shane in ways only a good friend could. Your family has had a spot in Shanes heart since day one! He adores you, thinks the world of Kevin, thinks Lauren is one of the coolest kids ever (due a lot to her music choices!) and dotes over Nathan (which is rare in this no-child-wanting-family of ours.) We will miss all of you so much but know that this friendship made it that much harder to take that step out into the unknown. You are the greatest! You made all work functions fun and I will never forget the Chicago trip or my first “female encounter” at the 2005 Christmas party. You are hilarious! We will stay in touch!

  6. Jake

    - 10:52 am on 10/20/2006

    bro,

    good luck with the new opportunity. i know, though, no matter what you set your mind to doing, you will succeed. i’m proud of you for being brave and taking that step. i know you will miss your friends you have made at perceptive, but they are only a phone call away. looking forward to hearing about the new job once you start.

  7. Sarah

    - 11:20 am on 10/20/2006

    Congrats!! How are you going to live without the Dodgeball court?!? HA! Just kidding. I hope you love it there.

  8. Christy

    - 1:54 pm on 10/21/2006

    Shane,
    I’m so excited for you. Best of luck to you, and I love seeing someone with such a wonderful support system. Can’t wait to read about your new adventures.

  9. Shane

    - 5:45 am on 10/22/2006

    Thanks to everyone for all the well-wishes. I’ll be sure to keep all of you updated on the goings-on at my new venture. I’m sure I’ll have lots to talk about.

  10. Vince

    - 5:24 pm on 10/22/2006

    Shane,

    I wish you nothing but the best at your new job! It sounds like this new position is something that you can’t pass up.

    We will have to send you out with one more Dodgeball game before you leave!

  11. Jackie Stowell

    - 9:38 pm on 10/27/2006

    Good luck Shane! We wish you the best of luck, although I still think you would be a stellar children’s book author.

  12. Colin Toomey

    - 2:46 pm on 11/10/2006

    Hey Shane,

    Seeing that you were at PSI for awhile, I thought you might be able to shed some light on an article I read awhile back about ImageNow re-coding and re-architecting their product essentially from the ground up. We are looking into ImageNow right now and wondering if you could explain what the actual difference is between the ImageNow 6.0 Sunflower vs ImageNow 5.x…is it just a plain old new version where old customers will be able to upgrade to or is it a re-architected code base that will bring much better and broader functionality while requiring a migration from older customers. Thought it would be nice to get a perspective from someone that would be considered an old-time at a company growing so fast with so many new employees. Thanks in advance for your time.

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